I’ve written and talked about Dirk Nowitzki since the night the Mavs drafted him in 1998. From the time he stepped off the plane in Dallas with a bowl haircut and a gold hoop earring. To the night he hoisted a championship trophy in Miami four summers ago.
Nowtizki is one of my five favorite local athletes ever, and to me he’s a no-brainer on Dallas’ Mount Sportsmore along with Emmitt Smith and Mike Modano and … oh, that’s a debate for another time.
But never, ever in the last 17 years has it occurred to me that being in the presence of No. 41 was a divine gift.
Not so for Mavs’ rookie center Satnam Singh. The first player of Indian descent to be drafted in the NBA, Singh recently took admiration and idolization of Nowitzki to an – ahem – higher level.
“I am so happy,” Singh told the India-based website, Sportskeeda.com. “I feel like it is God’s gift to me that I have an opportunity to work with Dirk. I am confident that after working with him, I will certainly become a better player.”
Playing with a future Hall of Famer is one thing. Setting picks for God’s gift is another.
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 lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
