Jeff Garmon is one of the biggest Dirk Nowitzki fans on the planet.
There are 29 cities that house NBA teams. Over the years, Garmon has personally traveled to 13 of them to watch the Dallas Mavericks and Nowitzki play.
Even when Garmon and his daughter, Catherine, left Dallas to drive to Kentucky to visit family for a Thanksgiving Day celebration in 2018, they stopped in Memphis to watch Nowitzki and the Mavs play the Grizzlies.
So, why has Garmon been so fond of being in the building to watch Nowitzki play?
“He was just humble,” he said. “He wasn’t real cocky. He didn’t come across that way. He didn’t showboat. He was a great teammate. He put his team first.
“He took a reduced paycheck to stay with the Mavs. He was a true team player, even from early on. He didn’t do a lot of mouthing off during the game. He didn’t really flop like some of the star players did to try to get calls. He was true to the game.”
And for those personal reasons, Garmon said there’s no way he’s going to miss one of Nowitzki’s greatest moments. On Saturday, the greatest Mavs’ player of all-tim
e will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame at a ceremony in Springfield, Mass.
“My wife (Anne Garmon) got me one of those VIP packages,” Garmon said. “I’m going to the autograph session, the press conference, the parties before the enshrinement, and the enshrinement ceremony.
“I’m looking forward to the enshrinement ceremony and seeing other Mavs fans and Mavs people that will be there and having a nice celebration, and to honor Dirk. It’s something that you might say is probably his final moment in the spotlight — his last thing at the top of the mountain is to get into the Hall of Fame. I’m just so glad I’m able to be there to experience it.”
Before moving his family from Memphis to Dallas in 2000, Garmon used to travel to Orlando with his son, Michael, and watch Nowitzki and the Mavs.
“Dirk was always so friendly at the hotels,” Garmon said. “He was just real easy to talk with and he never shied away from anyone that came up to talk to him.
“He was just always very accessible. That’s what I like about him.”
Garmon also liked that Nowitzki often took the time to patiently sign a lot of autographs.
“I’ve got many, many Dirk’s jerseys that are framed,” he said. “I have a nine-foot life-size photo with Dirk going up for a three-pointer, and I was right in the background of the photo. (A photographer) got me a print of it and I got it blown up, life-size.
“My wife hates that thing. But Dirk signed it for me and I had it up in my office. Everyone loves it. It’s from 2005.”
And that’s not all.
“I have a three-foot tall bobblehead of Dirk,” Garmon said. “Dirk signed the base for me. I have many, many basketballs.
“I never sold anything. I’ve got all of them in a closet. I have a display with everything Dirk – a championship team photo that has been signed. My wife keeps telling me don’t get anything else, and that we don’t need another bobblehead or anything.”
Garmon was at American Airlines Center on Dec. 2, 2004, when Nowitzki scored a franchise-record 53 points – Houston’s Tracy McGrady tallied 48 points in that game – in a riveting contest captured by the Mavs, 113-106, in overtime. Garmon kept the ticket stub from that game, and later got Nowitzki to autograph it.
The Mavs went on to win that game 119-111, in overtime, as Nowitzki finished with 37 points and 15 rebounds.
In addition, Garmon was inside AAC on March 7, 2017 when Nowitzki scored 25 points and became the sixth NBA player – and first international player — to score at least 30,000 career points during a 122-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
During his numerous travels across the country, Garmon said he was fortunate to meet other Mavs’ fans, and they gladly shared stories about their favorite team.
“There’s a few that travel a lot,” he said. “I always enjoy meeting Mavs’ fans that travel. Christian (Schroeder), I met him at the Mavs’ tipoff luncheon in 2018. We happened to be sitting at the same table, and we’ve become really good friends.
“We exchanged numbers, and we text and stay in touch, and we get together at games. I’ve made some other good life-long friends with the Mavs.”
One of Garmon’s missions this weekend is to get an autograph from Nowitzki. That, he said, would be priceless, considering Nowitzki’s Hall Of Fame credentials.
“If he’s at the autograph session, I’ve got a pass to skip the line to just go to everyone for autographs,” Garmon said. “I hope they will allow me to talk briefly with Dirk.”
If not, Garmon said he still plans to enjoy this weekend’s festivities. Especially since his favorite player of all-time will receive the highest individual honor an NBA player can receive.
“I’m so proud of (Nowitzki) for what he overcame as he started his career and how hard he consistently worked with (his German coach and mentor) Holger (Geschwindner), and each summer how much effort he put in to improve his game,” Garmon said. “When he came into the league he had a lot of self-doubt, and he didn’t know if he was going to stick through it.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing Dirk on that stage and getting recognized. I know he’s going to be emotional. I’m probably going to be emotional.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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