The Dallas Mavericks will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon as the second of five Christmas Day games in the NBA, but prior to tipoff, the team held a special ceremony outside the American Airlines Center to pay tribute to the best player to ever don a Mavs uniform: Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavs finally unveiled a massive statue of Dirk doing his iconic one-legged fadeaway outside the AAC, with the current Mavs all in attendance to honor the franchise legend.
Loyalty Never Fades Away. @chime // #AllFourOne pic.twitter.com/mKsvlBHywP
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 25, 2022
The Mavs also produced a short behind the scenes video of the statue’s creation that offers a cool look at the two-year process of sculpting and casting the bronze statue (that is gigantic) of Dirk doing his signature fadeaway.
The man who changed the game forever.
Watch the two-year process of the creation for @swish41’s statue, now outside of the @aacenter. @chime | #AllFourOne pic.twitter.com/QXcjUjbYSW
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 25, 2022
It’s a fitting tribute to the best player in franchise history, and also a very good pivot from the initial design that tried to show the arc of the shot but looked…off. No one will be confused as to what Dirk is doing as his fadeaway is not just his signature move but one that is universally recognized as “the Dirk” on basketball courts everywhere. He is now immortalized outside the arena as well as inside, where his No. 41 hangs in the rafters alongside the 2011 Mavs championship banner.
