German NBA player Isaiah Hartenstein said that Dirk Nowitzki’s title 14 years ago was a cornerstone for his own NBA title with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Seeing him make it happen gave me confidence that if he could do it, I could do it too. Thank you Dirk,” Hartenstein said after the 103-91 win against the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday evening.

The win sealed the franchise’s first NBA Championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008.

Hartenstein is, after Nowitzki, the second German player to win the NBA title. He was born in Eugene, Oregon, but holds a German citizenship. His father is German and Hartenstein lived in Germany from 2008 to 2017.

“Dirk has done so much for German basketball and to be in the same sentence as him now is something special,” the newly-crowned champion said.

Nowitzki won the NBA title in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks.

Source: dpa.com