LeBron James Responds to Dirk Nowitzki's Message on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 22, 2025 8:28 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Hall of Famer Steve Nash spoke about the "nail iso," a play that Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki mastered during his legendary career, on the "Mind the Game" podcast.

Nowitzki, who was teammates with Nash on the Mavericks and faced James in the 2011 NBA Finals, saw James and Nash speak about the "nail iso" play and decided to dive into it.

"Hey LeBron and Steve, thanks for the shout-out. I appreciate it," Nowitzki said. "You know, the nail iso thing started when teams, of course, switched a lot. Switched my pick and rolls a lot. And by the time I rolled the little guy down to the block, somebody else would run over and back switch from the weak side.

"And then you're deep in the clock. By the time I turn around, I have another big on me. And so, we thought of a way to have the mismatch iso against the little guy without, you know, the whole back switch.

"So the easiest was just after a high pick and roll, just to give me the ball right there on the nail. ... Wherever I would catch the ball, I would just turn around and probably shoot over the smaller defender."

James, the leading scorer in NBA history, saw Nowitzki's message to him and Nash and posted a reaction on X.

"So goood!!!!!" James said in the post. "Thank you for the great insight and mind of the game we all love @swish41 "

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year's playoffs in five games.

It will be fascinating to see if James and Nash ask Nowitzki to be a guest on their podcast in the future.

Basketball fans would certainly be in for a treat if three NBA icons spoke together about the game they love.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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