To this day Oracle Arena is home to a relic, not in the form of a trophy, medal or a championship banner; but rather a hole. A hole that's been there since Dirk Nowitzki made history for the wrong reasons, as his top-seeded Dallas Mavericks took on the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in 2007, causing his ultimate frustration after losing in Game 6 of that series.
A frustrated Nowitzki can't recall much more than the stat sheet — a mere eight points, 2-of-13 from the floor, and 0-for-6 from deep — a performance that will likely go down as the worst of his career.
The Mavs had coasted to the best record in the league at 67-15, but ran into their nemesis on the “We Believe” Warriors, who accounted for three of those 15 losses.
A frustrated Nowitzki was hoping to force a Game 7 to bring the series back home, but the Mavs lost by 25 in Game 6, ending their chances at a championship as well with Nowitzki's cool.
“Some people say it was a trash can, some people say it was a chair,” Nowitzki said of his infamous item-tossing after that Game 6 loss, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “It was such a heat of the moment. I have no idea what it even was. I don’t remember it much.
“Obviously, I remember I was pissed. I had a brutal game that night. We had a chance to force a Game 7, had home court and I couldn’t make anything in that game. Just disappointed. Heat of the moment.”
Looking back at it, much like Oracle still proudly keeps that hole intact in its very old walls, there is also a hole in Nowitzki's career, where he should have had his first NBA title.
“Some of the most frustrating moments of my career right there, ’06 and ’07, back to back,” said Nowitzki, who had lost in the NBA Finals the year prior to the Miami Heat after being up 2-0. “Even getting the MVP two weeks later. … Just, my MVP season, now every time I think about my MVP season, it’ll always be linked with the first-round exit against the Warriors.”
The Warriors plan to cut out that hole and display it in their new arena, the Chase Center, which will open in September later this year — complete with Nowitzki's signature adorning it.
“I’m honored if they really want to move it,” said Nowitzki. “To actually have a place in someone’s home, a road arena, that’s actually pretty cool. For me, it’s not a pleasant memory. But that’s still awesome.”
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