Dirk Nowitzki is one of the most well-liked superstars in NBA history. What the big German achieved with the Dallas Mavericks is truly incredible, carrying the team on his back for nearly 2 decades, and leading them to one of the most amazing championships ever. Most people have nothing but great things to say about Dirk, but he was also a fiery competitor at heart.
His win with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 is hailed as a better title than multiple ones some other stars have won. And Dirk Nowitzki won the respect of his rivals as well, even the ones that beefed with him wish they could take it back. But the latter years of Dirk’s career were nothing to sing about.
As the Mavericks continued a strategy of trying to attract free agents to the franchise, they failed, instead putting mediocre teams around Dirk time and time again. Nowitzki was already taking discounts to help build the team, and his teams kept changing. So it’s no surprise to learn that when his teammates were poor on occasion, Nowitzki would let them know about it.
Dirk Nowitzki’s Trash-Talk Seems Ruthless
For the greatest players ever, it has always been a bit frustrating to understand why others aren’t able to do the things they can. Michael Jordan was a notoriously bad teammate in terms of making his colleagues feel good, and Kobe Bryant beefed with Shaquille O’Neal over his work ethic as well. And while it’s not something one would associate with Dirk, Zach Lowe’s report from a few years ago reveals a different story.
Nowitzki has long set a self-deprecating tone that shows every newcomer no one is bigger than the team. He is merciless in mocking everyone and happy when people toss insults back. ‘You should learn Chinese because you’ll be in China soon,’ is one of his favorite ways of needling someone after a bad game.
“The Mavs even ridicule the wounded. After wins in which, say, Parsons sits out, the team will chant, ‘Parsons out, Mavs roll!’ They do it for everyone as a gentle reminder: ‘We can survive without you.'”
This is downright hardcore from Dirk to say to some of the journeyman teammates he had during his later years. It’s great that Nowitzki is remembered as a wonderful person, but the fact that he wasn’t satisfied with not winning highlights what some have forgotten about him, he was the ultimate warrior as well.
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