Germany goes cock-a-hoop for returning NBA hero Dirk

DIRK NOWITZKI, the German playmaker who led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA Finals victory, admitted he was “overwhelmed” by the response as he came back to his tiny home city Wuerzburg yesterday.

The 33-year-old, voted the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals win over Miami Heat, made his first appearance in Germany 16 days after his team’s triumph and was greeted by a crowd of 3,000 fans at the city’s basketball stadium.

“It’s absolutely overwhelming what’s going on here,” said the visibly moved Nowitzki upon returning to the Franconia city of Wuerzburg, 120km from Frankfurt.