Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki received a special honor on Wednesday afternoon. Knowing his importance to the team and surrounding area, the city of Dallas awarded the German-born All-Star with his own street.
Nowitzki is seven feet tall, but that didn't stop him from participating in the unveiling of “Nowitzki Way.” In fact, the former NBA champion climbed into the cherry picker that was on-site to personally lift the veil on the street's placard, despite the fact that it was a windy day.
After the unveiling, Nowitzki made light of the fact that his name was spelled correctly:
Here it is!!! Nowitzki Way…and it’s spelt right!!! @swish41 #MFFL pic.twitter.com/WOHphesIre
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 30, 2019
Even in retirement, Nowitzki's jovial nature shines through.
If anyone is deserving of such an honor, it's Nowitzki. The 41-year-old led the Mavs to their first NBA title in 2011, as well as two Western Conference championships.
Taken by the Mavs with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, Nowitzki went on to become one of the greatest big men the league has ever known. His style of play revolutionized the game, and kids around the globe still mimic his one-legged fall-away jumper to this day.
Dirk reacted to the emotional day:
Dirk Nowitzki on the street renaming: "There’s a lot of love I’ve received from this community, whether it’s from the Mavericks or fan base when things weren’t going well. After my first year, the city probably wouldn’t have named a dumpster after me, let alone a street."
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) October 30, 2019
Nowitzki played in 1,522 games over the course of his 21-year career in the NBA, racking up averages of 20.7 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the field (38.0 percent from beyond the arc), 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. His 31,560 points are ranked sixth on the league's all-time scoring list. The only players ahead of him on that list go by one name: Kareem, Malone, Kobe, LeBron and Jordan.
Join us in congratulating Dirk, one of the NBA's all-time greats.