“Dirk was murdering us! He had 27-28 points at halftime!”: Charles Barkley recollects the moment he first met Dirk Nowitzki on a Nike tour

Charles Barkley once tried to convince Dirk Nowitzki to visit Auburn after watching him cook the NBA players on the Nike “Hoop Heroes Tour”. 

Sir Charles truly is the gift that keeps on giving. On Inside the NBA, he’s settled into a comfy role scolding today’s players for not being as tough as the players in his day.

Charles Barkley is still a prominent figure in the NBA, despite the fact that he is no longer a player.

Chuck, of course, is a staple of TNT’s NBA coverage, where he’s never hesitant to speak his thoughts. His vivid stories, however, are not restricted to television.

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Dirk played 21 seasons in the NBA and set the record for most seasons with one organization. He retired as one of the greatest foreign players to feature in the NBA and was honored by NBA legends.

Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf made the trip to Dallas to honor Dirk Nowitzki

(Video: @BleacherReport) pic.twitter.com/fpAL5gtQ8L

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 10, 2019

For the first time, Charles Barkley met Dirk Nowitzki in 1997. Barkley was a member of the NBA All-Stars, while Nowitzki played for a German squad.

Barkley jokingly suggested bribing 18-year-old Dirk Nowitzki to attend Auburn

Charles Barkley first saw Dirk Nowitzki playing on the Nike “Hoop Heroes Tour” in Germany in 1997. The 18-year-old future Dallas Mavericks star was scorching a team of NBA players.

After scoring 52 points against a squad that included Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller, and others, Nowitzki stunned the NBA stars.

“So we go to Germany and Dirk is – I don’t even know who he is,” Barkley recalled the first time he met Nowitzki. I notice a tall, gangly kid out there. Dirk has 30…27…28 points at halftime. So he’s murdering us.”

Soon after the game, the Round Mound of Rebound did everything he could to convince Dirk to join his alma mater, Auburn University.

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Some of Barkley’s finest statements will most certainly make Auburn compliance officials cringe, but they’ll make everyone else laugh.

Dirk had made his mark on the NBA And its stars before even joining the league. He set the league on fire, winning a coveted championship with the Dallas Mavericks.