Official Dirk is Great Thread

[Murphy3]

a nice little blog concerning the defense that some of the superstars of the NBA have encountered in the playoffs.
http://www.backpicks.com/2011/07/02/...ition-part-ii/

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by dude1394

The dirkster hitting some tennis balls. Just like when he threw out the first pitch, does the dude do anything not full out, he's wailing on those things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBSY2...eature=related

would like to see his serve.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

would like to see his serve.

Me too...that sucksa has got to be humming.

[mavspwnage]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

would like to see his serve.

that's what she said.

maybe

[endrity]

Bleacherreport says Dirk is the 12th best player in NBA history.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/7...he-game/page/2

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by endrity

Bleacherreport says Dirk is the 12th best player in NBA history.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/7...he-game/page/2

Instant credibility...pretty good list actually.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by dude1394

Instant credibility...pretty good list actually.

LMAO, that list is a joke. Kobe ahead of Duncan, Hakeem and Shaq?

Stockton at 14?

West below him at 17?

Drexler at 20?

One of the worst lists I've seen in awhile.

[SMC0007]

These lists are silly and impossible.

[iella]

Corporations find they can’t put a price on Nowitzki’s values

In the last six weeks, Dirk Nowitzki became an NBA champion, a finals MVP and, according to one measurement, the most marketable basketball player on the planet. But Nowitzki, 33, has never been interested in becoming a global icon or a corporate brand. Even coming off a playoff run that elevated him to a different category of superstar, companies still can’t have him.

Nowitzki has always defied conventional thinking in the NBA. Unlike practically every other player, he doesn’t have an agent, instead handling contract negotiations on his own. His only endorsement contract is a shoe deal with Nike. And now, much to the dismay of several industry experts, Nowitzki is as dismissive as ever about the opportunity to make millions as a spokesman.

“There certainly isn’t a shortage of offers,” Nowitzki recently told the German magazine Spiegel. “You wouldn’t believe how many watch manufacturers have sent me their models. Just like that. I give them all away. I am satisfied with what I have. How crazy do you have to be when you can afford everything but still clutter up your life with all sorts of advertising appointments? No thanks.”

Nowitzki has made roughly $140 million in salary over the course of his career, so it’s not like he’s hurting for money. But in this environment, where the top NBA players can make nearly as much in endorsements as they can on the court, it’s almost inconceivable to turn them down across the board.

It’s difficult to say how much money Nowitzki is leaving on the table, but several industry sources speculated that the number would easily be in the tens of millions over the rest of his career.

“I’ve heard guys say, ‘We’re going to be selective in who we take on as partners, so we can stay focused on the sport,’” said Kevin Adler, president of Chicago-based Engage Marketing. “But for someone who has reached the level of success he has and has the endorsement potential he has, to be more or less completely against the idea of accepting endorsement revenue, is unique to say the least.”

It’s especially jarring right now, with one piece of research released yesterday suggesting that he’s more marketable than any player in the NBA. The Nielsen/E-Poll N-Score continuously tracks the “appeal, awareness and endorsement potential” of athletes through weekly surveys and is often used by companies to evaluate which athletes they should try to partner with.

Before the start of the season last fall, Nowitzki’s N-Score was a 35 – above average for an NBA player, but nowhere close to biggest stars in the sport. In the first measurement since the finals, Nowitzki scored a 132, higher than any active NBA player and even a point higher than Tom Brady, the quintessential American quarterback heartthrob.

“It’s quite a substantial jump,” said Randy Parker, a spokesman for California-based E-Poll. “We frequently see big negative jumps, such as when Tiger Woods crashed his car into a tree. It’s easier to change the public’s perception of an individual in the negative than the positive.”

Andrew Stroth, a Chicago-based attorney who negotiates marketing deals for pro athletes, represented Dwyane Wade in 2006 after he led the Miami Heat to a championship. He has seen first-hand how stars become mega-stars and the opportunities that result from it. And he can’t figure out why Nowitzki seems intent on passing them up, especially with his built-in international appeal and European roots.

“Is it a unique approach or a missed opportunity?” said Stroth, who no longer works with Wade. “He has an opportunity to build generational wealth. I respect he’s 100 percent focused on basketball, but there’s a huge opportunity for him given the strength of the NBA worldwide, and the fact he’s German, it’s a perfect storm. He wins the world championship, he’s a global personality and with the strength of the NBA on a global basis, why wouldn’t you explore opportunities he may never have again?”

But perhaps by turning down endorsements, it will be easier for Nowitzki to maintain his appeal as a different kind of NBA star. It wasn’t just his play during the finals that captured the public’s imagination, but rather his role as the foil to LeBron James. Unlike James, Nowitzki never made a big deal of his free agency last summer, quietly re-signing with Dallas for less money. Unlike James, he was clutch in the fourth quarter. And unlike James, he was only interested in winning championship, not becoming the face of a watch company.

In a way, turning down so much money makes Nowitzki more likable than ever.

“The fact he doesn’t want deals makes him that much more desirable as a spokesperson,” Adler said. “If he ever does take a deal, it’s only going to be a brand he legitimately believes in. And the likelihood of the wear-out factor, where every 10 seconds a guy is endorsing something else, that’s highly unlikely to be the case.”

[Underdog]

Whoa, Jessica Olsson's boyfriend is more marketable than Gisele Bündchen's husband?

[bernardos70]

Ha. Dirk, hook a brother up! I'm a watch collector (albeit not nearly the same caliber - pun intended - as the watches you probably get)! I'm partial to IWC :P Yes, I'm a vulture :P

All kidding aside, you gotta love his relationship to sponsorships. I love how he removed all the Gatorade bottles from the stand when he was giving press conferences after the game saying "they don't pay me!"

[twelli]

The commercials Dirk has done for ING DiBA, sponsor of the German basketball league, are all funny and great to watch. I image hundreds if not thousands of companies are envying that insurance firm for having the inside track to Dirk, the elusive advertising actor.

[xrobx]

Originally Posted by CadBane

LMAO, that list is a joke. Kobe ahead of Duncan, Hakeem and Shaq?

Stockton at 14?

West below him at 17?

Drexler at 20?

One of the worst lists I've seen in awhile.

i wish you'd go in the comments and shut those haters up like only you can, i'm trying my best but i'm just one man. haha

[FreshJive]

Dirk and Nash did a local recycling commercial many years ago. It was horrible. The weird thing is I don't remember any NBA cares or "public service brought to you by the Mavs" and they weren't in uniform.

I want to see Dirk join Kidd in a new version of the old Goode Taylor commercial.

[Zaknaf3in]

I want a trophy love part II.

[Kante]

Dirk did not get enough credit for his block on Bosh, monster!

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by Kante

Dirk did not get enough credit for his block on Bosh, monster!

Are you talking about the block where Bosh tried to dunk, and Dirk jammed his wrist on the play? That was a badass, gutsy block.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by xrobx

i wish you'd go in the comments and shut those haters up like only you can, i'm trying my best but i'm just one man. haha

Bleacher Report N00bs aren't worth my time.

[Kante]

Originally Posted by CadBane

Are you talking about the block where Bosh tried to dunk, and Dirk jammed his wrist on the play? That was a badass, gutsy block.

Yep, where Bosh tried to dunk on a semi fast-break i think and Dirk came from the side and blocked the hell out of it.

[Spurred1]

Bleacherreport is essentially a site where anyone can go and post nonsense. Credibility should NEVER be used when describing that site. It's good for a few laughs and little else.
Quite a few of the comments are by Heat fans and I certainly love the comment where the poster Rick James states all the reasons the Mavs won and writes that the Mavs were lucky to draw the Heat. I would like for this poorly read poster to explain why just about every analyst picked teams other than the Mavs for the most part.
And Rick James forgot to mention Malone is better at raping 13 year old girls and neglecting his children than Dirk. Oh wait...Dirk hasn't raped anyone and doesn't have any kids.

[Fintastic4]

ESPN thinks so. "Best Big Man in the West" Gasol comes in at #6 best player in '10-'11 followed by Dirk at #7.

[OSUmavsfan]

Originally Posted by Fintastic4

ESPN thinks so. "Best Big Man in the West" Gasol comes in at #6 best player in '10-'11 followed by Dirk at #7.

I'm not sure that slideshow was actually ranking the players from one to ten, but was more just 10 pictures of the best players. If it was a list, then it was just incredibly bad. The title for Pau's picture "Best Big Man in the West?" did have a question mark, but it's still ridiculous. No one could possibly think that after watching the playoffs.

http://espn.go.com/nba/photos/galler...9/best-players

[Spurred1]

It's a slideshow of the best players of the 2010-2011 season, not an actual ranking of any sort. And if you read carefully, you'll see that they're referring to Gasol's play in the first quarter of the season-where he did carry the team often.

[j0Shi]

Dirk was at the ESPY Pre-Show Party yesterday. Unfortunately not many pics available so far. Tyson was also there ... no pics so far with him :/

[Fintastic4]

Originally Posted by Spurred1

It's a slideshow of the best players of the 2010-2011 season, not an actual ranking of any sort. And if you read carefully, you'll see that they're referring to Gasol's play in the first quarter of the season-where he did carry the team often.

It certainly resembled a ranking - Lebron at #1 with Kobe, D-Rose, Howard - the other guys you'd expect to be in the top five. That along with the "Best Big Man in the West?" suggestion. I'm not trying to slam Pau - I love his game. But right now that's comparing apples to grapes and if you include the playoffs it's a downright comical suggestion. Would expect stuff like that from Hoopspeak or some other crap site - but not ESPN.

[GermanDunk]

And no Cardinal pics

[b_o_r]

LOL

Link

In these pictures I can’t help but to notice Dirk’s boy from his home land of Germany was memorized by my camera flash and every time I took a picture of Dirk he stared straight into the flash blinding himself like a deer in head lights. I couldn’t snap a picture of Dirk without his boy Hans getting face time. Check it out I thought it was mad funny.


Dirk's boy is actually Cardinal. Cardinal by Dirk's side is getting kind of creepy though

[Rick41]

LOL.

I'd be freaked the F out if I saw this lurking in the back of a dark vehicle.

[GermanDunk]

[Windmill360]

What is saddam doing driving the car?

[CoachBindel]

Originally Posted by Windmill360

What is saddam doing driving the car?

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Rick41

LOL.

I'd be freaked the F out if I saw this lurking in the back of a dark vehicle.

Lol greatness!

[Chrisgopher]

I will let Shaq tell everybody why Dirk is great (it's overlayed with german text :\ but you can hear the last part! )

http://shrt.fm/pFxEHr

[Zaknaf3in]

Originally Posted by Chrisgopher

I will let Shaq tell everybody why Dirk is great (it's overlayed with german text :\ but you can hear the last part! )

http://shrt.fm/pFxEHr

With some Moses Malone Top 10? Huh?

[Chrisgopher]

oh how embarrassing, my bad. This is the right link.

http://www.shortform.com/ChrisGopher...-on-dirk-funny

[LonghornDub]

Was this posted yet? Fish posted it today. Home video from the early 90's of Dirk skiing, hanging out, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_6z7...embedded#at=69

[mavspwnage]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Was this posted yet? Fish posted it today. Home video from the early 90's of Dirk skiing, hanging out, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_6z7...embedded#at=69

WTF Dirk? Wearing a Mets hat??

Nice link.

[Chrisgopher]

lol has anybody seen this? What can't this guy do?

http://shrt.fm/qdB0nU

[jthig32]

Bad Radio is on vacation this week, so for their weekly podcast their intern put together all (or at least a bunch) of their yearly interviews with Dirk, starting with one in 2000, if I heard correctly.

I haven't had a chance to listen to these yet, but I'm sure they're awesome.

http://www.bobanddan.com/Podcast/110715a.mp3

http://www.bobanddan.com/Podcast/110715b.mp3

[gmb]

I'm on the second podcast. Dirk is so real with it and so funny.