The only star to win a championship for Dallas Mavericks and yet not much credit? What Dirk Nowitzki did for the Mavs in 2011 with just another big name in Jason Kidd is often not appreciated enough. Especially considering the likes of players he overcame to win the championship that season. But now a former teammate of Nowitzki has highlighted how impactful Dirk’s 2011 run was. During an interview with Brandon Scoop, Maurice Ager praised Nowitzki’s commitment to the game with time, energy, and loyalty.

Further, Maurice was asked where he placed Nowitzki’s competitive side as a teammate. The premise of the question was that people talk more about the likes of Kobe, Michael Jordan, LeBron, and Ray Allen in competitiveness and Nowitzki somewhere gets lost in this discussion. “Dirk was competitive… He practiced hard every day… I mean, just think about it… [Nowitzki] beat Kobe, KD, Bryant, Wade?… He ran through all our greats in one year, so his competitive nature is obvious,” Ager said. He believes Dirk deserves similar respect to the other greats of the NBA. 

Notably, Dirk’s Mavericks won against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of 2011 playoffs 4-2. And in the Conference Semi-finals came a surprising series sweep of the 2x defending champions,  Kobe Bryant‘s Los Angeles Lakers. Subsequently, the team won 4-1 in the Conference Finals against OKC, a team that included players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on the roster.

However, the lesser-expected outcome turned out to be the Mavs defeating the Miami Heat superteam that included the Big 3 — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. As for Nowitzki’s stats in the 2011 playoffs, he averaged 27.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. The German Wunderkid had led the Mavs to the Finals in 2006. However, they lost the series despite going up 2-0 against Miami.

They faced further embarrassment next season as they were ousted from the postseason as the 1st seed by the 8th seed Golden State Warriors in the first round. But Maurice credits the toughness in the Mavs icon to the 2007 series loss against the Golden State Warriors.

In fact, Brandon Robinson asked if there was an instance of Nowitzki tearing up the locker room at the Oracle arena when the Mavs played against GSW. However, Ager denied seeing anything like that, which seems unlikely for a guy like Nowitzki. A person who, despite the win against the Heat’s Big 3, credited them for their strength. 

Dirk Nowitzki accepted the Heat to be a better side even after his 2011 win

In a 2021 interview, the German Wunderkid accepted the Heat to be more talented in their 2011 matchup. The 2011 NBA champ believes they were fortunate to face the Big 3 when they still did not have their roles defined. “I think everybody was still trying to find their way with [Chris] Bosh and [Dwyane] Wade and who scores when, who gets the ball at certain times of the game,” he added. 

This may come as a surprise from Nowitzki, considering his performance during the 2011 run. But there is no denying the Heat with its Big 3 was an unstoppable force. The two consecutive championships after the 2011 season are a testament to this. Nevertheless, Dirk Nowtizki’s contribution in the 2011 run and his contribution to the Mavs is not something to be overlooked. 

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.