Dirk Nowitzki Admits He Believed Don Nelson Was Joking When He Asked Him To Guard Shaquille O’Neal

Being one of the most physically gifted players in the league, Shaquille O’Neal could dominate against all other centers during his prime. Hence, as a change in strategy, the Dallas Mavericks head coach decided to switch things up and ask a smaller Dirk Nowitzki to guard O’Neal in only the former’s second year in the league.

When Don Nelson revealed the new plan to contain Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki first believed that his head coach was pulling some prank. But, Nelson believed that his foolproof plan would prevent Shaq from going on a scoring rampage.

“I think it was my second year or something and Nelly came in and was like ‘we’re gonna try to guard Shaq a little different today’. He looks at me and he’s like ‘you’re guarding Shaq’ and I was like ‘what are you talking?’ I thought he was joking. He’s like ‘as soon as Shaq crosses half court, you just stand in front of him and as soon as they throw the ball over, here comes Shawn Bradley and then well you guys trap him, it’ll be fine, he’s going to pass the ball out’,” Dirk revealed on The Big Podcast.

The strategy sounded good, and the Mavs were almost certain that they would be successful in stopping Shaq. However, O’Neal was already accustomed to the wildest defense that the league had to offer. Hence, it didn’t take much effort from Shaq to still find a way and disrupt Don Nelson’s plan.

“The first time the ball goes over my head I turn around he elbowed Shawn out of the way, he elbowed me out of the way, and dunked it so hard. That strategy did not work,” Dirk concluded.

Dirk Nowitzki (7ft) and Shawn Bradley (7ft 6”) were one of the tallest frontcourt pairings in the NBA at the time. However, Shaq had a 100-lb advantage over both of them. Thus, it wasn’t surprising to see the Big Aristotle assert his command over the two.

To Nowitzki and Co.’s credit, the Mavericks found a way to restrict Shaquille O’Neal to merely 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during the 2006 NBA Finals. But Dwyane Wade’s brilliance allowed the Heat to win the championship.

Despite all their heated encounters, Dirk was one of the biggest Shaq fans and admired the latter’s movements on and off the court before joining the NBA.

Dirk Nowitzki loved Shaquille O’Neal’s songs

During the 1990s, Shaquille O’Neal also had a thriving career outside the hardwood as a part-time rapper. Shaq received numerous gold and platinum certifications from the RIAA throughout his rap career. Among the millions of fans of Shaq Diesel (O’Neal’s stage name) was Dirk Nowitzki.

Apart from admiring Shaq’s game, the German youngster was also a huge fan of the former’s music. In fact, years after his retirement, Dirk disclosed that he remembered the lyrics of many Shaq songs.

“So, I was such a huge NBA fan and I was a huge Shaq fan, I also loved his rap music,” Nowitzki told Graham Bensinger. “There was (a song) with the Fu-Schnickens that I loved. It’s called ‘What’s Up Doc.’ Then, at the end, he comes in. This is a bit embarrassing, but there was a time where I can, his entire spiel, I could rap that. I’m not sure I can get the whole thing going.”

Dirk Nowitzki: Such a huge fan of @Shaq's rap, I still know the words to 'What's Up Doc' pic.twitter.com/V60rBQdo4p

— Graham Bensinger (@GrahamBensinger) January 20, 2023

Dirk being a huge fanboy of Shaq resulted in the two big men sharing a mutual respect for the entirety of their careers. Despite the 35 heated battles taking place between the two, there was never any bad blood or drama off the court.