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Dwyane Wade on Mark Cuban saying 2006 Finals were rigged: Stop saying that
Dwyane Wade: I heard Mark Cuban come out recently and say that he doesn't care. He’s taking it to his grave. 2006 Finals were rigged is what Mark Cuban said. I have probably had one conversation with Mark since then. It was a very cool cordial conversation. I love Mark Cuban from afar. Everything that he has accomplished, everything he's done. But Mark, stop saying that. Mark, we beat y'all. Did we get some foul calls? Everybody gets foul calls. I can go back and point in 2011 during one of them series where Dirk Nowitzki had 48. He had 24 free throws in one of those games. Does that mean that the refs wanted them to win? I don't know. But it wasn't rigged. Like, we still had to play the game. You had a young guy that was becoming a star in the NBA. Did I get a few whistles? Yes. But was I the only one attacking the basket every play? Probably. So, bro, I'm going to get some whistles, too. I'm going to get some calls today. They were fouling. Let's not act like that. You're not about to tarnish the work that I put in as a young guy to do something that not a lot of young guys have done in this game to say it was rigged. Mark, stop that. Y'all got us. We got y'all.
Dirk Nowitzki discussing a hands-on role with the Mavs: I gave it a try, but it was weird being around without a clear role
After the Luka Doncic trade and comments that were made about your relationship with the Mavericks, how would you characterize where you are now with the organization, including the front office and ownership? Nowitzki: I’m still sort of involved, but not really on the day to day. I tried that a couple of years ago. It was a little weird for me to be there and not really knowing my role. Since then, I’ve kind of pulled back a bit again. The last two years, I really haven’t been involved in anything front office related. Speaking of the Luka trade, I was as surprised and as shocked as everybody. I had no idea this was even in the works.
Flagg is joining a team of future Hall of Famers, but one day he’s going to take the reins of the franchise. What advice do you have for him in that role, since you experienced it with the Mavericks? Nowitzki: It was hard for me. My personality wasn’t, ‘Hey, look at me. I’m the big speech guy. Follow me now.’ I had to grow into it. Learn through some mistakes. I’m not quite sure I can help him with advice. The only thing is keep your eyes and ears open. Keep learning from your veterans. He’s got some incredible players on the team now with Kyrie [Irving], obviously Klay [Thompson]. AD’s [Anthony Davis] been around forever. There’s so much knowledge there that he can tap into and learn from. Ask questions. How are their pregame routines? What do they eat? How do they prepare for events? What do they do with appearances? How do they interact with the media? That was key for me at the beginning, watching Michael Finley, who was a true pro. Steve Nash, learning from them.
Pau Gasol tops list of NBA stars most committed to National Team
So which NBA players deserve praise for cutting into their vacation time to spend their summers on the court? Using the FIBA website and other sources, we tracked the players who have spent the most years representing their countries in international competitions. Among players with at least one NBA All-Star appearance, No. 1 is Pau Gasol, widely regarded as the GOAT of FIBA tournaments, followed by his brother Marc and Slovenian star Goran Dragic. While the Gasol brothers and Tony Parker, also high on this list, were always competing for medals, some other stars did not and still devoted plenty of time to FIBA tournaments. Dirk Nowitzki, who rarely had teammates anywhere near his level and only won two medals with Germany, would be a prime example.
Shane Larkin on Alperen Sengun: He's probably the best center I've played with
After being asked whether he would consider Alperen Sengun as the best center he's ever played with, Shane Larkin thought for almost half a minute. And for good reason, given that a guy named Dirk Nowitzki was Larkin's teammate in the 2013-14 season. "I've been playing a long time, man. That's a tough question," Larkin told BasketNews after giving a thought. "But I mean, I think he's the only NBA center that I played with who was an All-Star. So, if you count Dirk as a fourth, obviously, he can't really go against that." Nevertheless, Sengun took the edge at the end. "But yeah, I would say thus far he's probably the best center that I've played with," Larkin concluded.
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Dennis Schroeder: I’ll never receive the same love in Germany as Dirk Nowitzki because I’m dark-skinned
“I was already sitting in front of the TV at 14, when Dirk Nowitzki carried the flag at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Back then I thought: how cool, there’s no greater recognition,” said the current captain of the national basketball team in an interview with Stern. “Today, however, I know: it’s a great honor, but it will never be the same for me as it was for Dirk. I will never receive the same love in this country, because I am dark-skinned.”
Dirk Nowitzki on Luka Doncic trade: It was a tough, tough decision I think the club had to make
Dirk Nowitzki: Yeah, agreed. Nobody knew this—saw this—coming. And this was not just basketball news. This was world news. I was actually traveling somewhere, and this was all over TV. I was surprised how big those news were. And yeah, it was a tough, tough decision I think the club had to make. And you know, it just—it happened. I think in the NBA, there’s always stuff that surprises everybody. That’s what kind of keeps it, I guess, interesting also. Of course, I want to support Luka, but I’m also a Maverick for life, you know. So this was a tough decision for me. But I want to keep obviously supporting both. I want to wish Luka the best in L.A., and I think he’s going to have a great career there. And of course, the Mavs moved on and now got the first pick. So I think at this point, both sides are moving on and hopefully doing well after.
Having experienced the highs and lows of the NBA, Wall believes he can offer a unique perspective at Prime Video, which will broadcast 67 regular season games, the play-in tournament and some playoff games. Wall never imagined that he would be in this position so soon. He started out calling the G League showcase in January, which led to a few appearances on NBA TV. Now he’s a part of an NBA on Prime team that includes Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem and Candace Parker. Before this opportunity arrived, Wall said, he was content being in dad mode for sons Ace, 6, and Amir, 5.
“We were with Dirk Nowitzki for 21 years, and the last three years were out of pure respect,” Nelson told Ekipa 24. “People like that deserve to say goodbye on their own terms and according to their wishes, and everyone deserves a decent funeral – figurative or literal.” Nelson admitted he was stunned by the trade, as were many in basketball. “Everyone was shocked,” Nelson said. “Some of us are still shocked.”
The Dallas Mavericks held an introductory press conference for 2025 NBA Draft No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg on Friday. After the press conference, Mark Cuban — who was in attendance — took some time to speak to reporters. Cuban was asked about Dirk Nowitzki and Flagg, to which he provided a “trash talk” comparison. “Dirk would talk his game and tell you what he was going to do,” Cuban told reporters. “And you see that with Cooper, too. Cooper likes to talk trash. The difference was… Dirk would say it in German and no one understood it. So now someone needs to ask him (Flagg) if he knows any foreign languages.”
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Tom Haberstroh: Jalen WIlliams just did something -- score 40+ in a Finals game -- that the following players have never done: Larry Bird Hakeem Olajuwon Karl Malone Kawhi Leonard Dirk Nowitzki
Marc J Spears: Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson said @paulpierce34 was his “favorite player” in the 1998 NBA Draft, but his son made sure they kept to their commitment @swish41 to select him at ninth instead. Pierce was selected 10th by the Celtics.
How do you imagine that show is going to look once it actually begins? Blake Griffin: I like building this show with Dirk Nowitzki, Candace Parker and Taylor Rooks. The former players are all relatively new to retirement. We all played in the last few years. Dirk has a great sense of humor. He’ll be great. The whole crew is great. We have a group chat that we text all of the time. We’re trying to start that chemistry and get it going. I’m looking forward to being up there with everybody. We want to give insight. We want to give actual analysis for pre-game, halftime and post-game. But we also want to keep it really light. We want to highlight some of the lesser-known storylines around the NBA. When you turn on ESPN, you just see the Lakers and the Celtics and the Warriors and the Knicks. We want to highlight someone like Donovan Mitchell, who had an unbelievable year in Cleveland.
Keerthika Uthayakumar: Most makes to tie or take the lead in the last 90 seconds of the 4th or OT in a single postseason (since 1997): Tyrese Haliburton - 5 this year LeBron James – 5 in 2018 Kevin Durant – 5 in 2012 Dirk Nowitzki – 5 in 2011 Ray Allen - 5 in 2009 Ben Gordon – 5 in 2009 John Stockton – 5 in 1997
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