Dirk Nowitzki Says Kobe Bryant Tried Recruiting Him To Lakers

NBA legend Kobe Bryant once attempted recruiting Dirk Nowitzki from the Dallas Mavericks to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki spent all 21 seasons of his NBA career with one team. However, he wasn't free of rival superstars attempting to recruit him away from Dallas during his time in the league. 

On Wednesday, Nowitzki joined "Shan and RJ" on 105.3 The Fan to discuss a variety of different topics. Among the questions asked was about the recruiting efforts other superstars made to convince him to leave the Mavericks. 

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Nowitzki admitted there were thoughts about potentially signing elsewhere before winning the 2011 NBA Finals. After going over a decade without winning a title, he questioned if he had to play elsewhere to achieve the ultimate goal. 

"While I played, I obviously wanted to finish my career here, so the only time I thought about was pre-championship," Nowitzki said. "When we didn't win it, we didn't win it, that was 10-plus years in the league at this point, and I was thinking, 'am I going to win a championship here? Or am I going to go somewhere?"

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash were the only superstars Nowitzki singled out as names that tried to recruit him away from the Mavericks. Nowitzki instead opted to sign a four-year contract extension to remain in Dallas, though. 

"I remember Kobe (Bryant) tried to get me to come to L.A. at some point, and (Steve Nash) was reaching out to me at some point," Nowitzki said. "But then I signed that four-year deal."

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A heart-to-heart discussion with Mavericks governor Mark Cuban proved to be a difference-maker in Nowitzki's decision-making process to remain with the team in 2010. Nowitzki described those emotional talks.

"I was a free agent in 2010, really for the first time, and I went to Mark's house," Nowitzki said. "There was no agent involved; he said 'Come to my house, and we'll figure it out.' And we both kind of went through stuff and how close we were and all the disappointments, and we both got super emotional and had tears in our eyes. And I told him, 'I want to be here,' and he wanted me here. Then we agreed on the four-year extension and ended up winning the championship in year one of that deal.

"After (winning the championship), there was really no need for me to leave," Nowitzki said. "I always wanted to be here. I wanted to be loyal to the city, and it worked out great that way."