SAN ANTONIO — The NBA released its full 75th Anniversary team and listed Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki.
He joins his chief Texas rival, Spurs Tim Duncan, on the squad and recently had some incredible things to say about the San Antonio legend.
“He was unguardable on the block and he doesn’t get talked about enough. He was very quiet. We had some great battles against the Spurs.”
Duncan and Nowitzki led their respective teams in incredible Spurs-Mavericks battles.
Often, it came down to the Spurs or Mavericks to represent the West in the NBA Finals.
And no Mavs-Spurs playoff series was more dramatic than their 2003 meeting. It epitomized the Spurs-Mavericks rivalry and arguably was the best meeting the two teams ever had.
When Nowitzki announced his retirement, the Spurs gave him a proper thank you for the memories.
The tribute drove him to tears as he waved to the San Antonio crowd in what would be his final NBA game of his career.
Although Duncan was already into retirement, perhaps it was destiny Nowitzki end his career playing against the Spurs.
Nowtizki and Duncan faced one another in 90 NBA games.
Duncan finished those meetings with a 53-37 record and went 18-15 against the Mavericks legend in the postseason.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5