An NBA legend’s jersey is being retired. Here’s what to know about Dirk Nowitzki
Nestled between Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA’s all-time scoring list stands a man whose outline is shadow-shaped on the hardwood of the American Airlines Center, arched and forever leaning back.
No, make that fading back.
Dirk Nowitzki’s signature shot helped him score 31,560 points in 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks — the sixth-most in NBA history — and on Wednesday night, No. 41 will be raised into the rafters, casting its own shadow over the AAC.
In Dallas, he’s a legend, that’s no debate. His loyalty is unmatched and after he pushed the Mavericks over the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade led Miami Heat for the 2011 NBA crown, his status grew. He’s ranked No. 19 among the league’s greatest players, according to ESPN, and has the numbers to back it: 15 playoff appearances, one championship, 14-time All-Star selections, career averages of 20.7 points per game, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, plus 1,522 season games played and 145 playoff game appearances.
But could his career be considered underrated, however?
“What’s underrated about Dirk is his ability to live in two different eras of basketball,” Southern Methodist University sports analytics professor Edward Egros said to McClatchy News. “For his career, Dirk took 76% of all of his shots from two-point range, with 66% of his overall shots being considered mid-range. Given he made roughly one point per shot from that part of the floor, almost no one would’ve criticized shot selection.
“Toward the end of his career, basketball was becoming more three-centric, but Dirk went from having a three-point rate of 20.2% to start his career to 54.5% his final season. He adjusted with the times. The best ones do.”
Here’s a look at his stellar career, by the numbers:
19.1 percent
The Mavericks as a franchise had 18 seasons under their belt prior to the drafting of the Big German, making playoff appearances only six times, of which they managed to make it out of the first round just three times.
Playoff wins halted for a quiet nine seasons before Dirk’s arrival in 1998.
According to HoopsHype, Dallas carried a 41.1 win percentage before Dirk, which shifted dramatically upward — by 19.1 percent — with him, giving the Mavs a 919-606 record and a 60.2 win percentage.
Expectations ran high from the start with Dirk, which weighed heavy on his shoulders.
“His rookie year was shaky because Coach Nelson put a target on his back by saying he would be Rookie of the Year,” Cedric Ceballos, former Dallas Mavericks forward, said according to D Magazine. “Every team and player was gunning for him. I thought it would be better to let him sneak up on the league.”
It would take Dirk a heavy minute to find his footing, but when he did, he carried the Mavericks to the second-best win percentage during his two-decade reign, HoopsHype reported.
Two-and-a-half seasons
Two-and-a-half seasons, from 1998 through 2001.
That’s all it took before the Mavericks returned to the playoff race after a nine-year void, gliding in on Dirk’s average of 21.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game during the 2000-01 season, the Dallas Morning News said.
His face brought on an avalanche of angst for those outside the Dallas fanbase, this floppy-haired European whose name was quickly moving up the NBA ranks even though the Mavs were knocked out during the Western Conference semifinals by the San Antonio Spurs.
33.3 points
In the 2001-02 playoffs, the numbers didn’t lie. With his average of 33.3 points, Dirk made his presence known in the first round of Western Conference, proving to be a “pervicacious road block” in the path of the Minnesota Timberwolves, whom were swept aside with ease in three games.
The cherry crowning Game 3 being Dirk’s 39 points.
Dallas lost in the next round to the Sacramento Kings, but a message had been sent: This guy was a problem.
9.1 seconds
The 2005-2006 season might as well be a cussword in Dallas, courtesy of the Miami Heat.
The Mavericks, having blown a 2-0 lead against the Heat in their first NBA Finals appearance, found a shortlived hero in Dirk’s 19-footer with 9.1 seconds remaining in OT during a crucial Game 5, which pushed Dallas up 100-99.
Mavericks fans know what happened next.
With 1.9 seconds remaining, Dirk was called for fouling Dwyane Wade, who made both free throws, giving Miami the lead, which they would take advantage of later, eventually winning the title.
While it was certainly soul-shattering for Dallas, it proved that Dirk could elevate a team and take them on a deep postseason run in the post season without a slew of surrounding star power, HoopsHype said.
“The second-leading scorer on that team behind Nowitzki (who put up 26.6 points nightly that season) was the solid Jason Terry, who never made an All-Star appearance in his career (though he was a one-time Sixth Man of the Year), HoopsHype reported. “And that team’s third-leading scorer? Josh Howard, a one-time All-Star who was averaging 8.4 points per game merely five years after Dallas’ 2005-06 run.”
4 games to 2
Dirk and the Mavericks finally put it all together with a surprising win over the Heat to win the 2011 NBA championship. His accomplishments during this special season were many.
He led the Mavs to the playoff despite missing nine games with a knee sprain
He helped them sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in the second-round of the playoffs
He put up 40 points during Game 4 of the Western Conference finals that helped the Mavs overcome a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder (they took the game in OT)
The Game 2 winning left-handed layup he made against the heavily-favored Heat in the NBA Finals
Overcoming the flu — and the mock coughing of James and Wade — to lead the Mavericks to their first NBA title. 4 games to 2.
“I think he realized that we had a complete team and this was his one real shot to really go after it, and he did that,” former Mavs teammate Tyson Chandler said of Nowitzki to D Magazine. “He was so locked in that entire season and especially when it came to playoffs, there was such an intensity around him. He’s not an intense person, but you felt it. You felt how important it is, you felt how locked in he was.”
30,000 points
The cries from the crowd could have metaphorically blown the roof off the AAC with 10:57 remaining in the first half of the Mavericks game against the visiting Lakers on March 7, 2017.
The roars followed Dirk’s signature fade away over Larry Nance Jr, marking his place in NBA history: 30,000 points.
Before going into the historic night, Dirk needed 20 points in order to become the sixth all-time leading scorer and like in years past, the pressure was on.
“On a night like tonight where there’s such anticipation, your crazy marketing people have these 30K shirts all over the seats this morning, and somebody said something to me about that – the pressure,’’ then coach Rick Carlisle said “And my response is simply this, that this is a guy that lives for these kinds of moments.”
Carlisle then told the story when Dirk was going to throw in the first pitch in one of the Rangers’ World Series games. He was in the car with someone who was talking to Dirk.
“He had him on the speaker and he said, ‘Hey, don’t let the pressure get to you tonight when you’re throwing out that first pitch.’ And Dirk had a one-sentence response: ‘I make love to pressure.’ ’’
It’s been almost three years since Dirk finished his career, and the fans in Dallas-Fort Worth refuse to let his memory fade away, honoring him every chance they get. And every time they do, it’s always in emotional fashion.
Don’t expect Wednesday to be any different as Dirk’s No. 41 jersey is retired, high above the very court he ruled.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 5:00 AM.