There are many reasons why people consider Dirk Nowitzki to be one of the greatest players of all time. However, more than his shooting, his clutch-scoring, his heart, and passion; you could talk about his loyalty.
Nowitzki spent his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks and it’s not like he had a shortage of suitors. In fact, Kobe Bryant himself once tried to recruit him to team up with him in the Los Angeles Lakers, as the German recently told ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
“I remember Kobe Bryant one year reached out to me, it was obviously an honor. I think this was after I won the championship and my four-year deal was done. Kobe was still doing his thing in L.A. We talked, we texted back and forth, but I told him, ‘Listen, I’m sorry and you know how it is. Dallas is my city and my home and it would feel super weird to put a different uniform on.’ And I think he totally understood that; I think he respected me more after that,” Nowitzki said.
This is not the first time that his story surfaces. In fact, it’s known that, back in 2014, the Los Angeles Lakers actually offered him a $92 million deal, yet he decided to sign a 3-year, $25 million contract to go back to Dallas.
Nowitzki is the true definition of a leader and a guy that’s willing to sacrifice for the team, up to the point where some people suspected that Mark Cuban was paying him somehow for his loyalty.
He led the Mavericks to their one and only NBA Championship and will go down not only as the best shooting big man and perhaps the greatest foreign player in NBA history but also as one of the most loyal superstars you could ever think of.
