Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night in Springfield, MA.
The German-born Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA championship and was the first international player to win the league’s MVP award in 2007. He played his entire 21-year career in Dallas after being selected No.9 overall in the 1998 draft.
“I just want to say thank you to my closest people. I want to make sure the people who were with me on this journey get their flowers, and then I can ride off into the sunset,” Nowitzki, now 45, said in his induction speech.
Nowitzki finished sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, averaging 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. The 7-foot forward shot 47.1% from the floor and 38% from three-point range in 1,522 regular-season games. He scored 31,560 points.
“No one can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it,” Nowitzki said. “That orchestra, I was very lucky to have one in Dallas, and that quality was team spirit. It starts with the whole Mavs staff, with the medical staff — I mean, everybody does so much work behind the scenes and really helps us to perform every night.”
Nowitzki was presented Saturday night by Mavs coach Jason Kidd and former teammate and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. He praised his former teammates, who saw him turn a one-legged, fade-away jump shot into a signature move over two decades in the league.
“All my ex-teammates, I must have had 200 of them along my 21 years … I couldn’t have done it without you. You guys carried me every night. On defense, especially. We have a bond for life, so I really appreciate you guys coming,” he said.
Mavericks coaches Don Nelson, Donnie Nelson, Avery Johnson, and Rick Carlisle were instrumental in Nowitzki’s development. He was one of the first 7-footers to shoot three-pointers regularly.
“There were not a lot of coaches that wanted a 7-footer to shoot threes, so my skill set kind of fit perfect into his system,” Nowitzki said of Nelson. “It always came down to me having zero talent on defense, and he always let me know that. He was just an incredible basketball mind.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban commented on Nowitzki’s honor before Saturday’s ceremony.
“Dirk is the perfect example that good guys can and do finish at the top. He is a special human and well deserving of the honor of being a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Cuban said in a statement.
Two other international players, former San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker and former Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol, were indicted into the Hall of Fame alongside Nowitzki. Parker called Nowitzki an inspiration and “the G.O.A.T” of international players — “G.O.A.T” being the acronym for Greatest of All Time.
“If I came in and helped inspire and motivate some guys along the way, that makes me incredibly proud,” Nowitzki said.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class also included Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Gene Bess, David Hixon, Gene Keady, Dwyane Wade, Becky Hammon, Gary Blair, Jim Valvano, and the 1976 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team.
Blair coached Texas A&M’s women’s team to the 2011 national title. He got his start as a high school girls coach at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas.
