DALLAS — On the night of Dirk Nowitzki’s final home game, Dallas Mavericks Governor Mark Cuban promised to erect the “tallest, most badass statue of all time” in front of the American Airlines Center to honor the legend.
“It’s a promise that gives me joy to keep, because you’ve earned it,” Cuban told Nowitzki on Christmas morning, minutes before the nearly 24-foot-tall statue was unveiled. a few steps from the street renamed a few years ago Nowitzki Way.
The white bronze statue is a sculpture of Nowitzki’s iconic one-legged sweater, the same shot that’s featured in silhouettes near the left block at both ends of the American Airlines Center grounds. The stunt became known as “The Dirk” as Nowitzki climbed to sixth on the NBA’s all-time scorers list and became part of the repertoire of several current players, including both stars who face each other on this floor on Sunday afternoon, the LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic of the Mavericks.
Doncic and several other Mavericks attended the ceremony, as did coach Jason Kidd, a former teammate of Nowitzki.
“One more stop: Hall of Fame,” Kidd said, referring to Nowitzki’s certain inclusion in the next Hall of Fame class as a first-round selection.
Artist Omri Amrany created the statue, one of many he has made to honor NBA legends including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal . The statue is rich in detail, using the shoes and uniform Nowitzki wore while leading the Mavericks to the 2010-11 NBA Championship, the franchise’s only title.
The base of the statue reads, “Loyalty never fades,” a tribute to Nowitzki who spent his entire career in Dallas, setting an NBA record by playing 21 seasons for a franchise.
“I just sat, like, ‘What do people associate you with in Dallas?'” Nowitzki said. “It was those two things. It was the fadeaway and the loyalty. We kind of combined that. It was just a fun fact that it was 21 letters for 21-year-olds.”
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