Dirk Nowitzki just doesn’t dunk anymore. The 36 year-old Dallas Mavericks legend has 29 slams since 2010-2011, including one lonely rim-rocker this season. So it was no surprise that he pulled out a long-awaited celebration after finishing an alley-oop – his first in more than a decade! – from Steph Curry in Sunday night’s All-Star Game.
Remember Vince Carter’s iconic double-point to the sky during the 2003 Dunk Contest? After a fully gratifying All-Star performance of five points in 12 minutes, Dirk said he’s been utilizing that move in practice for years:
Dirk breaks down his All-Star game. A dunk and a three. He's happy. pic.twitter.com/6pgIE2bN9X
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) February 16, 2015
“I had a dunk and a three. I mean, I can go home happy… Yeah, Vinsanity is my guy. I [did] it a lot in practice when he was in Dallas working on my dunk celebration, and finally busted it out on the big stage.”
It wasn’t exactly a reverse 360-degree windmill, but that doesn’t make Nowitzki’s dunk any less deserving of Carter’s celebration – tonight could very well have been the 15-year veteran’s last chance to do it.
[Vine via DallasMavs]
