Shunning 2x NBA MVP for ‘Sports Hero’ Roger Federer, HoF Dirk Nowitzki Takes a Sly Dig at Ex-Teammate

Roger Federer is considered one of the best tennis players ever. Over the course of his illustrious career, Federer won every accolade there is. The Swiss Maestro is not just an inspiration to tennis players, but any aspiring athlete around the world. And even legends from other sports. Apparently, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki is a huge fan of Federer and called him his “sports hero” recently. However, he took a swipe at one of his former teammates while praising the tennis superstar.

Nowitzki is one of the best big men the league has ever seen. Notably, the Dallas Mavericks legend was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame a few weeks back for his achievements.

Dirk Nowitzki’s hilarious swipe at NBA legend while praising Roger Federer

Dirk Nowitzki is a low-key hilarious guy. If you haven’t noticed, even his profile picture on his social media handles is a Family Guy version of himself. The German’s funny side was in full swing during a recent show alongside other legends Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, and soccer legend Thierry Henry. In one instance, the crew of legends were discussing the Olympics and World Cup.

While Wade suggested an interesting theory about Gasol’s Spain, Nowitzki hilariously doubled down. Even though Nowitzki did not want to put the Spaniard on the spot, he reluctantly did. Now, the 14x NBA All-Star has put another legend on the spot via social media.

This time, it was his former teammate, Steve Nash.? Nowitzki was in attendance for the Laver Cup in Vancouver. The Laver Cup social media handle posted an image of Nowitzki sitting alongside Federer and Nash on X.

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The 2011 NBA champion re-shared the post via his account with the caption, “With one of my sports heroes! And I?m not talking about the guy on the right?.”

While praising his “hero” Federer, the Hall of Famer took a hilarious dig at Nash. The fans could not believe Dirk’s swipe and shared their reaction in the comments.

Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash: From teammates to rivals

Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki played together during Nash’s time for the Dallas Mavericks.

After spending his first two years with the Phoenix Suns, Nash was traded to the Mavericks in 1998. It was the same year the Mavs drafted Nowitzki as the 9th overall pick. The duo played together for six seasons in Dallas. While Nash required a bit more time to develop, Nowitzki hit the ground running.

In 2004, Nash joined the Suns again where he spent most of his prime years and won the NBA MVP award twice in 2005 and 2006.

Notably, Nash helped the Suns eliminate the Mavs in the 2004-05 playoffs. However, Dirk and the Mavs had their revenge next year when they eliminated the Suns in the Conference Finals. Nowitzki then helped the Mavs win their first-ever title in 2011 and retired as a one-club legend.

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