Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki officially retired from the NBA 12 months ago, with April 9, 2019, as his last home game in front of Mavs fans. The seven-foot retired German power forward became the sixth all-time leading scorer in the NBA during his two-decade tenure donning a Mavs jersey, and on social media on Thursday he reflected on that night at the American Airlines Center waving goodbye one last time for the Dallas home crowd.
“Can’t believe it’s already been a year,” the 41-year-old Nowitzki wrote on Twitter on Thursday evening. “Days like today definitely make me miss it more! Thanks for all love”.
Can’t believe it’s already been a year. Days like today definitely make me miss it more! Thanks for all love pic.twitter.com/cZVuQXDOyt
— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) April 10, 2020
Nowitzki, alongside longtime contemporary Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade, were invited to the 2019 All-Star Game as one final send-off for the two future Hall of Famers and two-time NBA Finals adversaries, with Wade and the Heat scoring their franchise-first championship in 2006, and Nowitzki and the Mavs getting revenge in 2011 with their chip. Nowitzki retired two months later in April 2019 after entering the Association as a German teenage pro and the ninth overall pick of the 1998 draft.
In his final home game for the Mavs, Nowitzki scored 30 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out three assists in north of 32 minutes, per Basketball-Reference, helping Dallas seal a late-season win over the Phoenix Suns. The next day, for Nowitzki's final NBA game ever, Nowitzki poured in a 20-point double-double in the Mavericks' season finale loss to the Texas rival San Antonio Spurs.
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