DALLAS – The smile spread across Kevin Durant’s face as he took the court. It happened again when Durant went to the sideline to inbound the ball. It happened yet again when Durant played defense.
The source of Durant’s happiness? Sure, part of it stemmed from the Warriors’ escaping with a 125-122 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. It also stemmed from matching up with Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who may or may not retire from a storied 20-year NBA career following the 2017-18 NBA season.
“It’s always good to play him, especially now that he’s coming to the last games of his career,” Durant said. “Playing against him at a very special time, I got a lot of memories against him.”
The most vivid memories — Durant admiring how Nowitzki climbed to sixth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (30,721). Durant, who is 25 points shy of reaching 20,000 career points, has taken notes.
“He got a skill that never ages. That’s a jump shot. His body may age and his mind may get a little jogged. But that jump shot will always be there,” Durant said. “Once you build around that, that’s a good building block as a player. He gives us a lot of hope.”
How so?
“Guys can shoot and be in the league for that long and be effective,” Durant said. “To be a starter in the league and the whole offense is centered around you and opposing teams are still trying to figure out to stop this, you can tell you’re a great and legend.”
Nowitzki became a legend in different ways.
He also became the first international member of an elite scoring club, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. After the Mavericks acquired him in a trade on draft night in 1998, Nowitzki overcame strong skepticism about his skills to land 13 NBA All-Star appearances, an NBA title (2011) and a Finals MVP award. Nowitzki collected those accolades by devastating defenders with his patented one-legged fall-away jumper.
“I marvel at Dirk and I absolutely love the guy for so many reasons,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I love the way he plays. I love his passion for the game. I love the way he carries himself. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. Yet he’s incredibly hard working and serious about his craft. What a great combination. To be able to laugh at himself and still play at this level late in his career clearly having fun and playing for the joy and spirit of the game. Just an absolute treasure for our league.”
And he is a treasure that Durant cherishes.
“You realize all that Dirk has put into the game with his work ethic and the way he plays,” Durant said. “The love he gets here in Dallas is unmatched. It’s different from any other player I’ve seen in the league.”
Singing his praises
Most basketball fans shake their heads in amazement over Stephen Curry’s on-court theatrics. Curry does the same thing when he watches Oklahoma freshman guard Trae Young, who has set the school record for scoring at least 20 points in 12 consecutive games.
“He’s unbelievable. Just the confidence he plays with. I call it flair, but it always seems like he’s composed and knows what he’s trying to do every time he has a ball in his hands,” Curry said. “He shoots a lot of deep 3’s and has a creativity to his game that is so fluid to watch.”
Therefore, plenty of talent evaluators have compared Young to Curry.
“The comparisons are what they are. But when you turn on the game and watch him play, you’re just watching him be on the floor at all times,” Curry said. “That kind of magnetism is pretty special in the college game. You expect that to continue. He’s fun to watch.”
It sounds like Young had fun watching video of Curry gushing about his play.
Thanks for the words Brotha✊🏽💯 @StephenCurry30 https://t.co/5EhrooX1kE
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) January 4, 2018
