Dirk, Kobe & The Mavs Nation Quest For Respect
By Mike Fisher | @fishsports
For almost two decades, a featured part of the Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki eras in Dallas has been the gentle and occasional request — oh, OK, the obnoxious and constant yelping — from Mavs Nation for our Boys In Blue to be given some "respect.''
Our demands subsided not at all when Dallas lost the 2006 NBA title to and subsided only a bit when the Mavs finally captured a trophy in 2011, only to be met with the lingering characterizing of that team as "not really being better than Miami.''
The Mavs don't get enough All-Star votes. They don't get enough magazine covers. They don't get enough "SportsCenter'' acclaim.
They don't get enough "respect.''
The Mavs — outside of Cuban's savvy penchant for attention-grabbing sound bites — aren't respected enough in their own city due to being overshadowed by the Cowboys. They aren't respected in their own state due to being overshadowed by the Spurs. They aren't respected in their own league because teams like Kobe Bryant's Lakers were always more newsworthy, more flashy, and usually, more successful.
The Lakers' success? At an all-time low.
The Mavs' respect? In one sense, after last night in LA, at an all-time high.
Dirk — long one of the rare alone-worth-the-price-of-admission performers in sports — did it again Tuesday, topping the Lakers 92-90 on a game-winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left.
"I'm kinda glad it went in,'' said Dirk, with his usual, almost comical, understatement.
It was so typical, so suitable-for-framing, and stands alone as an accomplishment for a 26-21 Dallas team trying to stay in the middle of the West playoff chase …
But there was more.
Absolutely priceless is the vision of Dirk making the shot while a street-clothed Kobe (in his final season) observed from his sideline perch. Nowitzki knew Bryant was there, exactly there; they'd been good-naturedly trash-talking all night. And so immediately after the "swish,'' Dirk twisted his body toward Kobe, and Bryant leaned out to meet him, and they made eye contact and "dap'' contact and …
Respect.
Kobe's subtle nod of the head at Dirk's accomplishments — not just at this one shot but at all of the shots that make Nowitzki the No. 6 all-time NBA scorer behind Bryant at No. 3 — should be all the respect Mavs Nation needs.
Dirk, ever-honorable, said of Kobe, "He's our Michael Jordan for my generation.''
And Dirk? He's our Dirk. Of every generation. Because the best kind of respect doesn't come from headlines and highlight reels. The best kind of respect from peers can be subtle. And the best kind of respect from inside, from what you know and feel in your heart and mind and soul, is self-respect.
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