Dirk Nowitzki and then-girlfriend Jessica Olsson turned heads at the 2011 ESPYs with their on-stage kiss at their first big public appearance together.
Fellow NBA players were quick to notice -- and tweet about -- how they contrasted. Olsson was plenty shorter than the pasty 7-foot Mavericks forward from Germany. And she was black.
In an interview with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the couple opened up for the first time about the racial dynamics of their relationship and raising biracial children.
One of the article's most striking scenes comes as Dirk took part in a traditional Kenyan wedding ceremony (his wife's mother is Kenyan, her father is Swedish).