You’ve heard the one about how the Mavs never land a big-fish free agent because stars don’t want to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki. It’s ridiculous. It’s wrong.
And now we have proof.
The NBA holds an annual vote for Teammate of the Year. Silly as it sounds, Dirk finished third this season behind only Miami’s Shane Battier and Charlotte’s Al Jefferson. Players voted on the award, and they were not allowed to vote for anyone from their own team.
In other words, Nowitzki is about as respected as anyone in the NBA. Why? Because in a league often littered with selfishness, he is the rarest of commodities – the selfless superstar.
And we haven’t even gotten to the point about Dirk taken less money on this imminent final contract to stay in Dallas in hopes of acquiring another star to hopefully make a run at another championship.
Nowitzki this week will go on a quick vacation to Las Vegas with owner Mark Cuban. Maybe he comes back with a new deal. And maybe the Mavs will get to keep one of the best teammates in the history of sports.
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.
