By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Redemption is the theme for Maxi Kleber, from finally staying healthy throughout the season to the Dallas Mavericks bouncing back after missing the cut for the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Kleber, 31, did not represent Germany in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He instead focused on getting ready for the 2023-24 NBA Regular Season, his seventh campaign in Dallas.
“I wanted to make sure I was healthy,” he told Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com referring to the right hamstring tear and having surgery in December. He returned to action in March but was far from 100% for the rest of the 2022-23 Regular Season. To make matters worse, his side ranked 11th in the Western Conference with the 38-44 tally falling short of the Playoffs or a Play-In berth.
“Obviously, there’s a certain feeling of that chip on your shoulder, because last year obviously was very disappointing,” confessed the German power forward, “We want to move on from that. We have a lot to prove and make up for. It’s not going to be easy. The league is really competitive and has a lot of good teams. But we believe in ourselves and we want to make up for what happened last year.”
Wrapping up the 2023 NBA Preseason, the Mavericks will face the Detroit Pistons on Friday. They previously played in Abu Dhabi and Madrid, losing all three exhibition games to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Real Madrid. Kleber averaged 1.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
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