In 2019, Dirk Nowitzki played in his final home game and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban promised to honor him with the “biggest, most badass statue ever”. Several years later, Cuban appears to have delivered on his promise as his state was hoisted in front of the American Airlines Center to honor the legend.
The Dirk statue: pic.twitter.com/xp0r3Ys6lq
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 25, 2022
“It’s a promise that gives me the joy to deliver on because you earned it,” Cuban told Nowitzki on Christmas morning, minutes before the nearly 24-foot-high statue was unveiled steps from the street renamed a few years ago as Nowitzki Way.
The statue is a sculpture of Nowitzki’s most famous fadeaway shot, which he’s hit millions of times in his career. Many recognize that shot with one leg up fading away as the “The Dirk”. Many often forget that Nowitzki was one of the most gifted scorers in NBA history. In fact, before his career concluded he became the sixth NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“It had to be a fadeaway one-legger,” James said of Nowitzki’s statue after the Mavericks’ 124-115 win over the Lakers. “It had to be. No question about it. Dirk is a legend. He’s an icon. I think he’s the greatest international player ever. I put him right there with Manu [Ginobili]. But what he brought here, what he brought to this city … that boy was cold, man. Dirk was cold.”
What Does Dirk Nowitzki’s Statue Represent?
Naturally, Nowitzki took time to reflect on his career and the most memorable moments he had with the Dallas Mavericks. Once he described the two things that always help separate him from others his loyalty and his famous fadeaway shot, he knew what direction to take the statue in.
“I just kind of sat down, like, ‘What do people associate you with in Dallas?'” Nowitzki said. “It was these two things. It was the fadeaway and the loyalty. We kind of combined that. It was just a fun fact that it was 21 letters for the 21 years.”
