'Dirk Deserves Everything': Doncic & Jokic Praise Mavs' Legend

Ahead of Dirk Nowitzki’s jersey retirement on Wednesday night, Dallas Mavericks’ current superstar Luka Doncic and reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic shared their admiration for the legend after Monday night’s game.

Dalton Trigg | Jan 4, 2022

As we inch closer to Wednesday night, when the Dallas Mavericks will retire Dirk Nowitzki's No. 41 into the rafters forever, the nostalgia has slowly built up as well. Nowitzki means so much to the Mavs and the city of Dallas, but he also had an impact on many others around the world.

The Mavs took down the Denver Nuggets on Monday night by putting up a gritty defensive effort, but that didn't stop reigning MVP from gushing about Nowitzki after the game.

"(Dirk is) one of the few guys that (has played) for one team for their entire career," said Jokic. "I really, really admire him for that. ... He didn't abandon the team."

That quote from Jokic doesn't necessarily bode well for our Jokic-to-Dallas 2023 pipe dream, but you can't keep from grinning when you hear it. Nowitzki has motivated both up-and-coming and current basketball players all around the world with his commitment to the Mavs that eventually led him to the NBA mountain top.

When it comes to loyalty in the NBA, that can go both ways between teams and players. Today, there's only a handful of players who are on the 'Dirk Path', including Jokic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and hopefully, Luka Doncic.

"He deserves (the recognition) and everything else that happens (on Wednesday)," said Doncic. "He gave so much to Dallas, and Dallas gave back to him.

"He did a lot of things – not just for people from Europe, but I think also in the United States. Everybody has the highest respect for him, the highest everything."

Nowitzki has inspired so many with the things he accomplished throughout his playing career, and now, he'll continue to inspire people in retirement with what is set to take place on Wednesday night.

Published Jan 4, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.