Dirk Nowitzki has recalled his reaction to winning the 2007 MVP award in the wake of his Dallas Mavericks side first round loss in the playoffs.
The Mavericks finished with the best record in the NBA that season by some margin, with a record of 67-15 earning them the number one seed in the Western Conference. Despite that regular season dominance, however, they were unable to get past the Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs, losing that series 4-2. The San Antonio Spurs went on to win the championship.
In a recent interview with Rachel Nichols, Nowitzki said that he was “embarrassed. All I wanted to do was go somewhere where nobody knew me.”
Unfortunately for Nowitzki, the NBA had other plans. According to the Mavs legend, he received a call from the league telling him to stay where he was as “there is a chance you might get the MVP.” Nowitzki’s response to learning he might receive the prestigious award, however, was “just give it to somewhere else.”
Of course, Nowitzki did end up following the orders of the NBA, sticking around for long enough to accept his first and only MVP award. But the ceremony did not quite fulfil the stereotypical childhood dream, instead being responsible for “some of the most uncomfortable moments of my career.”
Some 16 years later, Dirk Nowitzki’s view appears to have softened. His indifference towards winning the award at the time, however, is indicative of the type of player that he was; one for whom team, not individual, success was always the ultimate goal.
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