Kyrie Irving on Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavs Legacy: 'Shoutout to the Legend'

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving shared his perspective on what Dirk Nowitzki means to Dallas.

DALLAS — After the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, Kyrie Irving interacted with Dirk Nowitzki before heading to the locker room.

During his post-game press conference, Irving shared his perspective on Nowitzki's impact on the Mavs organization, praising him as a player who means a lot to Dallas and the broader basketball world.

“Yeah, shoutout to the legend. The statue," Irving said. "I can tell you what [Dirk] means to the broader basketball [world]. But I think for Dallas in general; he created a culture of championship-winning, MVP-like performances, a lot of game-winners, and playing with a lot of legends in the league."

Apr 2, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) stands on the

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Nowitzki led the Mavs to its first and only NBA championship in 2011 when guiding the team past the "Big 3" Miami Heat squad led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Irving highlighted the magnitude of leading a franchise to such a feat as someone who managed to do the same with James as members of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

"You look at the names that are one the floor, there’s a lot of legendary names that have come through Dallas and helped build this franchise be where it is today," Irving said. "Although it’s only one championship, a lot of franchises can’t say the same, that they’ve won a championship. That means something in the basketball culture world and in the sports world."

Irving feels he can always go to Nowitzki for advice given his relationship as "a little brother" to him. However, Irving has a significant respect for how good of a person Nowitzki as well as the impact he's had on European players who grew up watching him before coming to the NBA.

"Just the respect that I have for him as a peer, as a little brother, I look at Dirk as someone I can always go to if I need some resources and advice," Irving said. "Just hearing about the quality of human being that he is and how much he has influenced Luka and other guys that have come through here, it’s nothing but positive things."

Irving has utmost respect for Nowitzki's accomplishments in his 21-year NBA career, which included ups and downs. The German basketball icon has achieved a standard for many players in the sport.

"He had his ups and downs, just like every great pro. He won a lot of games and lost some games, but the respect that I have for him is just unconditional," Irving siad. "He set the standard here, and he’s built a large legacy that other guys want to follow.”

Irving and Nowitzki faced off against each other for a total of 11 games. In those games, Irving averaged 24.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds, while Nowitzki averaged 16.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, with many matchups occurring during the later stage of his career.