Welcome to this league and cut rule a twenty four hour NBA news miters you lou Chris hands, it's no time, works time, It's so time. This league un cut is underway in on fire. This should be a good one.
All right, friends, it's time. As promised, our special guest this week. In one more week, you will have to address him as a Hall of Famer on all first references. But he joins us now from a top secret location cannot be revealed, far far away from his spiritual harm in Dallas. Is this audience ready for a good ten to twelve minutes with almost a Hall of famer? Girk Werner VI, Ski, Wow, you are actually on the show. This is really happening.
This is big, this is big. I'm excited for the new show. I can't wait to listen in. But like you said, I'm still overseas and I'm working my way home so I can get ready for Springfield.
Excited, I mean it's crazy jersey retirement international jersey retirement statue unveiling. I think there was a street named after you in there somewhere.
And now, like you said, all you have to say.
In basketball is the word Springfield. Everyone in the game knows what that means. But has it sunk in yet? Are you ready for this?
I mean as ready as I can get. I guess I'm super excited, obviously, a little anxious already. I think it's going to be a super cool, fun couple of days. I have family and friends coming from all over the world.
So yeah, I'm already a little nervous. Obviously I'm not a great speaker and holding a big speech there and then just the whole hoopla there, and you know, the limelight is not really my thing, so it's, uh, it's gonna be a little bit uncomfortable at times, but I'm gonna I'm going to just try to really enjoy it and enjoy my family. And my kids are now old enough to really understand what's happening, and so.
I'm looking forward to to a great time. And and like you said, all this stuff, all the.
Honorings and the street naming and all that, people are now like we got to celebrate you again, Like when when.
Is this over?
Uh, this this retirement tour. And I would say this to me, the Hall of Fame is like the absolute tip of the iceberg, and it's the coolest thing, and it's an honor to be there, and and sort of I think things will sort of for me at least slow down after that. But it's been literally one thing after the next, and I'm extremely proud of all these things.
So you're gonna have Steve Nash and Jason Kidd there with you on stage.
And the way presenters work.
For the Hall of Fame for people who don't know, you have to be a Hall of Famer to be eligible as a presenter. You knew those guys were going to say yes when you ask them, But what was it like to actually, you know, are you nervous asking them? Hey, guys, will you come up there with me? Because it's also weird for the presenters. They don't get to say anything. They just they just sit on a stool.
They just sit there.
Yeah, you know, you know me, I wasn't.
I wasn't doing it all formal. I was Steven, do you mind that? So I just kind of threw it out.
And when we talked about Hall of Fame and Sandwich a kid, you know, obviously they're they're not only teammates of mine, they're really really good friends and friends for life, and so you know, It was sort of informal.
I kind of threw it out.
Hey, I'd love for you guys, or for love, would love for you to be up there with me, and and they both were kind of no brainer obviously, And uh and so they're they're looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward.
To seeing them.
I'm seeing their families.
And just spending an incredible three four days up up in Springfield.
You know, I always say this when people ask me about the early days, and you know, you and Steve both had a rough first year in Dallas, which was a long long time ago, but having been there, I'm certainly not going to forget it when you think back. I mean, how crazy does it sound to you that there were two future MVPs and two future Hall of Famers on that lockout nineteen ninety nine MAVs team when you and Steve first were teammates. Man, it's almost twenty five years ago.
Yeah, crazy, crazy how the time has flown by, and also crazy how that worked out. You know, you know me, I'm always a little negative. I'm shy, you know, it's my German in me, and so I that first year, I just I wasn't sure gonna make it. I had doubts creeping. And of course there were games you were there, there were games where I didn't play at all.
I was, I was frustrated. I was you know, I was.
Uh, I've just basically questioning myself.
Did I make the right decisions here and.
Uh to come over? Or should I have stayed in Europe? Should I have gone to college? And I guess all that's normal when things don't really you know, work out well or or work out as planned. And and then all we really did was Steve and I was saying, Hey, all we can do is is is you know, work hard and and we'll we'll we'll go from there. That's all you can do is control what you can control. We used to go back to the gym every night,
to the old Landry Center there. We didn't even have a own practice facility, uh, and just you know, played horse played one on one, played shooting games, played uh, played with other guys three on three and just you know, just trying to work hard as hard as we can and get extra sessions in and so we you know, it wasn't really if it didn't work out, then people can't say, well, you didn't work hard enough. So that's what we both didn't want, and so we just really busted our tails.
And trying to get better and trying to make it.
And then, you know, I always mentioned and you were there the end of my first year when we were finally out of the playoffs.
We were never really in it.
I think we're like four or five games out of the playoffs at all times. But then when we were finally eliminated, Nellie came up to me and say, hey, listen, I'll start you again. We have whatever ten games left. Why don't you just you know, get adjusted to the game and have some fun and really love playing. And that stretch, to me, was one of the biggest turnarounds in my career. And Steve obviously started playing well earlier, but for me, that was a big turnaround.
I got to be comfortable.
I had one game I had like twenty eight and that kind of showed me, hey, if you actually work hard and you have the skills to succeed, and obviously Nellie will put you in positions with us with this mismatched style, that that even my body I was a little underdeveloped, I could be in a position to play well and contribute.
And so that that meant, that meant the well to me.
That thought those last ten games of my on my first year that really changed everything.
One and only Dirk Noovitski joining us here on the Saturday Steinline on ninety seven to one The Freak presented by Panini America, And you guys should know this show has now moved into it second month.
Dirk volunteered to be.
The first guests in show history, our very first show.
But I told no I wanted to wait. I wanted to wait to do this right before his induction into the Hall of Fame. And we are doing this now one week before that induction.
With I'm I'm you know, I can't say I'm as excited as you, but I'm pretty damn excited too.
I just I can't wait.
I can't wait to see all because it's not just you going in, but everyone you're going in with to like, just what do you think it's going to be like to be You're with all your rivals, Pow, Tony, Pop, your buddy Wade, like to go in with all.
These guys too at the same time.
I mean unbelievable at times, you know, there there were times where where all of us didn't really get along great, but I think that's that's part of part of competing at the highest level and part of you know, trying to win and at all costs. And so there were times where it didn't speak with pal Mush, there were times where did in speak with Dwayne, Uh, Tony and
I were always pretty okay. But it's just that just funny how that works out that now all of a sudden, we're we're all together in this class and uh, we talked about it a little bit when we got introduced in uh in the final four in Euston when they announced us, and we spent a couple of good days together there, and uh, it's.
Just funny how that worked.
And we competed against Power and Tony since we were I don't know, twenty nineteen, twenty years old on national teams and so it was it's super cool to be part of the crew. And you know how much I inspect Pop. I mean, to me, he was he's probably one of the goats of coaching and the respect that and all the stuff they's done for me in my last game, and I mean, I can I can go on minutes about the guy. So I'm super, super humble
to be part of this, this amazing class. And like I said, we're gonna have some fun.
We're going there.
I think we have some We're going golfing one day with the whole class and h so's It's gonna be a fun, fun couple of days and I'm gonna I'm gonna enjoy it.
Yeah.
I got to ask you this one because I've got MAVs fans asking me all the time, like are we are we supposed to know?
Are you and Dwayne Wade now buddies? Are you guys? Friends? Is that how we are supposed to refer to you two?
I think friends.
I mean, obviously friends reach out to each other all the time, talk all the time. I wouldn't say we're friends. I think there's a mutual sense of obviously respect for each other's career, and obviously we're cordial. We were sitting actually in Houston at that one dinner. We were sitting at at the same table. Our family sat together, and so there's just no there's no bad blood obviously anymore people.
We all moved on. Things were said on both sides are done that neither neither side light But you know. That's like I said earlier, that's part of competition at the highest level, it's there. To me, I'm still old school. There were really no friends at at the highest level. I understand now it is. Everything is a little different in the league, but at the you know where when I came in, there were really no friendships at the highest level. And and so that's that's where that comes from.
So are we friends, No, we don't text.
Each other, but I think where there's a lot of respect there and we're we're both happy to it to go in the Hall of Fame together.
I'm gonna have to do a poll among the audience. How many how many listeners have moved on? That'll be a good that'll be something good? I threw out there. Now, Actually you did the It was in the recent past, a year maybe a year ago, maybe more, maybe a little bit less, but you did a podcast with Tony krus and Felix Kruse's brother, you know, both professional soccer players. Obviously everyone knows Tony's still playing for Real Madrid, and you talked about you were really candid with with that.
I'm guessing in your own language and with fellow athletes, maybe it was.
Easier, and you you talked about how.
You said something to the effect that the last couple of years you were questioning were they worth it?
Because you know, you've you've had some.
Foot issues since playing, and I think you said something along lines of you could probably move better today had you retired earlier, but with a little bit more time.
How do you feel about that part?
And how you know because you stayed twenty one years, but that gave you that also gave you an incredible record that may never be broken. Twenty one years with one franchise. How do you look at that now?
Yeah, sort of the same.
You know, I think it's normal to go back and ask yourself questions and when you that's part of reflecting. If you're done with something in life, and then you kind of look back and reflect a little bit, and then it's normal.
To ask questions, Hey, what if?
What if if I would have squit two years earlier? Would that I've made a difference? Honestly, it doesn't really matter. I'm I'm super, super proud of having played twenty one years for one franchise. Nobody can ever take that away from me. And of course the last years were a little tough. I mean, in my last season, I could barely. I didn't practice anymore. I missed the first thirty games. It took forever from me to somewhat play decent basketball.
So those times are not necessarily fun. But you know, like I said, it's part of my career now, and I'm proud of it. Played twenty one years at an older age and trying to keep up with, you know, guys that were half your age, and so I'm proud that I made it this long. And of course here and there I have some ankle issues, but I think that's just you know, even if I would have quit after nineteen, I would have.
Still had some issues. It's just part of part of sports.
Our last few moments here on ninety seven to one.
The Three with the one and Only Jerk Davitsky, one week away from his Hall of Fame induction, I asked Tyson Chandler this a couple of weeks ago, when we had Tyson on the show actually having a championship ring. Is it do you do you look at it? Do you just keep it away and try not to think
about it? Or how much on it? How much on a daily basis can you feel yes, I'm a champion, because obviously in your case, I think you know you heard for so long when you hadn't won, I mean you were just remind I get about it constantly, constantly, So how much on a daily basis can you feel yes, I actually have that ring?
So I don't look at the ring a lot.
Only when I really have new guests or whatever and they come over and they want to see it, But it's usually in a safe place, so I don't see it myself much, maybe every couple of weeks, every couple of months. But I am reminded of the championship every day. I mean I have I have a photo at home in my little man.
Cave where obviously hoisted trophy and the whole.
Team is behind me, and I have the banner somewhere around that, the remake of the banner with all the names on it.
So I am reminded of it daily.
Which is of course amazing, and it puts me a small on my face every day.
But the ring, I would say.
Only every couple of weeks, every couple of months, I'll look at it. So actually a matter of fact, I haven't seen it now in months now, since we traveled a bunch, so when I get home, I might have to lay eyes on it before I come to Springfield.
Incredibly happy for you that you have that ring, Incredibly happy for you for what awaits this coming week, huge week for you. You've got a restaurant opening at THEFW and then we all make our way to Springfield for this incredible ceremony.
Still can't believe it's happening.
But huge, hugely grateful to catch up with you today and have you on the show, and thank you honestly for I mean, there's no thank yous I can say. They're sufficient for the twenty five years that you've let me pester you. I actually been thinking about it that September is going to be twenty five years since I came to work word for the first time, which is just what happened to us.
Man.
Yeah, no, thank you, thank you for coming along on this journey. And you know, at the beginning we kind of, you know, we both started talk soccer and we had a great bond there and so I really appreciate you being a part of this journey and it's been, uh, it's been so much fun. So thanks thanks to you as well for being part Dirk Navitski.
Everyone the future Hall of Famer, and future means only one week. A week from today, you will be eternally referred to as the Hall of Famer Jerk Davitski.
And that'll do it for us. See you next time. This league un Cuttage and iHeartRadio production Christine and Mark Stein