Dirk Nowitzki's Retirement Ceremony Was A Roller Coaster Of Emotions

All year I was holding out hope when it came to Dirk. I could see the writing on the wall but the fact that Dirk would never just come out and say that he was done, I held onto the idea that there was a slim chance he’d be back for at least one more year. Seeing as this was the final home game of the season I was on high alert that something may happen, and then I saw Dirk enter the arena

and it sure had the feel of a final goodbye even if he hadn’t formally announced it yet. It was a weird year for Dirk, where he battled injury but then also showed flashes of a guy that certainly could be on an NBA roster. I mean it’s Dirk, I don’t think anyone is really ready to say goodbye to Dirk yet. He’s too much of a legend. That same universal love that we see Giannis have now, Dirk has that times a billion. Impossible not to love Dirk even if you could give two shits about the Mavs. Dirk rules, this is a widely known fact. So then the game starts and like it was right out of a movie of course Dirk is locked and loaded. A vintage 30 point night was the perfect performance at the perfect moment (not to mention Jamal Crawford going for a 50 burger in the same game. Ridiculous) on his night. Doesn’t get much better than that

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As awesome as that was, and it was awesome, it doesn’t compare to what happened postgame at the ceremony. Just look who was in attendance

This is maybe the biggest sign of how important Dirk is. He got Larry Bird to stop doing whatever the hell it was doing and make his way to Dallas to be there for this ceremony. Not only that, he killed it

But even without Larry, it was a moment that I would say truly fit Dirk. The Mavs nailed the whole thing

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and then, it happened. After all the laughs and hilarious Dirk stories, shit got pretty real. Dirk always said that he would never be the kind of player that would have a retirement tour. Not that type of guy. That when it was truly time, he would just be out, no hooplah no nothing. Now he technically still got a farewell tour, just no stupid gifts and even that’s perfect Dirk. He was a man of his word because just like that, Dirk was out

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I dreaded that news all season, even though deep down I knew it was the most likely outcome. Dirk will forever be one of the best players I ever watched in my lifetime, he’s a rare unicorn that legit changed the way the NBA is played. He changed what the stretch four could be and is one of the best to ever do it. For the rest of your life you’ll be able to close your eyes and visualize the Dirk fadeaway the same way your parents probably can see the Kareem sky hook. So while it’s definitely weird to start to see all these guys I grew up watching begin to retire, I couldn’t have imagined Dirk’s final moment to go any better. Now he’s probably going to go out and party his dick off which is why he’s such a legend.

I think it goes without saying, Dirk Nowitzki forever