Well congratulations Dirk, you’re officially the most loved player in the NBA. Why? Because you sent the Heat, as well as the whole city of Miami, a reality check. But was it simply one city that was affected by Dirk’s recent Finals victory? The League, players, and fans can all learn from how Dirk went about winning his first ring.
He was labeled as being a soft player, he lost to the Miami Heat in his first Finals appearance, and he lost literally every teammate from that Finals team with the exception of Jason Terry. Yet Dirk took it upon himself to get better and improve his game. He became a better off-the-ball player on offense, he developed a post-game, and he developed a true leadership role. When Jason Terry left Mario Chalmers wide open for that baseline three that tied the game in Game 2, Dirk got in his face and let him hear it. He then proceeded to win the game with his left hand, which was sporting an injured finger. After dropping Game 3, Dirk once again had late game heroics and had the game winning bucket, this time with his right hand.
Dirk took charge and led the team by himself. He was even bold enough to say in a press conference that he needed more support from his teammates. Not to let their leader down, the bench as well as other starters stepped up in the next few games. Tyson Chandler cleaned the glass like Windex, Jason Terry embarrassed the Heat defense by continually burying jump shots, and Jason Kidd stepped up for a few clutch threes down the stretch. His teammates respected him and played solely for the reason of getting Dirk his first ring; Jason Kidd, who had been in the Finals twice before, even said that he wanted to win for Dirk, not himself. Dirk Nowitzki gained their trust and failed only one out of three times to make the go-ahead shot in the NBA Finals.
Another reason you can’t help but respect the German 7-footer is because the man never asked out of Dallas. Even when he was left playing with scrubs like Tony Delk and Eric Dampier, Dirk stayed right at home. MJ never asked out of Chicago when they were awful at the beginning of his career, and Kobe never left Los Angeles when his starting power forward was Chris Mihm and Smush Parker was his point guard. Alongside those two, Dirk is a superstar that decided to endure criticism and do things the hard way, we all know LeBron James can’t say the second part.
Ten-time All-Star, one-time NBA MVP, NBA champion, and a Finals MVP; Dirk has cemented the legacy he’s been trying to leave since he entered the league. He’s never even wanted to leave Dallas, he worked harder than nearly every other player in the league to achieve his goal, and he delivered in the clutch. Dirk Nowitzki has silenced the critics and proved that hard work is how you succeed. Congratulations Dirk, you’ve earned it.
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