Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is scheduled to host his inaugural Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic Sunday at the SMU Tennis Center.
Nowitzki visited the SMU center on Thursday to get some practice time in with Grand Slam doubles champ Mark Knowles.
He took some time to speak on SI.com's Beyond the Baseline podcast on a number of topics such as, who are the five best tennis players in the NBA, if he would like to coach one day, and one of the more interesting questions, what would be his ideal send off in retirement.
The last question brought examples of whether he would like to go out like Kobe Bryant, or Tim Duncan.
Bryant announced his retirement early in the season, and the Los Angeles Lakers centered their year around him. In fact, Bryant's last game went out in a blaze. He was able to play in front of the home crowd in Los Angeles taking whatever shot he wanted, finishing the game with a 60-point explosion, but with 50 field goal attempts.
On the other hand, the retirement of Duncan was just as opposite to Bryant's as their personalities are. Duncan quietly retired in the off-season, and only granted his best friend an interview from inside of his own home.
Both men are five-time champions, but their styles are completely opposite in almost every way.
Which of the two paths would Nowitzki like to take when he retires? He didn't hesitate to tell his preference.
You know, I loved the way Kobe went out … with a 60-point game? That's so Kobe like. The whole arena was standing up the whole fourth quarter. So much fun to watch. But I'm more like a Duncan guy. More a quiet guy. I don't need the limelight as much. Maybe not quite the just e-mail, Hey, by the way Tim Duncan is retiring. I thought that was a little low profile. Maybe there's a little press conference or something. I don't know, I don't really want to think about it because I know it's gonna come up soon anyway. I'm just gonna enjoy the last couple of years.
Whatever happens, just enjoy his last couple of years along with him.
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