--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My whole first season was surreal. My…" description: "\"My whole first season was surreal. My first game was against Detlef Schrempf. There was German media everywhere. It was probably my worst NBA game. It ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png" --- # My whole first season was surreal. My first game was… ![“My whole first season was surreal. My first game was against Detlef Schrempf. There was German media everywhere. It was probably my worst NBA game. It was all a blur.” quote by Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png) > “My whole first season was surreal. My first game was against Detlef Schrempf. There was German media everywhere. It was probably my worst NBA game. It was all a blur.” [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He recounts his early NBA experience as overwhelming and disorienting, highlighting the pressure and unfamiliar environment of professional sports. **In simple terms:** His first season felt chaotic and hard to focus on. Key Takeaway Prepare mentally for new challenges and seek support. Themes sports adaptation pressure growth Mood reflective determined Type motivational autobiographical When to use this quote - first professional game - media scrutiny - team integration - personal development Key Concepts Performance anxiety cultural adjustment learning curve Questions to Reflect On - What lessons did you take from that difficult start? - How can athletes better manage early career stress? A Different Perspective The focus on a single negative game may overlook later successes and learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [NBA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nba/) [Surreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surreal/) ## Related quotes > [Guys joke with me that Milwaukee is one of the worst NBA cities, but I take pride in being from Milwaukee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevon-looney/guys-joke-with-me-that-milwaukee-is-one-of-the-worst-nba-cities-but-i/) [Kevon Looney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevon-looney/) > [When I came in the NBA, it was more a U.S. game. Now you can watch the NBA anywhere in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vlade-divac/when-i-came-in-the-nba-it-was-more-a-u-s-game-now-you-can-watch-the/) [Vlade Divac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vlade-divac/) > [I like the NBA game as a spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-rubio/i-like-the-nba-game-as-a-spectator/) [Ricky Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-rubio/) > [You can run as much as you like or ride the bike as much as you want, but playing in an NBA game is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caris-levert/you-can-run-as-much-as-you-like-or-ride-the-bike-as-much-as-you-want/) [Caris LeVert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caris-levert/) > [There will always be a certain segment of the population who turns on an NBA game or turns on a college game and hears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-burke/there-will-always-be-a-certain-segment-of-the-population-who-turns-on/) [Doris Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-burke/) > [Just to be able to play one minute in an NBA game, I'm grateful for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zion-williamson/just-to-be-able-to-play-one-minute-in-an-nba-game-i-m-grateful-for/) [Zion Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zion-williamson/) > [I kind of know the standard of what I need to do to be successful in the NBA game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-oubre-jr/i-kind-of-know-the-standard-of-what-i-need-to-do-to-be-successful-in/) [Kelly Oubre, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-oubre-jr/) > [There are so many pick and rolls in an NBA game. It's so hard to guard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-budenholzer/there-are-so-many-pick-and-rolls-in-an-nba-game-it-s-so-hard-to-guard/) [Mike Budenholzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-budenholzer/) > [My first NBA game was in Paris. It was Miami against the Nets, and Vince Carter was playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-fournier/my-first-nba-game-was-in-paris-it-was-miami-against-the-nets-and/) [Evan Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-fournier/) > [I wrote six versions of a 30-second tease for an NBA game. You never get it right on the first try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tirico/i-wrote-six-versions-of-a-30-second-tease-for-an-nba-game-you-never/) [Mike Tirico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tirico/) > [It was kind of good to get my feet wet with my first NBA game. I felt comfortable out there, let the game come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiggins/it-was-kind-of-good-to-get-my-feet-wet-with-my-first-nba-game-i-felt/) [Andrew Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiggins/) > [Until you're a rookie, you don't know what NBA game shape is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-kuzma/until-you-re-a-rookie-you-don-t-know-what-nba-game-shape-is/) [Kyle Kuzma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-kuzma/) > [Just seeing the progression, the evolution of the NBA game, I feel like you have a lot of big men shooting 3s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-horford/just-seeing-the-progression-the-evolution-of-the-nba-game-i-feel-like/) [Al Horford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-horford/) > [I haven't been to too many basketball games before and watching an NBA game with some of the sport's biggest stars present was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-bivol/i-haven-t-been-to-too-many-basketball-games-before-and-watching-an/) [Dmitry Bivol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-bivol/) > [The NBA game is a different game, and that's one of the things that intrigued me is it's learning and growing in a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-donovan/the-nba-game-is-a-different-game-and-that-s-one-of-the-things-that/) [Billy Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-donovan/) ## More by Dirk Nowitzki > [It's fun being around guys that want to work, that want to learn, that want to get better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/it-s-fun-being-around-guys-that-want-to-work-that-want-to-learn-that/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I want to see myself as a student. Keep learning, keep improving, keep your eyes and ears open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-want-to-see-myself-as-a-student-keep-learning-keep-improving-keep/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I was never a great screen and roller, obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-was-never-a-great-screen-and-roller-obviously/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I take my sport damned seriously. Basketball is my life. There are other people who go into important games as if they were any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-take-my-sport-damned-seriously-basketball-is-my-life-there-are/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [As a newcomer, I was often expected to carry the bags of the older players, or get them burgers. That can make you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/as-a-newcomer-i-was-often-expected-to-carry-the-bags-of-the-older/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [You know what time it is mav nation. Let's do this. Big game at aac. We bleed blue. See u guys there tonight. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/you-know-what-time-it-is-mav-nation-let-s-do-this-big-game-at-aac-we/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I felt, when I was 20, I wasn't quite ready for the physical contact of 82 games. Mentally, it was tough. I forgot what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-felt-when-i-was-20-i-wasn-t-quite-ready-for-the-physical-contact-of/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I started to play the guitar for a couple of years, which was fun. I still bring it out once in a while, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-started-to-play-the-guitar-for-a-couple-of-years-which-was-fun-i/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [As a star you never know when people are really serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/as-a-star-you-never-know-when-people-are-really-serious/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I think different guys have different priorities. For me, it was always important to be in one spot, one city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-think-different-guys-have-different-priorities-for-me-it-was-always/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I lost control of myself a couple times in the playoffs. I have to keep cooler in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-lost-control-of-myself-a-couple-times-in-the-playoffs-i-have-to/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [Dirk nowitzki is the key to everything in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/dirk-nowitzki-is-the-key-to-everything-in-life/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [The only advice I would give young guys is to keep your ears and eyes open. Never see yourself as a finished product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/the-only-advice-i-would-give-young-guys-is-to-keep-your-ears-and-eyes/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [When I think about my MVP season, I will also think about the loss to Golden State. But winning the award as Most Valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/when-i-think-about-my-mvp-season-i-will-also-think-about-the-loss-to/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) > [I try to stay away, but In-N-Out, you just can't compare it. It's the best. It's the best. It's healthy fast food; they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/i-try-to-stay-away-but-in-n-out-you-just-can-t-compare-it-it-s-the/) [Dirk Nowitzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) [Explore all 61 Dirk Nowitzki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/) ## More Blur quotes > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I liked playing Morph in Mash and Peas and doing Phil Daniels in the Blur Rock Profile was a giggle too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-putner/i-liked-playing-morph-in-mash-and-peas-and-doing-phil-daniels-in-the/) Paul Putner > [One foot in front of the other, counting tiles on the floor so I don't have to focus the blur of painted smiles, fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/one-foot-in-front-of-the-other-counting-tiles-on-the-floor-so-i-don-t/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [The camera has an interest in turning history into spectacle, but none in reversing the process. At best, the picture leaves a vague blur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-donoghue/the-camera-has-an-interest-in-turning-history-into-spectacle-but-none/) [Denis Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-donoghue/) > [There were some great bands in the 90s like Blur and Oasis, The Stone Roses and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/there-were-some-great-bands-in-the-90s-like-blur-and-oasis-the-stone/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Photoshop your life. Touch up the edges, adjust the tones, blur out the background, focus on yourself, and crop people out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/photoshop-your-life-touch-up-the-edges-adjust-the-tones-blur-out-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Graffiti is like building a career. And there is a dialogue with the other artists out there mostly fellow writers because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaws/graffiti-is-like-building-a-career-and-there-is-a-dialogue-with-the/) [KAWS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaws/) > [Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It's like the tide going out, revealing whatever's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/love-blurs-your-vision-but-after-it-recedes-you-can-see-more-clearly/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Opposites blur and become one. If you open your mind, that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wesselhoeft/opposites-blur-and-become-one-if-you-open-your-mind-that-is/) [Conrad Wesselhoeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wesselhoeft/) > [Life was a freight train barreling toward just one stop, our loved ones streaking past our windows in blurs of color and light. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/life-was-a-freight-train-barreling-toward-just-one-stop-our-loved/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The differences between a tart, a pie and a quiche are a blur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/the-differences-between-a-tart-a-pie-and-a-quiche-are-a-blur/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Equipped with cell phones, beepers, and handheld computers, the 'conspicuously industrious' blur the line between home and office by working anytime, anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-davis/equipped-with-cell-phones-beepers-and-handheld-computers-the/) [Jo Ann Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-davis/) > [Do you know how many ways love can hit you? So it makes you happy, or miserable? It makes you sick in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/do-you-know-how-many-ways-love-can-hit-you-so-it-makes-you-happy-or/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) Browse all 275 Blur quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My whole first season was surreal. My first game was against Detlef Schrempf. There was German media everywhere. It was probably my worst NBA game. It was all a blur.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dirk Nowitzki" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-first-game-was-against-detlef/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blur" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-first-game-was-against-detlef/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/dirk-nowitzki-11188_blur_my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-fir_525529.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My whole first season was surreal. My first game was against Detlef Schrempf. There was German media…” — Dirk Nowitzki", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dirk Nowitzki", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-nowitzki/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My whole first season was surreal....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-first-game-was-against-detlef/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-nowitzki/my-whole-first-season-was-surreal-my-first-game-was-against-detlef/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```