‘Dirk Nowitzki rejected $92 million to join Kobe Bryant and the Lakers’: When Mavericks legend chose loyalty over superteams by turning down LA and James Harden

Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki played a stellar 21 seasons in the NBA, and unlike many modern day stars, all those 21 years came with the Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk was one of the few players through NBA history who chose loyalty above all else, never wanting to play for another team besides the one that welcomed him from day one.

Nowitzki certainly goes down in NBA history as an all time great, and more than that, he’s also one of the greatest international players to ever play the game, hailing from Greece and making a name for himself in the NBA. His stats are incredible, and he has the NBA title to go along with it too, one of the most impressive Finals victory in NBA history.

Also Read: “Russell Westbrook, we should all have been playing y’all in 2016”: Richard Jefferson explains what new Lakers star has to get right in order for LeBron James and co to win 2022 NBA title

Dirk Nowitzki Turned Down Massive Deals From The Rockets And Lakers To Stay In Dallas

At the end of the 2013-14 season, Dirk Nowitzki was a highly coveted free agent. Sure, he wasn’t as dominant as his earlier days, but he still turned in an All Star season, averaging 21.7 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game.

Several teams were interested in courting the German superstar, and two teams in particular threw a lot of money Dirk’s way in attempt to sign him. The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers saw a massive opportunity to upgrade their teams by bringing in Nowitzki.

In the Rockets, James Harden looked like a promising up-and-coming star, someone who could carry the franchise for years to come (which he did), and pairing him with a sharp-shooting seven footer seemed to be perfect. With the Lakers, they wanted to ride out Kobe Bryant one more time, potentially going back to the Finals or at least the playoffs in their own franchise legend’s last few years.

As a result, both teams offered Dirk deals that were reportedly worth around $92 million. Dirk was not interested, however. He respected loyalty above all else, and despite the abundance of money that could have come his way, he chose to stick with Dalls, re-signing for an extremely cheap deal when you consider what he could have earned.

It just goes to show you the kind of person and player Dirk was. Even to his last few years in the league, he never thought it was worth it enough to play for another team, no matter the money, or the championships.

Also Read: “James Harden can’t be turning it over 4 times in 30 seconds”: Gilbert Arenas reminds Richard Jefferson of Nets superstar’s past playoff disappointments while accounting for 2022 NBA Finals versus Lakers

Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Basketball Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers NBA

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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