Next Stop--- Basketball Immortality! The Hall of Fame

Number 41 in your programs, number 1 in your hearts, the best of the best—the 14 Time All Star, the League MVP, and a World Champion! The ONE the ONLY, Dirk Nowitzki!

Twenty one years in one uniform, 21 years playing for the same team, and 21 years of bringing a brand of basketball to a league, to a city that everyone can appreciate, and not once could you say anything wrong about his ability!

Yes, the sun rose on a Thursday morning in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas and for the first time in 21 years, there will no more Dirk Nowitzki hitting a fade away jumper from 15 feet out of the rim and letting fall between the twine of the net of the basket.

It is not the first time in the history of Dallas/Ft. Worth sports, that a “hero” had to step down from his playing days, and call it a career. Though rare that it is that you get to have that one player in your city for his entire career, and for that matter 21 years.

Most of the time its 10 years, give or take a few years.

Lets look at the others that have graced the front page of the Sports sections in this sports town.

Troy Aikman—10 years with the Dallas Cowboys, played his entire career in the same uniform, and retired with THREE Super Bowl Rings, Hall of Fame induction, Cowboy Ring of Honor, and countless Cowboys records.

Michael Irvin, 11 years as a Cowboy receiver. THREE Super Bowl Rings, Hall of Fame induction, Cowboy Ring of Honor and COUNTLESS records in the Cowboys record books.

Emmitt Smith—oops didn’t finish his career in a Cowboy uniform, nope he was released then went to Arizona to play one year for the Cardinals. But not before setting a NEW NFL Rushing Record, leap frogging over Walter Payton, and—YES, THREE SUPER BOWL RINGS—Hall of Fame induction, Cowboys Ring of Honor, and oh yeah that little thing known as a records.

Those are just a handful of the Cowboy greats, throw in  Roger Staubach, and his TWO Super Bowl Rings and Hall of Fame Induction and Cowboys Ring of Honor and we can just stay on this subject for the rest of article.

What about Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, he played the majority of his career for the Texas Rangers, but won a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins, and then bounced around to other teams, there is a patter that is about to follow, that not everyone one gets to start and finish with the same team- for a career.

Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars, started in Minnesota with the North Stars then the team moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars, and he played until they released him and one last season with the Detroit Red Wings and then retirement. The Stars did indeed retire his #9 sweater—and he does have a Stanley Cup Championship and numerous All Star appearance and Olympics as well!

Just to continue with this theme, prior to free agency, players were the property of the teams and their owners, they would start and end their playing careers with the same team unless they were traded to another team.

Look at Babe Ruth, started out with the Boston Red Sox, until the owner needed capitol to get a play on Broadway that, pretty much, FLOPPED. But none the less the New York Yankees paid to bring the Bambino to the Bronx and that is where he led them to championship after championship.

Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, all wore the pinstripes throughout their careers, but other guys like Billy Martin who, after a few altercations, was placed on the trading block and sent to Kansas City, (the Team owns you to do as they please, not getting the best offer from a team when your contract is up)

The few players that were able to start and end their careers with the same team, during the age of free agency, Cal Ripken Jr. comes to mind, who played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, and broke the Iron Man’s record for consecutive games played. Twenty years with the same team and played in 2632 games. Now that is a record that I doubt anyone will ever break, but then again, we said the same thing about home runs, and track records, that have fallen, all because, as the adage goes, “Records are made to be broken”.

Dirk Nowitzki, will be forever entrenched in the lore of the Dallas Mavericks, there were others that came into the Maverick fold, Brad Davis, Rolondo Blackman, Steve Nash, Jet Terry, and a host of others. But NO ONE will ever wear the number 41 ever again, and no one will touch what he has done for this team, for this city, or this community, and for his fans!

When the NBA season starts for 2019-20, it will be without Dirk as well as another star Dwayne Wade, who also retried this season, and the landscape will be in the hands of the other youngsters that will make their mark in the NBA.

Luka Doncic, has started his legend this year, as the rookie phenom, and the Wunderkind, to take the place of the Big German, as Nowitzki has come to be known over the years. There will be others, you can rest assure of that.

Come the dawn of a new season in six months or so, it will be a new roster and a new caliber of player to wear the uniform of the Mavericks and with that, hope will once again be on the side of the fans and maybe there will be a shimmering of hope that another NBA Title looms on the horizon.

Though when you think about it, it has been a lot of retirements happening since last summer, with the Rangers announcing the retirement of Adrian Beltre, and soon his number will be retired at the Ball Park, and to think they won’t even wait for several years to pass before they do that. Makes you wonder, how soon will Mark Cuban do that for Dirk, and retire 41 before he goes into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Thanks for all that you have done Dirk, for the Mavericks, the City of Dallas, and for the Community you have adopted as your home after coming over from Germany! Danke Shoen! Mein Herr!

Just a thought!