The tape from Saturday’s Warriors-Mavs game didn’t look good for Shaun Livingston, but Dirk Nowitzki was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Nut shots aren’t cool, as Mark Cuban complained after the game, but Livingston has never been accused of being a dirty player before and Dirk appeared to forgive him for the transgression. Yes, the NBA suspended Livingston for one game, but as far as the Mavs were concerned it was over and done with.
Dirk was pretty chill about the whole thing after the game:
Dirk on Shaun Livingston: "He's actually a really, really good dude, so I have to give him the benefit of the doubt."
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) April 5, 2015
Dirk jokingly on the Shaun Livingston low blow: "I really enjoyed his tight grip. Yeah, I really enjoyed that." #DALvsGSW
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) April 5, 2015
He even joked yesterday about it:
“We talked a little bit afterwards, and he said ‘you know for a white guy, it’s pretty impressive.'”
Then he got on a carousel and had more fun than most eight-year-olds.
Dirk Nowitzki will retire one of these summer’s and we’ll be really sad. Not just for that impossible-to- defend one-legged step-back jumper, or those high arcing three’s from the top of the key, but for light-hearted comments like the one above.
Ever since winning the title in 2011, a huge weight has been lifted from the German’s shoulders, and he’s luxuriated in the twilight of one of the finest careers ever, and certainly the best ever by a European import. He’s just a guy you want to drink some Leffe beer with and joke about whether he ever used DeShawn Stevenson’s in-apartment ATM.
Always do you Dirk.
(Vine via Dena)
