4 Years Before HoF Honor, Dirk Nowitzki?s Legacy Was Immortalized in Former Home of 25 Years

Professional Basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki is a renowned name in the city of Dallas, Texas. Having devoted the entire 21 years of his NBA career to their team, the former player led the Mavericks to win the 2011 championship and was named the MVP the same year.

Four years after officially retiring from the NBA, Nowitzki was recently conferred with one of the highest honors ever bestowed on a basketball athlete. This led the people of Dallas to reminisce about another achievement that immortalized the player?s legacy.

Months after retirement, the city of Dallas renamed a road after Dirk Nowitzki

Back in April 2019, during a heartfelt moment, Dirk Nowitzki announced his exit from the prestigious NBA league. The city of Dallas, to whom the player devoted so many years to, wanted to ensure that the player?s legacy would be something that would be remembered for generations to come.

The following September saw a meeting taking place amongst the members of the Dallas City Council. Amongst the typical street improvement proposals was a unique agenda item. The proposal called to rename a street located next to the American Airlines center after the 14x NBA All Star. Given the fact that the American Airlines Center is the place where the Dallas Mavericks have played numerous games, the location seemed to be appropriate for the occasion. Every other person in the council felt the same, and the motion was passed with a unanimous 15-0 vote.

Given the fact that the city had not named a street in honour of any living individual, some rules had to be overturned. Everything happened without any major complications and Olive Street was renamed to Nowitzki Way.

On the day of the ceremony, Nowitzki could be seen barely able to contain his emotions. During his commemorative speech, the former player linked the honour with his ?relationship with the city, with this community?.

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“It’s sort of surreal” Nowitzki added during his speech back in 2019. “From my first year, the city probably wouldn’t have named a dumpster after me.”

Nowitzki gave a heartfelt speech during his Hall of Fame Induction

If people thought that nothing could top the honour bestowed upon Dirk Nowitzki back in 2019, they hadn?t seen anything coming.

A few weeks ago, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted six former NBA players as part of its Class of 2023. The list contained some renowned names, including Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade and Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol. Amongst them, towering over everyone else, was Dallas?s very own Dirk Nowitzki.

From Dwyane Wade inviting his father up on the stage?to Pau Gasol remembering his ?brother? Kobe Bryant, the ceremony was filled with some heartfelt moments. When the time came for the Mavericks star to deliver the speech, he expressed his gratitude to everyone he knew. He roasted two of his former teammates and shared some valuable life lessons. The audience could be seen being in awe of each and every word that was coming out of this NBA legend.

One of the most memorable moments occurred during the end of the speech. During the same, Nowitzki encouraged people to find their role models who push them ahead in the path to success.

?Remember, when you?re green, you grow. When you?re ripe, you rot” Nowitzki added to conclude his speech.

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