DALLAS (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Nicolas Brussino may not have played a lot of minutes for Argentina or the Dallas Mavericks over the past year, but don't let that fooled into thinking he does not have a bright future in the sport.

Don't think the sweet-shooting, 2.00m Brussino has been wasting his time, either.

Aside from the fact that it's already an achievement to make the rosters of both an Olympic team and an NBA side, Brussino has had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greatest players ever in the sport: Luis Scola, Manu Ginobili and Dirk Nowitzki.

Brussino, an NBA rookie, has watched Germany's Nowitzki, a true icon, go about his business all season long in practices and games.

He has witnessed on a daily basis the work ethic of the FIBA EuroBasket 2005 MVP, 2007 NBA MVP and 2011 NBA champion who recently surpassed the 30,000-point plateau in his NBA career.

"For me it's a huge privilege to play with such an amazing player," Brussino said to FIBA.com. "He is one of the best players ever, so there is so much to learn about him and the way he plays basketball. He's a legend. To be able to score 30,000 points in an NBA career is such an incredible achievement. 

The golden generation did so many amazing things and it won’t be easy to reach their level, but we will keep working hard to also achieve great things and write our own historyBrussino

"I learn a lot from him but also a lot from every one of my teammates. Every guy on the team has talent. They work in different ways and I am trying to learn from every one of them.

"For example, I like to see what their routine is, how they work out and play in practice, things like this are very important for a new guy like me. I always want to learn and improve and it's so great to have so many talented guys around you that you can learn from."

In the build-up to Rio de Janeiro and at the Olympics, Brussino deepened his appreciation for other icons, his compatriots Ginobili and Scola. They were among the players that he looked up to while growing up.

"I always tried to learn and get moves from observing a lot of different players," he said. "I always liked Manu Ginobili and also some players that were playing in the Argentinian league like Paolo Quinteros, whom I played with. I was able to play with some of my childhood idols and I always tried to learn from them."

Quinteros played a key role for Argentina when they won the Bronze Medal Game at the 2008 Olympics while four years before, Ginobili was the MVP of the Athens Games. Brussino who was only 11 years old when Argentina won the Olympic title.

 Brussino played alongside Argentina great Manu Ginobili in Rio

"I was at my parents' house, watching the Olympic Games with my family," Brussino remembered. "What they did was something unimaginable. It was the highest point in the history of our sport and the whole country was so happy for this great achievement. Basketball in Argentina grew up a lot with the golden generation. What they did during the last 15 years was just unbelievable."

Brussino has an opportunity to help keep Argentina among the elite teams in international basketball. He wants to play at the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 and dreams of winning Olympic gold and a world title. Brussino says Argentina have a lot of work to do to contend for those honors.

"I think we have some talented players and ingredients to make a good team, but we lack some experience," Brussino said. "We have a young core of players that are still getting used to the highest level and we are working on having a great team chemistry.

"I am looking forward to it as I am sure the team is going to be competitive soon. The golden generation did so many amazing things and it won’t be easy to reach their level, but we will keep working hard to also achieve great things and write our own history. They left a legacy and we have to inspire ourselves with some of the things they brought to Argentinian basketball, but we also have to make our own history."

FIBA