He is a hybrid, a new dimension all unto himself, a Teutonic giant who shoots rainbows with the touch of a feather - Germany's answer to Larry Bird and more - a 7-foot wunderkind.

He is the face of a franchise that lies deep in the heart of Texas - far away from the Fatherland - an irony that is never lost here in Big D amid the cowboy hats and deep-twang accents, in a town where T-shirts are sold that read "Dirk is My Homeboy."

Dirk Nowitzki is that and much more, and as he steps into the harsh spotlight this week on the biggest stage of his career, Nowitzki is not only the man who will try to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA title but also perhaps the future of the NBA itself.

"The game is changing and the rules are changing," said Miami center Shaquille O'Neal, whose Heat will face the problems Nowitzki's rare mobility presents. "The NBA centers are going more toward the European player. I tell my kids you won't be able to play the game your daddy played. It's becoming a different game.

"Nowitzki is where the big-man game will be in four or five years. When you talk great big men, it will be based on whether guys can play like Dirk or not. Stepping out, shooting the three, midrange game and the low-post game. I'm going to actually let my children watch his game."

Nowitzki was overwhelmed by O'Neal's comments.

"That's pretty sweet," said Nowitzki, a forward who can also play center.

Nowitzki presents a near-impossible matchup for teams because of his height, mobility and ability to shoot.

"He's a tough cover," Mavericks Coach Avery Johnson said. "I believe what Shaq said. The game is moving more to a quicker pace, and a lot of your power forwards can play small forwards and in some instances your power forwards can play centers. The game is changing."

And so has Nowitzki. He is a different player - thanks in part to Johnson, who demanded that Nowitzki play more of an inside role with the Mavericks, pushing him this season to change his game and become an inside and outside threat.

Nowitzki pushed himself as well and has more than vindicated himself from last year's playoffs, when he not only felt he failed his team but also was ripped in the media for pointing fingers at his teammates during Dallas' flop in playoffs, which ended with a loss to Phoenix.

"Obviously, last year in the playoffs was tough on me," said Nowitzki, who tried to take a leadership role by challenging his teammates. But when he failed to come through on the court as well, he looked petty.

Johnson spoke to him about being a leader by example, about what it takes to command the respect of your teammates.

It's a little amazing Nowitzki found his way to the NBA from Wurzburg, Germany. Nine years ago, his high school coach, Holger Geschwindner, put together a grainy 15-minute tape of the pencil-thin kid having his way with the junior leagues of his country.

Nowitzki, whose father was a handball player and whose mother played for the German women's national basketball team, was always drawn to basketball, and by the time he was a teenager, he was one of the top young players in Europe.

It was Nowitzki's father's idea to put together the tape and send it to colleges in America. Several college coaches were interested.

Milwaukee had the insight to take Nowitzki with the ninth pick in the 1998 draft but then traded him to Dallas for Robert "Tractor" Traylor in what has to be the worst trade in Bucks history.

He made the leap from Wurzburg to the NBA at 20. Today, he is arguably the best player in Mavericks history.

Nowitzki caught the attention of the NBA world in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Suns when he rebounded from his worst game of the season (11 points in a Game 4 loss) to score 50 points - 33 in the second half in a game that turned the series around.

Johnson said he thinks Nowitzki will be even better in the finals.

"Coming into this season, I knew he could get more three-point plays in the paint," Johnson said. "He bought into it, and we'll keep trying to push him to that next level."

Nowitzki would just like to change the course of Mavericks history - and forget last year's playoffs, which he said have stayed with him.

"I just remember the whole disappointing run," he said. "We never really showed how good of a team we were in the playoffs. As a team, we weren't on top of our game, and that was disappointing to all of us.

"So we really had one focus in mind that when the playoffs come around in April and May we want to be the best team we could be. That's what we worked on all summer and season long - to be the best we could be."

Article courtesy of www.fiba.com