Eventually, it happens to all of us. Even the greats. And it’s happening.
To 36-year-old Kobe Bryant, out for the season with a rotator cuff injury a year after being shut down by a torn Achilles.
To 38-year-old Peyton Manning, who clearly, sadly had no arm strength in his team’s playoff loss earlier this month.
To 32-year-old Roger Federer, who looked a step slow in a third-round loss at this year’s Australian Open to a no-name he was 10-0 against.
To 36-year-old Dirk Nowitzki, not yet …
While the aging sports superstars of his era break down around him, the Mavericks’ forward continues to push forward. Albeit by pulling back.
Nowtizki’s game has always be geared toward longevity because it’s never been based in athleticism. Skill and guile, we’re learning, fade a lot slower than the legs. He’s not an MVP candidate. He doesn't fire off 50-point games. And he’s clearly ceded the Mavs’ biggest shots to Monta Ellis. But Nowitzki is still a healthy, viable player into the golden age of his storied career.
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With Bryant’s second season-ending injury in as many years, it forces Nowitzki to ponder his own mortality. Bryant is one of only three active players to have more minutes than the giant German.
Ironically, it’s the criticism of Dirk’s game – he’s “soft”! – that’s elongating his Hall-of-Fame career. He doesn’t get hurt on kamikaze drives to the basket or on awkward landings after alley-oop dunks. He pump-fakes. He fades. He shoots. He slaps at the ball instead of jumping to block shots.
He endures.
“You can’t take anything for granted in this league as you get older,” Nowitzki told reporters Monday in the wake of Bryant’s injury news. “You want to compete every night. You want to have fun doing it. You don’t want to get up every morning and have to fight to go to work, fight to stay out there. That’s not how I ever looked at basketball. As long as I feel good and I don’t have to take a bunch of pills to play … That’s not how I look at the game. It’s supposed to be fun.”
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
