The running joke on Wednesday was that Dirk Nowitzki is the guy who was holding these Mavericks back the last couple of years.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course.
But in his first season of retirement, the Mavericks’ franchise icon has been getting a vicarious thrill from watching the Mavericks’ early season success as they have gotten out to a 3-1 start, including Tuesday’s impressive win at Denver.
He talked at length about that on Wednesday as the city of Dallas renamed Olive Street in front of American Airlines Center, turning it into Nowitzki Way.