WASHINGTON —Something very unique happened in Brooklyn on Monday night that’s never happened before when the Nets are playing.
Nets fans showed that they indeed have a soft heart.
In a show of respect, Nets fans went way out of their way to cheer for Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. From the time Nowitzki was introduced in the starting lineup to every time he touched and shot the ball, the Nets’ fans wrapped their arms around Nowitzki and cheered his every move as if he was one of their own.
“It’s very touching, it’s great to see,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s great to see a guy of his kind of accomplishment and integrity recognized in the (New York) Metropolitan area, which generally speaking the fans are tough.
“If they’re giving you that kind of respect, you’ve done an awful lot of things right over a long period of time. They’re not rolling out that kind of love just for anybody.”
The fan reactions have been humbling to Nowitzki, who now have to play through a different type of noise, especially during road games. The 21-year veteran has in effect become everyone’s favorite player.
“Of course you hear it,” Nowitzki said of the friendly noise from fans who used to be unfriendly. “All of the receptions have been wonderful and they’ve been humbling. Obviously, I didn’t expect that at all.
“It really started before the break in Charlotte (on Jan. 2). . .and it kind of took off from there. Then there was Indy, there was Boston and it just kept going.”
And the fandom kept growing to a point where one city would get wind of how the previous city serenaded Nowitzki, and then the next city would try and out-do the previous city. Everything reached a crescendo in Los Angeles on Feb. 25 when Clippers coach Doc Rivers called a timeout with 9.4 seconds left in the game and his team up by nine points, and basically told the Clippers fans to stand up and give Nowitzki a loud ovation, which they did.
Nowitzki has taken mental notes on how every city paid homage to his terrific career. And when he went to the bench in Monday’s game for the last time with 1:42 remaining, he left to warm chants of “Thank you Dirk, Thank you Dirk” — tributes that emotionally touched Nowitzki’s heart.
“There was Madison Square Garden, so it’s been very humbling, emotional at times,” he said. “Even last night (in Brooklyn), I was horrible.
“I couldn’t make one and I finally made an elbow jumper on my (10th) try and the crowd went nuts. I’ve been very appreciative of that, and I’ll never forget some of these receptions for sure.”
In a way, the fan reactions across the NBA has been somewhat awkward, since Nowitzki has not gone on record to say whether this will be his final season. So, what if Nowitzki returns next year and decides to play for a 22nd season?
“If I come back, we’ll do (these fan tributes) all over again,” Nowitzki said after Tuesday’s practice. “I always said we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out and how the body feels.
“We’ll go from there and finish, hopefully, the season out strong.”
Whenever Nowitzki decides to retire, he’ll leave behind a rich legacy that rivals any player in the history of the NBA.
“He’s quite simply one of the very best that ever played the game,” Carlisle said. “Dirk Nowitzki has demonstrated a level of competitive integrity respect for our franchise, respect for the NBA community that’s really uncommon.
“It’s been an amazing, amazing run over two decades.”
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