Thank you, Dirk!

“But great players are just like death and taxes, sooner or later they gonna get ya”

Mike Breen & Mark Jones about Dirk, 2:27 left in the fourth quarter of game 5 in the NBA Finals 2011.

Now it's official, Dirk Nowitzki played his last game and is retiring after playing 21 years in the NBA. He is a living legend and him leaving the game of basketball will leave a Würzburg-sized hole in the NBA community. After playing in the second division of the German league, hooping for the Wurzburg X-Rays, teenage Dirk made its way to Texas, playing in the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit. From that day on, and probably even earlier, Dirk was the talk of the NBA scouts, including Nike, like former Nike director of international basketball George Raveling pointed out:

“I think he mesmerized the players on the other team, because he was doing things that they'd never seen a big guy do. They didn't think he could shoot that far out, and Dirk was active handling the ball. This was his coming-out, so-called party.”

Let’s take a look at some of Dirk’s biggest moments:

hi-res-30114698bea56f49723ab7dde0d82a6e crop exact

Throughout the course of the history of the NBA, not many signature moves have influenced the game as Nowitzki’s one-legged fadeaway shot. In multiple situation the go-to move helped Dirk to overcome his defender, and no surprise that quite a few players have added it to their arsenal.

"It's just a shot that can't be guarded, obviously. We've seen it over the years with Dirk and you can't contest it. You can't guard it. It helps the fact that he's 7-foot, too, when he's shooting that shot too."

Lebron on Dirk’s signature fadeaway shot

“Ahhh, we’ll just sneak out.”

Dirk’s personal coach Holger Geschwindner made sure that Dirk makes it to the Nike Hoop Summit, without telling his team, only informing the German Army, in which Dirk was enrolled during that time.

534209f85ddbaa7b519271a412ff9311 crop exact

In 1998 Dirk was picked at position number 9 of the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, however, in a multi-team deal, they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks, which laid the first stone in what would become a historic “lifer” career.

Not just in the NBA, Dirk represented the German national team on various occasions, including the EuroBasket Championship, which they won in 2005. One of the most significant accomplishments by Dirk, and a real dream come true.

A bitter-sweet year! Dirk Nowitzki wins the NBA MVP as the first-ever European in 2007, however can't pull-through and win the Championship.

"The boy is a genius”

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley about Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk’s 2011 NBA Championship is arguably one of the biggest upsets of the NBA history, this is some tears in your eyes kind of stuff. After ups and downs between ’07 and ’10, the Dallas Mavericks sweeped the Kobe Bryant-stacked LA Lakers in 2011, and break ground for what’s to come. After first winning against Portland, the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder with Durant, Westbrook and James Harden, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA title after an upsetting comeback over the LeBron-led Miami Heat.

“It might land me a Kardashian sister!”

Dirk jokingly after winning the NBA Championship on TV

In March Dirk Nowitzki passed Wilt Chamberlain for number 6 on the all-time scoring list of the NBA, underlining his impact to the game and cementing his status as a true legend. The German Wunderkind, humble as he is, would probably not sign this statement, but, who cares: Dirk you are an icon, thank you!