Ever since 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki led dallas 'Cowboys' to beat the Miami Heat led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to lift the championship trophy and finals MVP trophy, all NBA fans have been convinced that Nowitzki's No. 41 jersey will be retired.
But when exactly? At the end of the 2018-19 season, Nowitzki officially retired. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban once said that not only would he retire Nowitzki's jersey but also build a bronze statue for him to commemorate his contributions to the Lone Rangers and Dallas forever.
Now, the question is finally answered.
According to the famous NBA reporter Mark Stein, the Lone Ranger plans to retire Nowitzki's jersey in a home game against the Golden State Warriors on January 5, 2022 (January 6, Beijing time). The future Hall of Fame inductee, who was inducted into the NBA's 75th Anniversary 76 Star, will welcome the team's highest honor.
The life of Dirk Nowitzki probably doesn't need to be introduced too much. He played for the Lone Rangers for 21 seasons, the longest NBA player has ever played for a team. He played 51,368 minutes, scored a total of 31,560 points, ranked sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, 11,489 rebounds, 3,651 assists, 1,210 steals, 1,281 blocks, 1,522 total appearances, 51,368 minutes of playing time, a total of 14 all-Star titles in his career, and 12 NBA All-Team. These ranked first in the history of the Lone Rangers.
He is also the only player in NBA history to score 30,000 points+ 10,000 rebounds + NBA championships from just one team. "One person, one city" this thing he has done to the extreme.
When the Lone Rangers' schedule was announced this summer, it was widely believed that the Lone Rangers would retire nowitzki's jersey on Jan. 29, as the Lone Rangers' opponent that night was the Indiana Pacers, coached by former head coach Rick Carlisle.
In every way, this is a logical guess. January 29 is a Saturday, and the game is played at 6 p.m. local time. Carlisle spent 13 seasons as head coach at the Lone Rangers, and in 2010-11 he lifted the Larry O'Brien Cup with Nowitzki and current Lone Ranger coach Jason Kidd. As the team's meritorious coach, this day can reunite the three of them.
Unsurprisingly, tickets to the game against the Pacers were hotly hyped, with pre-sale tickets and resale ticket prices on the secondary market skyrocketing.
But now it seems that the time has advanced. Some savvy Dallas fans noticed a subtle change in tickets on Nov. 17, and that subtle change was even more eye-popping in combination with news. Fans noticed that the Lone Ranger's official ticketing website appeared to be canceling the ticket inventory for the Jan. 5 home game against the Golden State Warriors. Tickets for the tournament can only be purchased on the Secondary Market Resale platform.
The information revealed by the matter itself was obvious, and some fans with a keen sense of smell held it. Since the 17th, the ticket price of this game has begun to soar in the secondary market, and it is still rising after the news is disclosed. As of the 17th, the cheapest fare was $135. As of the 18th, the cheapest fare was $150. By the morning of the 19th, the lowest ticket price was already $190.
The closer you get to the pitch, the higher the seats rise. According to local Dallas media, lower-deck seats range from $500 to $3,000, while resale side seats are even more expensive.
Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors have regained their former vibrancy and are back in the top spot in the West. Their games are full of watching and the Warriors' games are always hot and must die, but the tickets will not be so sought-after. By comparison, the Lone Rangers vs. Warriors game in March has a large number of tickets left, with prices ranging from $74 to $100.
In September of this year, Cuban was still mysterious in an interview. He said Nowitzki's shirt would not necessarily retire this season and that it would depend on Nowitzki's schedule. The Lone Ranger was supposed to retire Nowitzki's jersey early on, but was repeatedly delayed by the pandemic.
If it is determined to retire Nowitzki's jersey against the Warriors, it may not be friendly to some fans. Because the time of this race is local Wednesday night, not weekend. Another point that differs from playing against the Pacers is that the game will be broadcast live across the United States at ESPN.
So, while the Lone Ranger hasn't officially announced anything yet, news from reporters and some shrewd and alert fans are telling us that the Lone Ranger will retire Nowitzki's jersey in the game against the Warriors.
Let's turn the clock back to April 10, 2019 for the time being. Nowitzki said emotionally to tens of thousands of spectators: "As you expected, this is my last home game. When he finished, Nowitzki had tears in his eyes. Before the game that night, one of the guests, Charles Buckley, handed Nowitzki a glass of beer, the meaning of which was self-evident. Hundreds of employees lined up in the entrance passage, many of whom had been friends with him for more than a decade, waiting for Nowitzki to enter the arena, and Nowitzki walked in the passage to high-five and fist with the crowd. In order to allow Nowitzki to fully experience the entire admission process again, they still asked him to pass through the security gate.
After greeting the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center, he traveled to San Antonio to end his career.
"If I don't finish my last game at home, then San Antonio is the right place. I've spent my entire career battling spurs. After the game, Nowitzki said.
So, to put it another way, if Nowitzki didn't retire his jersey against the Pacers, would it be the best fit to face the Golden State Warriors? In 1999, Nowitzki scored his first point in the NBA at Oracle Arena, a round that Steve Nash called his favorite "Oracle moment."
Golden State Warriors' favorite moment was 2007's "Black Eight Miracle," the slogan "We Believe" warriors fans still remember. After game six that year, an angry Nowitzki smashed the wall of oracle arena straight out of a big hole. Meanwhile, the Warriors hung a playoff cheering T-shirt on top of the pit with the slogan "We Believe."
After winning the championship, Nowitzki was invited by the Warriors to generously sign his name on the wall where the big hole was smashed. Three years later, a backcourt combination that liked to shoot randomly three-pointers led the Warriors to a wild 67 wins in the regular season, and finally defeated the Cavaliers led by LeBron James to win the long-lost championship. Some Warrior employees are superstitious, believing that Nowitzki's signature has brought good luck to the Warriors.
In 2019, the Warriors changed home. Using a holistic cut, they demolished the wall and transported it to the Chase Center to commemorate this glorious period.
So consider the feud between the Warriors and the Lone Ranger and Nowitzki. Think Don Nelson to the Warriors, the Lone Ranger, nowitzki, Nash, Curry. The bond between Nowitzki and the Warriors has become one of the most legendary stories in NBA history.
No. 41, 21 years, 1 team, 1 championship trophy. Nowitzki deserves it, Dallas deserves it, and the Golden State Warriors are enough to match the weight of this game.
Dirk, welcome home. Dallas misses you.