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Over the coming days, weeks, and maybe years, there will be countless words written about Dirk Nowitzki. As there should be. He had a 21 year career, which means the first words printed about Dirk were actually printed…on newspapers. The first “Dirk for MVP” online happened on AIM or Myspace. And he deserves all of it. 21 years with one team: in a sport where athletes change teams like Taylor Swift changes boyfriends, in a sport where players are so easily dispensable when they stop winning, in a sport that is unforgiving to the knees and ankles, Dirk’s record is a marvel. There are no shortages of tributes, stories, and thanks that Dirk Nowitzki deserves, so here are my favorite memories.
· I started watching Dirk in high school. Frickin high school. Dirk was learning to compete with NBA level talent while I was learning how to drive. I hadn’t watched much basketball up until then. But I got NBA2k on Sega Dreamcast. I played franchise mode being general manager and assembling super teams, but I could never bring myself to trade Dirk, even virtually. My Dirk-led franchises won a bazillion championships, and I’m pretty sure no matter what version I played on what system, video-game Dirk retired before real Dirk. He outlasted the machines. That’s some John Conner shit.
· My friend called me during the playoffs and told me she had an extra ticket. Immediately I headed to…
