Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend, and many top NBA voices are chiming in to celebrate him ahead of the ceremony.
Nowitzki played his entire storied career for the Mavs after getting drafted in 1999. His trajectory was similar to that of former Boston Celtics star turned broadcaster, Kevin McHale, who gushed about what Dirk did for their position.
“Watching him play, I remember thinking, he’s just getting better and better and better,” said legendary power foward Kevin McHale, per Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. “And he really changed things around the way the position is played.”
Nowitzki was the first European player to win the league MVP when he did so in 2007, and now four in a row were taken home by the continent with Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo dominating the NBA. Dirk's former owner, Mark Cuban, explained how the German big man revolutionized the game.
“Every tall kid around the world saw Dirk,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said, “and realized they could play basketball and not have to be a back-to-the-basket center. Dirk paved the way for players of any size to be multi-positional and have a variety of in-game skills.”
Cuban purchased the Mavs in the middle of Nowitzki's second season, and he certainly didn't realize quite how good the legend would become. He went on to become a 14-time All-Star, and led the Mavs to the 2011 NBA Championship victory. He will be enshrined forever in the Hall for his accomplishments and impact on the game, and his peers couldn't think of anyone more deserving.
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