The NBA universe was front and center for tonight’s Lakers vs. Mavericks matchup. It that featured Luka Doncic’s first appearance in Dallas following his monumental trade to the Purple and Gold back in February. One person who was quite excited to see The Don back at the American Airlines Center was Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki. The Germanator even hit a celebration during the game that has NBA fans a slight bit concerned.
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Nowitzki’s appearance isn’t a surprise. The 14-time All-Star also attended the first Lakers Game that Luka suited up for which was against the Utah Jazz. While tonight’s matchup had Mavericks GM Nico Harrison biting his nails, Dirk was having a grand old time watching the showdown. So much so that he seemingly mimicked Ja Morant’s controversial “hand grenade” gesture.
In case you missed it, Morant made headlines yesterday after throwing an invisible hand grenade into the crowd after a successful Grizzles play in their win against the Hornets. The moment went viral due to Morant’s propensity for having firearm related celebrations
This stems back to his incident during Memphis’s showdown with the Warriors a week ago, which earned him a warning from the league. He would indulge in this same action the very next game, leading to a $75,000 fine While no consequences have been given to Morant for his latest stunt, it is catching on.
Footage of Nowitzki at tonight’s Laker/Mavs game has surfaced showing him doing a very similar action to Morant’s grenade throw. The 2011 Finals MVP can be seen playing on his phone and chatting with famed journalist Taylor Rooks. Dirk is then seen smiling and hitting the gesture moments later. Perhaps he saw a clip of it and was just having fun with Rooks. Either way. The clip is making the rounds.
Dirk Nowitzki mimicking Ja’s grenade celebration pic.twitter.com/SyY40eUwI0
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) April 10, 2025
“The grenade should be allowed!!” wrote one person in the comments of the tweet. “Ja’s moves are infectious,” added a second person, who added two laughing emojis to further accentuate their point.
It will most likely never be known if Nowitzki was caught having fun or impersonating the young controversial Grizzlies star. Either way, the moment will have fans talking — at least for an evening.
Hand grenade or not Nowitzki will support Luka no matter what
Dirk showing love for Luka Doncic is like the legend’s mid-range jumper: guaranteed. The now 46-year-old baller spoke about how close he’s grown with The Don during an interview that dropped shortly after the big trade happened.
“I played with him in my last season. We’ve gotten close. I try to mentor him. I try to help him as much as I can. He’s a good kid,” Dirk stated.
Dirk has been adamant in his stance that he had no clue the Luka trade was even a possibility until the trigger was pulled. This makes sense given the fact that Dirk isn’t a part of the Mavs front office and Nico made sure there were 0 leaks regarding this magnanimous trade.
Well, Nowitzki’s support certainly helped Luka on this night. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Mavericks 112-97. How did Doncic finish? 45 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.
