Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki gets Dallas sendoff before upcoming Hall of Fame enshrinement

He stepped to the dais with a wide smile and a friendly wave, looking more like Mr. Congeniality than the soon-to-be Hall of Famer that the roomful of reporters and Mavericks employees came to see.

Then again Dirk Nowitzki has known many of those people for the better part of two decades, making Tuesday morning’s 30-minute gathering in the Mavericks’ Design District training facility feel more like a chummy catch-up than a news conference.

The tone was similar later Tuesday at the opening of Dirk’s restaurant, called Nowitzki, near gate C-37 at DFW International Airport. After sharing a few remarks, Nowitzki then essentially hung out on-air with his friends and 97.1 The Freak co-hosts Jeff Wade and Ben Rogers.

Tuesday amounted to a grand North Texas bon voyage to a visibly trim, rested and excited Nowitzki, 45, as he embarks Wednesday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame weekend.

The first big occasion is Friday’s tip-off Celebration and Awards Gala at the Mohegan Sun Casino Hotel. The main event of course is Saturday night’s Class of 2023 induction ceremony in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketball.

Naturally, Dallas will be in his heart and among the focal points of his induction speech, given that all 21 of his NBA seasons were spent as a Maverick.

“It means, of course, a lot to me that it worked out that way,” he said. “But of course, I had no idea that it was going to play out like this at the beginning. I wasn’t even sure I’d stay for my whole rookie contract, the way things were going in year one.”

That of course made his rise from gangly 20-year-old who averaged 8.2 points and 20% 3-point shooting to 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player to 2011 NBA champion to No. 6 scorer in league history such a testament to his overriding talent and will and work ethic.

Nowitzki doesn’t want to give away too many details of his induction speech, which he hinted will be roughly 10-to-12 minutes, but said it mostly will be about saying thank yous.

After learning in late March that he had been voted into the Hall, he sporadically has jotted notes about people and moments in his life and career that he wants to be in the speech, but mostly he wants to speak from the heart.

“I have sort of my script in mind and you want to kind of remind yourself, ‘OK, what’s next?’ ” he said. “Don’t forget anybody, like I forgot my sister [Silke] at my jersey retirement. I can’t let anything like that happen this weekend.

“We’ll see. These things are sort of hard to plan. My speech is sort of set, but I really don’t want to stare at the teleprompter that entire night. Some stuff will just come out and be spontaneous in the moment.”

On Tuesday Nowitzki revealed that he originally hoped to have three Hall of Fame presenters on induction night. Rules dictate that presenters must be Hall of Fame members.

He said that picking former Mavericks point guards and longtime friends Steve Nash and Jason Kidd to accompany him to the stage was a no-brainer. Nowitzki added that he hoped to also be presented by Don Nelson, his Mavericks coach from 1998 to 2005, but 83-year-old Nelson is unable to make the trip from Maui.

Nowitzki said that NBA rules eliminating hand-checking and discouraging bump-and-grind play in the post, coupled with Nelson’s creativity, “sort of played right into my hands.

“I think if I’d have gone to another team, maybe they would’ve bulked me up and maybe would have stuck me under the basket,” he said. “But Nellie just saw the game differently; always has. He was a mismatch master. He wanted me to shoot. He encouraged me to play my style.”

As with any athlete from any sport who’s ever given a Hall of Fame speech, Nowitzki knows the biggest hurdles will be discussing family members and others to whom he’s especially close.

That could prove extra challenging in Nowitzki’s case. Along with parents Jorg and Helga, mentor Holger Heschwindner; wife Jessica and their three children; he’ll have in the audience at least 11 former teammates and Mavericks governor Mark Cuban, among other franchise friends.

And then of course Mavericks fans, the multitudes who always will adore him for, sure, winning that elusive championship, but also because of who and how he is, on and off the court.

The fans who, while not present at Nowitzki’s two Tuesday’s sendoffs, certainly were there in spirit – as will be the case Saturday night in Springfield.

When he returns to Dallas, it will be as forevermore Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.

Twitter: @Townbrad

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