Dirk Nowitzki has had some of his best and worst memories facing Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. The Dallas Mavericks 7-footer knows the so-called rivalry between the two is one of the most unlikely ones in NBA history, but one that eventually shaped the path of his career.
Wade got the best of Nowitzki and the Mavs in 2006, when a third-year stud paired up with Shaquille O'Neal made for a deadly combination, flipping the script on the Mavericks, who were up 2-0, only to lose the last four games of the series in embarrassing fashion.
“Without that '06 happening,” Dirk Nowitzki told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. “I'm not sure I would have won in '11.”
“Dirk was right on the shelf of winning the big one,” said then-coach Pat Riley, gesturing to the championship ring in his right hand, one that glistens under his office lights. “And then Dwyane just stole it from him.”
Nowitzki would then get his revenge five years later, taking down the newly-assembled superteam of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Wade — trading one unlikely championship win for another.
“I just remember saying to myself, Everything you've worked for is down the drain,” said Nowitzki, thinking of his 2006 Finals loss. “Had an unbelievable season, unbelievable playoffs and that was all for nothing.”
“That,” he added, “was probably the most frustrated I've been in my career. It was almost a feeling of emptiness. You don't want to get up in the morning, don't really know what's coming.”
For a while Mavs fans complained about the barrage of foul shots Dwyane Wade shot during that series, something Mavs owner Mark Cuban still claims to this day. Yet it was that loss that ultimately motivated Nowitzki and narrowed his focus, determined to get back to the stage that left him two wins away from his first ‘chip.
