Zaza Pachulia named Dirk Nowitzki one of the three best leaders he played with, alongside Stephen Curry and Jason Kidd, in a piece for The Athletic.
DALLAS - Zaza Pachulia named Dirk Nowitzki one of the three best leaders he played with over 16 NBA seasons, in a first-person piece published Monday by The Athletic.
Stephen Curry and Jason Kidd were the other two.
Pachulia, now a consultant for the Golden State Warriors, spent one season with the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas acquired him in July 2015 after DeAndre Jordan decided to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers. Pachulia appeared in 76 games that season and averaged 8.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 26.4 minutes. His 718 rebounds led the team.
"One of the things that made Dirk so special was his ability to keep it fun," Pachulia said. "His humor was next level, and he understood when it was the right time to do it. He had great work-humor balance."
"It was just so fun to be around him in the locker room," Pachulia said. "He would bring jokes to you, but he would also take them as well. He dedicated his time to his teammates and to conversations with them."
Dallas played at Madison Square Garden once during Pachulia's season with the team, on Dec. 7, 2015, against the New York Knicks and rookie Kristaps Porziņģis.
"But when the preparation for the game started, he would have his game face on," Pachulia said. "I remember one time we played in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks and Kristaps Porziņģis. Fans and media love to compare players to others, and everyone was comparing KP to Dirk."
"Dirk was getting old at the time," Pachulia said. "It's not easy to perform at the highest level when you're older."
Nowitzki scored 25 points that night in a 104-97 Dallas win, 11 of them in the first quarter. Porziņģis finished with 28 points and scored 12 in the fourth quarter, when New York cut what had been a 23-point deficit to 101-97 with 43 seconds left. Deron Williams had 20 points and seven assists. Carmelo Anthony finished with 17 points, eight assists, and six rebounds for the Knicks. The Mavericks were on the second night of a back-to-back, a night after they scored 116 points and made a season-best 16 3-pointers at Washington.
"Dirk loves these types of situations, taking the challenge of a young guy like this, and Porziņģis is a special player," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said afterward, per the Associated Press.
Nowitzki was 37 years old. He carried a career average of 25.7 points into that night at Madison Square Garden. The AP's game preview listed it as his highest average at any arena. Porziņģis, the fourth overall pick that June, was 20.
"The comparisons are more than fair," Nowitzki said of Porziņģis after the game. "He's way ahead of the curve."
Nowitzki went ninth overall to Milwaukee in the 1998 draft and was traded to Dallas that night. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds as a rookie.
Through 75 games in 2015-16, Nowitzki averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 31.5 minutes. He shot 44.8% from the field, 36.8% from 3-point range, and 89.3% from the free-throw line. Dallas finished 42-40 and reached the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City won the first-round series in five games. Nowitzki played three more seasons and retired after 2018-19 with 31,560 points across 21 seasons, all with the Mavericks.
Pachulia played for Kidd in Milwaukee in 2014-15 and said it was the best year of his career. Kidd won a championship with Dallas as a player in 2011 and coached the Mavericks from 2021-22 through last season.
Dallas and Kidd parted ways on May 19, 15 days after the team hired Masai Ujiri as president of basketball operations and governor. Mike Schmitz was hired as general manager. Dallas hired Dusty May as head coach on June 23. The Mavericks finished 26-56 last season, and Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year.
ESPN's panel of insiders ranked the Mavericks 23rd in its offseason power rankings this month. Dallas has 16 players on standard contracts and must be at 15 by opening night.
