Dirk Nowitzki fails at meaningless dunk, shrugs it off beautifully
Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki has won many fans over the years not just for his excellence on the court, but also his personality. Unlike many high-level athletes, Dirk does not appear to take himself too seriously. That quality earned him criticism in the early part of his career, especially when it came to labeling him “soft,” but since the Mavs’ 2011 championship it has rightfully been seen as a positive.
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That ability to laugh off embarrassment came as an especially big help just a few minutes into the Mavericks’ thrilling double-overtime win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. After Quincy Acy tended goal on a lay-up from Chandler Parsons, Nowitzki tried to follow up the play with a fun little dunk during the dead ball. It did not go so well:
Look, it’s impossiblet to deny that this moment is pretty bad for Dirk. He has never been the most athletic player in the league, but even 37-year-old seven-footers can be expected to dunk from this distance. It’s a shoo-in for this week’s installment of “Shaqtin’ A Fool.”
But Dirk gets away with it a bit more than others would because he treats the failure so nonchalantly. The little flick of the ball back to the referee is so casual that it appears as if the future Hall of Famer has instantly forgotten it. Plus, Dirk had the wherewithal to laugh it off after the game:
Of course, it helps that he more than made up for the embarrassment with a solid game. Nowitzki finished with 23 points and hit several big shots to extend the contest and help the Mavs erase a seven-point deficit in the last 80 seconds.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
