Former Dallas Mavericks' forward Dirk Nowitzki, spoke recently about his emotional reaction to finally winning a championship in 2011.
Having famously upset the Miami Heat in six games — then heavily favored against the veteran Dallas squad thanks to a lineup that featured LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh — Nowitzki quickly retreated to the Dallas locker room, overcome by emotion at the culmination of a journey that began in 1998, with the then drafting of the little known German.
Speaking with the Dallas Morning News, Dirk Nowitzki explained just how reticent he was in returning to the court:
Nowitzki: Scooter and Tim were like, “You’ve got to come out here; they’re about to present you with the MVP.” I remember saying, “I don’t want it! Give it to someone else! I need to be here. I need to be by myself.” I think they were like, “Fine, we’ll give you a few minutes.” But I remember Scooter telling me, “Trust me, when you lift the trophy, that is a photo that you want for the rest of your life. You don’t want to miss this.”
They were trying to talk some sense into me and I’m in this emotional state. But I needed a few minutes to collect my thoughts. All this stuff goes through your mind, the people who have supported you this whole time, the hard work you put in.”
Eventually swayed to return and accept the Finals MVP trophy, the moment was emblematic of just how much weight the Mavericks' all-time leading scorer placed on winning. Initially derided as being too “soft” to compete in the league upon his entry, Nowitzki time and again faced criticism that undercut his argument for being considered among the top pantheon of players around the association.
Following the Mavericks' collapse in the Finals against the same Miami organization five years previously, it seemed as though the window had closed for the Dallas stalwart to win a title.
As we now know, Nowitzki was not only able to pry that window open once again, but returned to the court and lifted the trophy he had so long desired.
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