Sacramento bids fond farewell to Dirk Nowitzki in Kings’ victory over Mavericks
Sacramento finally had its chance to say goodbye to an old adversary during the Kings’ 116-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t publicly stated that he plans to retire at the end of the season, his 21st in the NBA, but fans across the country are treating visits from the Mavericks like stops on an unofficial farewell tour for the aging star.
Nowitzki was featured in a video presentation inside the arena before the game and received a number of rousing ovations from the crowd.
“It was nice,” Nowitzki said. “I was appreciative. ... It’s been emotional, all the receptions I’ve been getting on the road here. It’s been wonderful.”
Many fans rose to their feet to give Nowitzki a standing ovation when he entered the game for the first time with 4:45 to play in the first period. There were more cheers when Nowitzki made his only basket, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, to give Dallas a 37-34 lead with 8:08 to play in the second quarter.
Nowitzki, 40, passed Wilt Chamberlain for sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list during Monday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets. He has appeared in 40 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging career lows of 6.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in a backup role.
Nowitzki is a 14-time All-Star, an NBA champion, a former MVP and the only player in league history to spend 21 seasons with the same franchise. He led the Mavericks to 15 playoff appearances in 16 years from 2001-2016, including 12 in a row.
“It’s been fun to coach against him and (witness) what he’s been able to do,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “He’s won a championship and been in the playoffs multiple times. He’s just a terrific human being and he plays the game the right way, with a joy that players ... wherever you grew up ... you admire him.”
Nowitzki was named NBA MVP after averaging 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 2006-07. He was named NBA Finals MVP after helping the Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat to win the championship in 2011.
Nowitzki established a pretty extensive playoff history against Sacramento, meeting the Kings in the playoffs three years in a row, including two showdowns in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Kings and Mavericks met in the second round of the playoffs in 2001-02. They split the first two games before Kings coach Rick Adelman made a defensive adjustment, giving Hedo Turkoglu the responsibility of defending Nowitzki. Torkoglu guarded Nowitzki closely and got help from Chris Webber when Nowitzki tried to post up. The Kings won the next three games to advance to that fateful series against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
Nowitzki addressed the matchup with Turkoglu in “Dirk Nowitzki: German Wunderkind,” a 2004 biography about his life.
“I simply could not pass Turkoglu, and if I did, I ran into a double team and committed too many turnovers,” Nowitzki said.
The Kings and Mavericks clashed in the conference semifinals again the following year. The Kings were among the favorites to win the NBA championship, but the Mavericks beat them in seven games after Webber went down with a season-ending, franchise-altering knee injury in Game 2.
Sacramento saw Nowitzki again in the opening round of the playoffs in 2003-04. The Kings won that series in five games, eliminating the Mavericks with a 119-118 victory in Game 5. Nowitzki had 31 points and 14 rebounds in that game, but he missed an off-balance jumper as time expired after Peja Stojakovic, now the Kings’ assistant general manager, slapped the ball out of his hands.
“I thought he fouled me,” Nowitzki told reporters. “They had a foul to give, so he was really aggressive, but they didn’t call it and the next thing you know, there only were a couple seconds left and I had to get one up. It just didn’t go.”
Nowitzki and Heat star Dwyane Wade appeared in last month’s NBA All-Star Game as special roster additions. Nowitzki, who also competed against Kings guard Buddy Hield in the 3-Point Contest, reminded reporters in Charlotte he had not officially announced his retirement yet, saying he would make that decision at the end of the season.
Whether he decides to continue his career or not, Nowitzki has already made an impact on the game around the world.
“I think sometimes as Americans we only look at Americans and sometimes Euros are seeing their own Euro guys,” Joerger said. “But he is, across the board, somebody kids want to emulate and shoot the step-back in the front driveway. He’s been terrific.”
This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 4:43 PM.