DIRK NOWITZKI ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AFTER FINAL HOME GAME FOR MAVERICKS
By SCHUYLER DIXON
DALLAS (AP) — It’s time for the most accomplished European player in NBA history to retire after scoring a season-high 30 points in a 120-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
“As you guys might expect, this is my last home game,” Nowitzki said, doing a better job of fighting his emotions than he did at the end of a timeout in the second quarter, after a tribute video showing his holiday visit to a children’s hospital a little more than two years ago.
“This is obviously super, super emotional. Just too many people to really thank. I put you guys on a helluva ride with a lot of ups and downs, and you guys always stuck with me and supported me, so I appreciate it.”
Nowitzki never shared his retirement plans because he didn’t want a farewell tour, but he also said he only began serious deliberations on retirement when his lower body gave him issues late in the season.
The sellout crowd that followed Cuban’s orders by showing up early chanted “M-V-P” and “One more year” throughout the game. But after he made the announcement, the chant turned to “Thank you, Dirk” as Cuban started to speak .
“There’s no words that I could possibly say to describe how I feel what you meant to this organization, but I can make you all kinds of promises,” Cuban said.
“I’ll promise you that you have a job for life. I don’t care what you do. I’ll promise you that we’ll retire your number, not a tough decision. And I’ll promise you we will put the biggest … statue ever. And we’ll put it right in front of the arena.”
The smooth-shooting 7-footer changed the game when the Mavericks traded for the 20-year-old, taken ninth overall in the 1998 draft. He was the first player that big to be a legitimate threat at the 3-point line.
Nowitzki, sitting at 31,540 points with one game left, gave the home crowd another thrill last month by passing Wilt Chamberlain to regain sixth on the career scoring list. Nowitzki reached that spot last season, but James passed him.
“It will never be the same around here,” said Rick Carlisle, who coached Nowitzki for his final 11 seasons. “It just won’t.”
The NBA’s highest-scoring foreign-born player broke Kobe Bryant’s record of 20 seasons with the same franchise, although it took longer than expected because of setbacks following ankle surgery that sidelined Nowitzki for the first 26 games. Bryant retired from the Lakers three years ago.
“It’s been a long time coming, struggling this year with my foot,” Nowitzki said. “It just doesn’t make any sense any more physically. I think mentally I could still do it. I can always push myself to work out and work hard. But physically, the foot is just not quite there.”
The legacy, however, is.
