Motley recalls Nowitzki era in Dallas and admiration for Dwight Howard / News - Basketnews.com

Johnathan Motley named his toughest opponents: Tonye Jekiri in Europe and Nikola Jokic in the NBA.

Credit: Euroleague.net Credit Euroleague.net

The most in-form center in the EuroLeague and one of the main contributors to Fenerbahce's impressive start, Johnathan Motley, sat down with Antonis Kalkavouras of Gazzetta.gr to talk about the inspiration he received from Dirk Nowitzki, admiration for Dwight Howard, and other topics.

Johnathan Motley

MIN:23.56PTS:15.86 (70.21%)REB:6.14As:1.71ST:0.57BL:0.57TO:1.71GM:7ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

Although Motley was born and raised in Houston and took his first basketball steps in the era of Yao Ming, he is not declaring himself a big fan of his hometown team.

"To tell you the truth, I was never a fan of the Houston Rockets. Of course, I watched a lot of NBA growing up in Houston. I knew all about the contribution and legacy that Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming left for the city's basketball," he started.

"Especially the second one I caught him playing in his prime. But the player I admired from a young age and tried to imitate was always Dwight Howard. When he signed with the Rockets, I was thrilled and often went to see him at home games," Motley added.

Arguably the most exciting EuroLeague rookie so far spent three years in the NBA environment before experiencing his first taste of overseas ball.

The 27-year-old center represented the Dallas Mavericks in the pre-Luka era (2017-18) when legendary Dirk Nowitzki was in his final years. What was the experience to work with one of the all-time greats?

"Great experience to be with Dirk every day, sharing the same locker room and seeing his daily routine in training. I saw him playing in the penultimate season of his career when he was 39 years old, and I witnessed him making more than 40 consecutive three-pointers off the dribble many times.

So what could he have been doing when he was 26? He was an incredible guy who combined his tremendous skills on the court with his lovable character. That is why he has left such a strong mark on the Mavericks organization," Motley shared insights from his year in Dallas.

Then Motley expressed his opinion on the toughest opponent he has ever faced.

"In Europe, I would say, my teammate Tonye Jekiri. I competed with him last year in Lokomotiv-UNICS matches. I was very happy when I found out that this year we will be playing together.

In the NBA, Nikola Jokic by far. The guy is huge and very strong and has his own unique way of affecting the game," Fenerbahce's top scorer said.

A top player in the world right now?

"I am 50/50 between Luka and Giannis. As you can tell from the dominance of so many Europeans in the NBA, there is some really great basketball here."

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