Dallas Basketball

Kevin Durant Calls for Dirk Nowitzki to Be Final Speaker at Hall Of Fame Ceremony: 'Most Storied Career'

As Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki supplants his legacy while being inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame this summer, Kevin Durant shows love for one of the all-time greats.

Michael Mulford

Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki will always be a hero in the city of Dallas, but his legacy within the NBA and oversees will live on forever, as well.

On April 1, it was officially announced that Nowitzki will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 12. 

Alongside Nowitzki being enshrined this year will be the likes of Dwyane Wade, Gregg Popovich, Paul Gasol, and Tony Parker. 

But, out of all of those greats, who should be the final speaker at the enshrinement? Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant says it should be Nowitzki.

"I see Dirk finishing it off," Durant said on The ETCs with KD. "Longest career. Just most storied career."

It's certainly a toss up on which inductee has the most storied career when you're talking about greats like Nowitzki, Popovich, and Wade.

But, when it comes down to who changed the game and inspired the younger generation the most, it all points to The Big German.

"He inspired a lot of bigs to step out and work on their jump shots," Durant said of Nowitzki. "He had an unstoppable shot himself that he coined and that he just created that everybody followed around the world. Not a lot of people talk about that -- that the one-legged fade is just a staple in the game and it was used by him mostly his whole career.

"It's well-deserved. Storied, storied career. Somebody I respect to the highest power."

The feeling is mutual, Kevin.

You can watch the full clip below ... along with a nice twitter shoutout to Nowitzki from KD himself.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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