According to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki is so vain, he probably thinks this article is about him.
Related: It is about him.
Chris Ballard published something of an outtakes piece over at Sports Illustrated using juicy tidbits that couldn’t make it to his feature story—which you should read.
Of everything Ballard shared, the following comments from Cuban are by far the best:
Cuban on… whether Dirk would really hate a farewell tour
“Bullshit! Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! Yeah, he loves that little wave when he comes out and passes a milestone. He loves it. LOOOVES IT! I don’t care what he says. ‘I don’t like going to the All-Star Games. I don’t want a farewell tour.’ He loves it!
“I remember his first All-Star Game, we literally told him he had to pack a knapsack, just in case we roadtrip from Philadelphia to Miami, and he packed one. Me, him and Nash…Oh my God…the shit we did. Can’t believe it’s been, what, 16 years.”
Dirk has always had a way with the camera, whether he’s telling bad jokes, making an awesome cameo in a commercial or singing karaoke with the gracefulness of nails being ground across a chalkboard. I could totally see him indulging a farewell tour more than most—not in a bad way, just in a he-would-appreciate-it-and-embrace-it-more-than-most way.
Though we really don’t know how he’d handle it, we will, sadly, soon be finding out. Nowitzki, 37, has one year left on his deal, the end of which will likely mark the end of his career as well. Nothing is official, of course. But it stands to reason Dirk will call it quits after next season, as he’s approaching his 39th birthday, with 19 years of his experience to his name.
Similar to Kobe Bryant’s current farewell tour, Dirk’s sendoff should be epic. There will be gifts, reflections from rivals and the ritual mythologizing of his career, along with deliberate displays of ignorance toward the things he’s doing wrong at the time.
This, again, assumes Dirk is ready to hang up his kicks for good. I, for one, am hoping he tries to gut out 20 seasons and plays beyond next year—for no other reason than because I’m selfish and can’t envision living in a world in which Dirk’s one-legged fadeaways are no longer being launched by Dirk himself.
