There will never be another Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki is unquestionably the best player in Dallas Mavericks history and a future Hall of Famer, but now at age 38 and his health beginning to fail him, Dirk himself has admitted to contemplating retirement. This should come as no surprise given that he'll turn 39 in June and he has nothing left to prove. After all, he's widely considered the greatest foreign-born player in NBA history, made 13 All-Star Games, won an NBA MVP and Finals MVP, and brought home the first championship in Mavericks history.
Welcome back to the Yardbarker roundtable, where we hope this isn't Dirk's final act. After all, few characters in the Association have been as entertaining and full of joy as Nowitzki during his career, and while he won't participate in the NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive year, it's only right to honor the man who participated in 13 straight All-Star competitions from 2002-2015 just in case we don't see him on hardwood again after this season.
If this is Dirk’s last go-around, what’s your favorite wacky Dirk story or fact?
Alex Wong: I don't have any wacky Dirk stories or facts so I will defer to everyone else to come through on this one, but I will say I'll always respect how Dirk has a sense of humor on Twitter. It says a lot about him:
Sam Greszes: There are too many to count, but for me, the best Dirk moment ever was when he dressed up as Lurch for Halloween. It was just perfect.
Jason Clinkscales: Fact: Dirk may be the greatest guest analyst in NBA history. “Shut it dowwwwwwn! Let's go hooooooome!”
Daniel Tran: Dirk is everyone’s favorite NBA goofball. Maybe it’s his deep voice, and German-accent, but not even his fans of his fiercest rivals can lob hate at him, especially when he’s providing color commentary for Mavs broadcasts.
Sometimes when Nowitzki was out with an injury, he could provide end-of-the-bench observations for the Mavericks TV broadcast. The results were unsurprisingly hilarious. From calling a shot “short bus” to exclaiming that the game was over after a monster dunk from Brandon Wright, Dirk sounds like every trash-talking pickup game player in country. I will always love him for that.
Sean Keane: I love that after the 2006 Finals loss, Dirk and Jason Terry basically got drunk for three weeks. Dirk said Terry would pick him up in a party bus almost every day and that somehow they ended up in Vegas. And then the team was so hung over, they only won 67 games the next season.
Shiloh Carder: Honestly, when I look back and think of Dirk, I think of his hairstyles. Whether it was the frosted look when he was drafted (thanks, Steve Nash), his shaggy look, the shaved look, his Grizzly Adams beard or the Shaggy from Scooby-Doo look, dude had some of the best hair in NBA history. And all his looks go up there with Dennis Rodman's painted hair, Anthony Mason's words and designs shaved into his head, Chris Andersen's spiked hair, Dr. J's afro, Allen Iverson's cornrows, or Dwayne Schintzius' mullet.
Demetrius Bell: We always wonder about what it would be like when stars in one sport decided to try their hand at another. Dirk Nowitzki once tried his hand at soccer. It was hilarious.
David Matthews: I think Dirk's whole story is great: German teen moves to Texas and becomes franchise greatest player as well as a pillar of the community is so bizarre, but it's wonderful. However, my favorite wacky Dirk fact is probably that he gave Craig Sager a lock of his hair a few years ago when he buzzed his locks off. Says a lot about both of them, I think.
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