There is no doubt in any Mavericks fan’s mind that Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest player in the franchise’s history. The gentle giant from Germany was a fabulous player and could seemingly do it all.
Nowitzki was extremely skilled and brought incredible hustle and effort to the court every time he played a game. Dirk spent his entire career in Dallas, playing some of the best basketball the franchise has ever seen.
But on top of that, Dirk was extremely loyal. He could have easily leveraged another NBA franchise in a bigger market for a lot of money or teamed up with another superstar to form a superteam and find an easy way to a championship.
But he stuck with Dallas through the good times and the bad. And for his loyalty, he and the Mavericks were able to get each other to the top of the NBA mountain, when they defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals to win the franchise’s only NBA championship to this date.
Dirk was spectacular during the 2011 playoff run, especially during the NBA Finals. In fact, former Mavs guard JJ Barea revealed that they forced Dirk to watch a clip of LeBron and Dwyane Wade making fun of Dirk to give him further motivation to win the title.
Free Agency throwback:
In 2014, Dirk Nowitzki was offered $92 million deals by both the Lakers and Rockets…
He declined both offers and signed a 3-year, $25 million deal to stay in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/fBkerLIYMM
— Top Ball Coverage (@TopBallCoverage) November 19, 2020
Dirk stayed with Dallas throughout. But if some other franchises had their way, Dirk would be on a different team. In 2014, Dirk Nowitzki was offered $92 million deals from the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets.
The Lakers wanted to pair Dirk with Kobe Bryant, whereas the Rockets wanted to help upcoming star James Harden with an experienced, All-Star caliber big man to take them to the promised land.
Despite these lucrative offers, Dirk chose to stay with the Mavericks, signing a team-friendly 3-year, $25 million contract. The Mavericks were never able to reach the NBA Finals with Dirk since 2011, but his final season allowed him to mentor the new face of the Mavs. Dirk passed the torch to Luka Doncic, who hopes to bring a title to Dallas just like Dirk.
