Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is leaving
One of the best players to ever play the game of basketball, Nowitzki will truly be missed once he does decide to hang it up for good. He was looked up to by many current NBA players as kids growing up, as Dirk has been playing in the league since the 1998-99 season.
On their 2011 NBA Championship run, Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks defeated a young Oklahoma City Thunder team 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. Nowitzki averaged 32.2 points per game in this series, and it was the first ever playoff matchup between these two teams. Per Travis Singleton, Dirk spoke on this 2011 series with the Thunder after Sunday's game. “We won against an unbelievably talented team, obviously with three later MVP’s, we were able to pull it out as a team, " he said. "You guys know it’s an amazing atmosphere in this building here. To win here is tough, the crowd is amazing, they live for the Thunder here.”
Since that NBA Western Conference Finals loss, the Thunder have gone 8-1 against the Mavericks in the playoffs, defeating them twice in first round matchups.
Before Sunday’s game, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was asked to speak on what Nowitzki has meant to the game of basketball. “He has changed the way the power forward position is looked at now. He came along, being seven feet and his ability to shoot the ball and his skill package offensively of what he could do and how he could play, I think now you see every team having a guy as a stretch four-man, he probably has a lot to do with that,” Donovan said. “I think if you look at him and what he did throughout his career in Dallas, I think in a lot of ways he changed that position."
In what was probably Dirk’s last game against the Thunder, he once again came out on top. Oklahoma City fell to Dallas 106-103 in a crucial game for playoff seeding. Dirk had a season-high 13 rebounds in this game, along with seven points. Those 13 rebounds are tied for the most in a game for Nowitzki since November of 2015.
Many Thunder players spoke highly of Dirk following what was presumably their last time ever competing against him. Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Dennis Schroder was gifted an autographed jersey from Dirk after the game. Schroder, just like Nowitzki, was born and raised in Germany.
In the locker room after the game, Schroder spoke with the media about Dirk’s impact on the game.“He changed the game for Germany and internationally as well. Amazing career, the best four-man I think has ever played,” Schroder said. “What he did for Germany and basketball is big. Somebody like me, people growing up in Germany, believing in themselves, watching him and do what he did, it’s big."
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook also had great things to say about Nowitzki when being asked to talk about Dirk's career, saying, “[It's] amazing. He’s done so much for Dallas, brought them a championship. I had some great battles against their team. He’s done a lot for the game and for Germany.”
Dirk Nowitzki is a living legend and future Hall of Famer. Assuming this is his final season, he played his last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder by making enough of an impact to help the Dallas Mavericks pull out a victory. As fans lined up along the visitor’s tunnel to get photos and autographs, we all watched Dirk walk off the court at Chesapeake Energy Arena one last time on Sunday.
