Mavs unveil Nowitzki statue before Christmas game against Lakers
DALLAS (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki was with his son Max, both ready to push the lever that would reveal the statue of the retired Dallas Mavericks star outside the team’s arena.
It had already been revealed that the statue represented Nowitzki’s one-leg fadeaway sweater. Not that there was ever any question.
“That jump shot, just going up in the sky, creating all kinds of rain,” said Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, whose team played the Mavericks in the Christmas Day game that followed the Nowitzki ceremony on Sunday.
Nowitzki has a street named after him not far from the American Airlines Center, where his jersey is in the rafters. And now a nearly 24-foot statue in the plaza south of the arena, discovered on a cold but sunny morning.
“It was emotional,” said Nowitzki, the only NBA player to spend all 21 seasons with the same franchise. “When the thing came out, I felt like the sun was perfect today, it was just shining.”
The most important of those multiple moments honoring Nowitzki’s career came on the 11th anniversary of the Mavericks’ only other Christmas home game.
Nowitzki was the face of the franchise then, leading the defense of the club’s only NBA title in the 2011-12 season, which delayed the shutout.
New face, star Luka Doncic, 23, watched the ceremony from behind Nowitzki with several teammates and coach Jason Kidd.
Nowitzki’s point guard on the 2011 title team had to throw in at least one joke about his former teammate, choosing to mock the defense of the foreign-born player’s top scorer N.B.A.
“They picked the right move,” Kidd told reporters later. “I don’t think they were going to use the slide (on defense) or him passing the ball. Do you see his passing stats? He was a ball hog.”
Sculptor Omri Amrany has created statues of other retired NBA stars in Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal. He worked primarily with Nowitzki’s mentor, Holder Geschwindner, who shaped the 7-foot German’s one-legged fade.
Nowitzki’s family came from Germany along with Gershwindner, and the 44-year-old couldn’t say enough how much it meant to have his mom and dad witness the ceremony.
It came four days after Nowitzki was nominated for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame alongside Texas rival San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, retired Spurs point guard Tony Parker and Dwyane Wade, who beat Nowitzki in the Finals the 2006 NBA with Miami before losing to him. LeBron James in 2011.
Nowitzki’s title came the year James and Chris Bosh joined Wade and the Heat, who won the next two multiple championships. Nowitzki stuck around for the last few lean years in Dallas, mostly because he had what he wanted most.
“I’m so glad I didn’t have to do that and it worked out that way,” Nowitzki said. “Once we won the championship, I knew I wanted to be here and finish my career here.”
Nowitzki is sixth on the career scoring list with 31,560 points and the leader in every other significant offensive category for the Mavericks. He is a consultant to owner Mark Cuban and spends most of his time in Dallas with his wife, Jessica, and their three children.
As the three-year statue project progressed, Nowitzki pondered the theme that would accompany the base. When it came time to decide, he said he was lucky to pick something with 21 letters, matching his 21 seasons with the Mavericks.
“Loyalty never fades.”
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