Dirk Nowitzki has overshadowed rival LeBron James and made all the difference for his team in the finals.
The American Airlines Center in Dallas had been packed with admirers of Dirk Nowitzki. The seven-foot German has inspired his fans to come out with some quirky messages during the last three games in the NBA finals. “Will you marry me, Dirk?” read one placard. “Luv you Dirk,” said another banner from a young girl. Yet another said: “I’m here from LA Lakers to buy Dirk”.
The 33-year-old has this reputation of being a one franchise player so that answers the question if he will ever move from Dallas. But Nowtizki has given little indication whether he knows about his growing popularity among the American public and growing stature in the NBA. He is now being hailed as another NBA great, just like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaq O’Neal, Kobe Bryant...
Lately, there have been comparisons with LeBron James, who they call here as King James. He has done little of note so far in the finals the point has not been unnoticed. The media — television, internet and print — have kept flashing the statistics that Nowitzki has outscored James 52-11 in the fourth quarter of the finals — they call the fourth quarter ‘clutch’ here. One report even hailed him as ‘Mr Fourth Quarter’.
Nowitzki’s focus has been unwavering in the finals. So, it is no wonder that he may well have not noticed all the admiration from the stands. They say there is yet to be a picture of him smiling. “I really can’t enjoy it much because in the playoffs, for some reason, you’re always on edge. You don’t sleep much. You think basketball 24x7. I can enjoy it, hopefully next week, when we’re on vacation.”
Last week, there have been reports about mangled finger and triple digit temperature. He did not let any of that affect his performance. Not even the 102 degree temperature. That day he won the game (Game 4) for the Mavericks, turning things around in the last quarter. Miami Heat, down 2-3 in the finals, are yet to find ways to stop him.
In the five games so far, Nowitzki has averaged 27 points and 9.4 rebounds. Without doubt, he has been the performer of the finals so far. Jeff Van Gundy, the ABC analyst and former New York Knicks coach, has declared him the series’s most valuable player.
“He is now being known by one name,” Van Gundy said of Nowitzki, a 10-time NBA All-Star and 11-time member of the all-NBA teams. “You start saying ‘Dirk,’ everybody knows,” Van Gundy was quoted as saying in the New York Times.
“Dirk is our key player. The team’s strategy is made around him. He the reason for our success,” said Jason Terry before the Game Five. Along with Nowitzki, Terry has been with Dallas since that 2006 finals.
“He’s been in this position before in ‘06 and they’ve put teams around Dirk for a while now, and he hasn’t gotten back here,” teammate Jason Kidd said on Thursday. “He’s enjoying the moment but he’s also focused and understands how hard it is to win a championship.”
Nowitzki is the best European import to the NBA since his arrival in 1998. He is also the first European to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player award (in 2007). Watch out for him in Game Six tomorrow.
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