Lakers praise Nowitzki after statue unveiling
DALLAS >> There’s no other pose that would make sense for Dirk Nowitzki.
When Dallas unveiled the massive white bronze statue in the plaza outside American Airlines Center, it represented an iconic move for the 7-foot German: at a slant, ball cocked almost behind his head, ready to launch one of his thousand one-legged fadeaway jumpers that many people now simply call “Dirks”.
One of those people is LeBron James, a longtime foe whose Miami Heat team fell to Nowitzki’s Mavericks in the 2011 Finals. James guessed that one of the most unstoppable shots in NBA history would be the freeze frame for Nowitzki’s bronze tribute.
“That boy was cold, man. Dirk was cold,” James said. “You couldn’t put a small on him because he was too big, you really couldn’t put a slow big on him because he was too quick with his first step early on. And you could never block his shot because he shot it behind his head, kind of like Larry Bird-esque.”
Christmas was another celebratory day in Dallas for Nowitzki, now 44, who spent the morning with a number of Mavericks legends — including former teammate and current coach Jason Kidd — who still all pale when compared to Nowitzki’s legacy: a 14-time All-Star, 2007 MVP, 2011 champion and the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history.
Inscribed in the statue was the phrase “Loyalty never fades away,” which Nowitzki noted coincidentally has 21 letters for the 21 years of his NBA career, all with the Mavericks.
“I just kind of sat down, like, ‘What do people associate you with in Dallas?’” Nowitzki said. “It was these two things. It was the fadeaway and the loyalty. We kind of combined that.”
Nowitzki got tributes from the franchise, obviously, but also from his former opponents on the Lakers.
Westbrook remembered Nowitzki as a “hell of a player,” ruefully noting that he once shot 24 free throws in a playoff game against Westbrook’s Thunder. Darvin Ham faced the German as a player and a coach, and pointed to his dome joking that Nowitzki left a few fingerprints as battle scars.
“I think he ushered in just a new wave of big guys who could function on the perimeter,” Ham said. “Definitely his post-ups at the nail, free throw line — impossible to guard. And that jump shot is going up to the sky, creating all type of rain. It’s great, I’m happy for him man. It’s well-deserved.”
While Nowitzki is expected to be ushered in to the Hall of Fame with an especially decorated class in 2023, he acknowledged that the legacy of being made a statue was especially meaningful — implying a physical legacy that could last for hundreds of years: “Hopefully Nowitzkis down the line, wherever they may be in the world, can come here and see this thing, that’s the most emotional part.”
From a Lakers’ angle, it draws a curious question to mind: The next statue in front of Crypto.com Arena is likely to be Kobe Bryant. What pose would he be in? Sadly, the Lakers won’t have Bryant’s input to draw upon.
Kidd and Westbrook suggested the famous pose of Bryant biting the front of this jersey, while Ham said holding a follow-through on a game-winning shot might be most appropriate.
“There’s so many legendary moments, I’m not sure which great moment they’ll pick from,” Westbrook said. “But just for me watching what he’s done over the years, it’ll be a great day for L.A. and for his family. Looking forward to that.”