Charlotte Hornets: Legendary Dirk Nowitzki set to retire
After twenty-one seasons of being a thorn in the Charlotte Hornets’ side, Dirk Nowitzki has decided to retire.
This may not seem like Charlotte Hornets news, but this is a huge story in the NBA world currently. Dirk Nowitzki has spent twenty-one seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, and on Tuesday night he announced that he would be retiring.
This report came following the Maverick’s win over the Phoenix Suns; this was the Mavericks’ final home game of the season. Nowitzki was the teams’ leading scorer with thirty points.
Nowitzki stated this following the game: “This was my last home game.”
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Nowitzki made a lot of history in the NBA, whether it being on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list or just hitting clutch shots at the end of a game. He was also a problem for many opposing teams.
He was not drafted in the top five during the 1998 NBA Draft, but the Mavericks got a steal when they took him at 9th overall. Nowitzki would go on to repay the Mavericks with an NBA title about a decade later.
He has always been a difficult player to guard on the perimeter, and the Hornets can testify to this. It wasn’t but last season that Nowitzki would rack up nineteen points against the Hornets while starting with limited minutes.
Just when you thought Dirk was old and couldn’t do it anymore, he would go off in a game by knocking down four or five threes. Even in this final season of his career, he is averaging 7.1 points three rebounds per game.
During the past five seasons, Dirk has averaged 11.9 points and six rebounds per game against the Hornets. This may not seem like a lot, but he would always hit the dagger shots during these games against Charlotte. Of course, he did more damage against the Hornets while he was in his prime.
Nowitzki played in thirty-one games against Charlotte, and he only started in twenty-nine of them. Out of every game that he played against Charlotte, he averaged 21.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
During this season, the Mavericks were able to beat Hornets twice, and Nowitzki received a standing ovation at the end of the final game that he played in Charlotte. The entire arena erupted in chants for Nowitzki.
The Hornets only have one player that compares to the success of the legendary Nowitzki, and that player is Frank Kaminsky. It’s not easy to knock down threes while possessing a height of 7’0+, but both of these guys knocked down a lot of threes in their first three seasons.
Kaminsky may never live up to the legend of Dirk Nowitzki, but I always find it fascinating when tall stretch-bigs can knock down perimeter shots efficiently. As a Hornets fan, I can only hope that one of our stretch-bigs turn out like Nowitzki.
Since Nowitzki is retiring, this opens up a lot for the Mavericks, because of their latest addition of Kristaps Porzingis. Who knows when Porzingis will play, but I feel that he’s a great option to fill Nowitzki’s void.
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Nowitzki’s last career game will be on the road Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Here’s to hoping that Nowitzki will put on a grand finale, just as Kobe Bryant did in 2016.