Dirk Nowitzki retired back in 2019 but he's remained active playing pickleball. Additionally, he's seen attending Dallas Mavs games from time to time. However, the former NBA champ revealed a hilarious interaction with a basketball fan.
The former Mavs power forward alleges he was in a restaurant when someone approached him, which is probably common for Nowitzki. But the conversation went in a direction Dirk Nowitzki wasn't expecting, as the fan confused him with former NBA player Rik Smits.
“Walked into a restaurant yesterday and a guy comes up and says: ‘Aren't you Rik Smits?' Not quite but I appreciated his hoops knowledge…”
Rik Smits is quite the namedrop. For anyone unfamiliar with Smits, he played for the Indiana Pacers for 12 years. He was the second overall pick in the 1988 draft and retired after the year 2000 season. Smits was a monster of a center standing at 7 feet 4 inches. He averaged 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.
The Dunking Dutchman! pic.twitter.com/7oxh8Kdpv6
— David Astramskas (@redapples) December 2, 2023
Dirk Nowitzki had quite a bit better stats during his time with the Mavs. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists throughout his career. Nowitzki also has one of the most memorable playoff performances after leading Dallas to a championship over the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh led Miami Heat.
With that said, it's pretty funny that someone confused him with Rik Smits. They really don't look a like other than their hair. But shoutout to that basketball fan for knowing who Smits even is. At the very least, the fan gave Dirk Nowitzki a good laugh.
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