Dirk Nowitzki and the late Kobe Bryant nearly became teammates with the Dallas Mavericks, which would have created one of the best duos in NBA history.
The Lakers nearly dealt Bryant to Dallas back in 2007 and Nowitzki revealed in an interview with CBS Sports that longtime Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was keeping him updated on the potential blockbuster deal.
“At the time, I was a little bit involved,” Dirk said, before joking about how maybe Cuban made it sound a little closer to happening than it actually was.
Earlier this year, Cuban told Shaquille O’Neal that when he was still a Dallas majority owner, the Mavericks were on the verge of landing Bryant in exchange for Josh Howard, Jason Terry and draft picks during the 2007 offseason. The deal never was completed, but it’s still fun to imagine what could’ve been.
“Mark kind of kept me up to date on stuff. I think it was pretty close, I’m not sure if it was as close as Mark said it now,” Nowitzki said. “Every time he tells the story it’s a little closer, but I think it was pretty close. I think [Bryant] was a little frustrated at the time, going through some stuff with the Lakers organization. That would have been obviously an incredible experience for Mavs fans, the organization, for myself.”
Nowitzki, like so many others, was a huge fan of Bryant and the way he played the game.
“It’s no secret I was a huge Kobe fan while I played,” Nowitzki said. “I admired his playing style, his athleticism, his skill level, his killer instinct. To me he was the complete package, and I loved to compete against him. It would’ve been amazing to play alongside with him, but of course, it never happened. I think learning from him being on the same team, seeing how he sees the game, how he approaches the game, his professionalism, and his work ethic, I would’ve loved to have been around him more and see that on the same team.”
Bryant, who died in a tragic helicopter crash in 2020, spent his entire NBA career with the Lakers and won five championships.
While he will always be a Los Angeles legend, Bryant did admit there were times he wanted to find a new team. In 2015, Bryant shared that Chicago had been his No. 1 choice in 2007. He almost got sent to Detroit, but he did not want to join the Pistons and declined that deal.
In 2016, Bryant also admitted there was a time when Nowitzki was a free agent and he tried to bring him to the Lakers.
“Dirk and I have always had a great relationship because we are both extremely competitive and also both extremely loyal to our teams,” Bryant said during the 2016 All-Star weekend in Toronto.
Despite never joining forces with Nowitzki, Bryant won two of his five titles after that almost-trade to Dallas. Nowitzki spent his entire career with the Mavericks and led the way as they won their first and only championship in 2011.
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