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“I don’t think I’ve seen a player at his age handle the platform and pressure that he’s been able to, with the grace that he’s been able to,” said veteran Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, who won a ring with Curry in Golden State in 2015 and played alongside Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. “He feels very natural in those moments,” Barnes said. “I think, coming into (Monday) night, in 14 years, that was one of the craziest atmospheres I’ve seen for a playoff game. Especially a finals game. I feel like he was extremely comfortable in that moment, just to embrace that and be who he was.”
Nick Van Exel: "I've been around some incredible workers. I played with Manu Ginobili. I played with Dirk Nowitzki. Those guys were among the hardest workers I've ever seen in basketball. But Kobe Bryant was on another level. When it came to work ethic, he ran laps around people. It wasn't even close. That's not disrespect toward Manu or Dirk. It's a compliment to Kobe. His commitment was extreme. His attention to detail was obsessive. Even as an 18-year-old, he approached improvement differently from everyone else. Most players work hard. Kobe seemed driven by something deeper. He wasn't just trying to stay good. He was chasing mastery. Every drill, every workout, every repetition had a purpose. Looking back, it's easier to understand why he became who he became. The work was already there long before the championships arrived."
Nowitzki racked up a whopping 591 wins in the regular season without an All-Star teammate, the most in league history. That was while the big German made 14 All-Star appearances himself, as well as 12 All-NBA Teams (four as a 1st Teamer and five as a 2nd Teamer).
Fun fact: Nowitzki also has the record for most regular-season wins without All-NBA teammates with 804. Dallas fans should be grateful to this day that Nowitzki was loyal enough to never ask out, because a lot of other stars without star help surely would have gotten frustrated enough to demand a trade.
“Obviously, we had a long rivalry going and competed for a long, long time,” Nowitzki said. “But it’s been great getting to know him, working with him, being on the same team with him. He is a stand-up, honest guy. He always tells you how it is. “Looking back now, I think we would have gotten along great if we were on the same team, or if we had different paths and our paths would have crossed sooner. I love some of the stuff that he stands for, and it’s been super fun getting to know him more, getting to work with him, the banter and, obviously, the trash talk. It has been a pleasure.”
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“Me and Dirk, we’re the best of buddies,” Haslem said. “We probably couldn’t stand each other because we’re so much alike. I say this all the time: We’re the best of buddies, and we have to give credit to Taylor.”
Nowitzki, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, had a different opinion. “I’ve watched the NBA and been a part of it for a long, long time. I’ve never seen this,” Nowitzki said. “A guy walking into the huddle with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter and dapping up the entire team? Too much for me. Obviously, you can do that after the game and show plenty of respect.” Griffin cosigned simply by saying, “I’ve never seen that before.”
NBA Courtside: Dirk on Cooper Flagg winning ROY: "I watched Cooper all year long. The stuff he had to deal with early with all the negativity around and the booing. There was a lot happening that whole season... Started at PG at 6'9 something he's never done.... Historic numbers as a teenager. Well deserved Cooper, we're proud of you"
Dirk on Cooper Flagg winning ROY:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 29, 2026
"I watched Cooper all year long. The stuff he had to deal with early with all the negativity around and the booing. There was a lot happening that whole season... Started at PG at 6'9 something he's never done.... Historic numbers as a teenager.… pic.twitter.com/d9lLTtf3bf
FIBA officially inducted its Class of 2026 into the FIBA Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 21, with Dirk Nowitzki, Hidayet Turkoglu and Wang Zhizhi among the seven players honored during a ceremony in Berlin. The event took place at the Kraftwerk Berlin alongside the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Draw, marking a global celebration of basketball’s international impact and history. The Class of 2026 also included Sue Bird, Celine Dumerc, Clarisse Machanguana, Ludwik Mietta-Mikolajewicz and Ismenia Pauchard, along with the inducted coach, reflecting a wide representation of eras and nations.
NBA on Prime: “This makes me choke up a little bit, but it was a cool moment.” 🥹 Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) got emotional when talking about what Steve Kerr, Steph and Draymond have achieved together.
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You want to be put in a position to succeed. Antetokounmpo: "Yeah. Exactly. Is it bad for me saying, I'm 31 years old, I won the championship when I was 26 years old. Then the question creeps in your head, like ... Did I wait too long? Did I do the right thing?" Did you wait too long for what? Antetokounmpo: "Being here. [Staying in Milwaukee.] "But then I'm like, No, this is what I want. I want to be here. I want to be with my team. I want to win here again. This is my home. I've spent more years [that I can remember] here than in Greece. It's my home. I want to help the community with my wife and my brothers. "Thanasis is loved here, my brother, my mother are loved here. My kids and I ... it's a normal life, I have a normal life. If you go somewhere else, all this switches. But I don't want to look back and be like ..." (Antetokounmpo pauses. He's joined by his brothers Thanasis and Alex, who played together in the latest Bucks game, and he congratulates them, beaming with pride, but also looking worn out and tired.) Antetokounmpo: “This is why you have conversations with all-time greats like KG (Kevin Garnett). Dirk (Nowitzki) was in the same position, and chose to stay. We’ll see. We’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Durant had already eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (31,560) this season before moving up again Saturday. Next up on the esteemed list is Kobe Bryant, who's fourth with 33,643 points. “It’s an honor for everybody to be a part of that,” coach Ime Udoka said. “And as KD has said in the past, I don’t think he cares much about it in the moment. He’s really focused on the season and what we’re trying to accomplish, but I don’t want to just make it an afterthought. Passing Michael Jordan is obviously a huge accomplishment and we celebrated that with him.”
Dirk Nowitzki: I signed that four-year deal and we won the championship in the first year after that. So… Graham Bensinger: And it required you sacrificing a lot financially. Nowitkzi: Yeah, I could have signed a max deal and I decided to take a little less to me at that point. I had already done everything individually: All-Star, whatever, bunch of times and MVP or whatever. I mean, you probably left somewhere between 70 and 90 million. Nowitzki: That's later overall, at that contract I didn't leave that much.