Fadeaway helped Mavericks’ Nowitzki develop into one of game’s greats
Dwane Casey was asked about his three years as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks when the topic turned to Dirk Nowitzki.
A Mavs’ assistant from 2008 through the team’s 2011 championship season, Casey saw firsthand the type of extra work Nowitzki put in daily to become one of the game’s all-time great players.
“He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around,” said Casey, now the Raptors coach. “The word ‘work’ describes him. He’s made himself into a great player.”
He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. The word ‘work’ describes him. He’s made himself into a great player.
Raptors coach and former Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey on Dirk Nowitzki
Casey recalls the times when Nowitzki and his personal coach and mentor from Germany, Holger Geschwindner, would constantly work on trying to perfect his game.
“He’s back in late at night, he’s there until 9:30 or 10,” Casey recalled. “We always thought we had to change the locks on the gym to keep him and Holger out.”
Nowitzki is on the verge of passing Shaquille O’Neal to become the No. 6 all-time scorer in NBA history. But former NBA player Dennis Scott believes Nowitzki also belongs in another special category.
He’s earned everything that he’s achieved and he’s going to go down as one of the greatest big men shooters that ever played the game.
Casey on Nowitzki
“I just asked Dirk, do you realize Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] arguably had the best shot in all of sports,” said Scott, an analyst with NBA TV. “But they’re starting to say Dirk’s one-leg, step-back jumper is No. 2.
“At first we thought about it, but it is. And we’re not just saying that because he’s still playing.”
Players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are among those who have added Nowitzki’s fadeaway jumper to their game.
“I can’t think of another shot that’s been unstoppable in our game today or in the past,” Scott said. “I just told Dirk everybody is using it because if you can shoot, it’s all about creating space, and Dirk’s the best at that.”
Casey agreed that Nowitzki’s favorite shot will be long remembered.
“It’s amazing what he can do with the lack of athleticism that he has,” Casey said. “He does it with length, he does it with rhythm, and he does it with total shooting skills more so than athleticism.
“But he’s one of those guys that you want on your team because he’s a warrior on top of the hard work. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve been around. He’s earned everything that he’s achieved and he’s going to go down as one of the greatest big men shooters that ever played the game.”
Toronto host city
Toronto will host the NBA All-Star game in February, and Mavs owner Mark Cuban couldn’t be happier for the only franchise not located in the United States.
This will be the first time the NBA has held the All-Star game outside of the United States.
“It’s a great city,” Cuban said. “It’s probably one of the two most underrated NBA cities just because people know it’s a big city, but they don’t know how big it is.
“It’s a lot bigger than Dallas. It just has a global feel to it, so you can come up here ... and it’s almost like you’re in Europe.”
Dallas last hosted All-Star Weekend in 2010, with a crowd of 108,713 attending the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. It’s the largest crowd to attend a basketball game in the U.S.
Cuban said he would like to bring the midseason classic back to North Texas as soon as possible.
“We should start pushing for it and start bringing it back,” Cuban said. “Start doing an analysis. It’s been five years.”
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Fadeaway helped Mavericks’ Nowitzki develop into one of game’s greats."