Dirk Nowitzki holds the NBA record for the longest stint with one team for his 21 years on the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk has been an ambassador for the team and the NBA since his retirement but took a formal position in the Mavericks front office as a special advisor in 2021. He opened up on what he’s contributed to the new-look Mavs in his new role.
“Advisor is really an interesting word, I’m not advising that much. There were some shifts in the General Manager position, they asked me if I wanted to be involved. They had good people in place to do some jobs, J-Kidd is a good friend of mine. We talk basketball all the time, it’s not like I go to the gym every day. An advisor is probably a little strong word.”
It’s great to see Dirk be honest about his limited role in building the Mavs into the NBA Finals team we saw last season. The team went through a shakeup in the 2021 offseason, which saw longtime head coach Rick Carlisle and longtime GM Donnie Nelson both leave the team to be replaced by Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison.
Kidd and Harrison have overseen the Mavericks becoming a genuine contender in the NBA. Outside the misstep of letting Jalen Brunson walk in the summer of 2022, the Mavs have done a lot of great things to be in the position they’re in now. Nowitzki is a core tenet of the franchise, so even if he’s not contributing on the day-to-day, his presence will mean a lot.
Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists over his 21-year career with the Mavs, winning the 2011 Championship and Finals MVP. He was also a one-time league MVP, 14-time All-Star, and 12-time All-NBA selection.
Dirk Nowitzki Opens Up On Being Teammates With Luka Doncic
An NBA fact that will be well-remembered if Luka Doncic brings a championship to Dallas will be that Nowitzki’s final season was Luka’s debut season, signifying a true passing-of-the-torch from one Mavs legend to the other. Dirk opened up on watching Luka transition from playing European basketball to the NBA as a rookie.
“The transition was pretty smooth for him. I played with him for one year, my last one. We all didn’t know how good he was. He was the MVP of the EuroLeague, but that didn’t mean anything when he came to the NBA. From the first practice, I knew how he felt about the game.”
“He plays like a 35-year-old: wicked basketball IQ, what he sees on the floor I never saw. He knows how to handle big moments. We talk about basketball often, but I don’t need to mentor him anything. He’s an incredible talent and player. It was fun seeing him transitioning to the NBA. The start of something special, we’ve been witnessing greatness from him.”
Doncic put up one of the most incredible statistical seasons in modern history last year with 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists. He’s proven he’s one of the best in the NBA, with a championship and a league MVP all that he needs to solidify his legacy as an all-time great.
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