End of an era

Tonight is the final night of the NBA season, and that means it's the final game for two legends of the sport. Dwyane Wade announced his retirement at the start of the season, we all knew it was the end of the road for him. Last night, in his final home game, Dirk Nowitzki also announced that he was retiring at the conclusion of the season. I'm saddened by this news, but, on the other hand, I'm glad I got to see so much of their careers.

Dirk has been in the League for 21 seasons- tied for the longest career all time- and all were spent with the Dallas Mavericks. Dwyane Wade should have spent his entire career with the Miami Heat, if Pat Riley hadn't disrespected him so badly, he would have.

I have to admit, I watched a lot more of Dirk's career than Dwyane's. Not just because it was longer (1998 vs. 2003 to current) but because I can't stand the Heat franchise. It's my least favorite team in the sport, probably always will be, as it always has been. (my favorite franchise memory is Jeff Van Gundy clinging to Alonzo Mourning's ankles in a fight). By being a Heat member, that automatically made him 'the enemy" so I usually chose to watch a different team...although, I have seen plenty of Heat games he's played in. Even though it's my least favorite team, I will still watch them, as I will watch whoever is on, whenever they are on. The Mavs, though, I tended to watch more often.

In fact, these two players played a role in my return to the NBA. I stupidly walked away from the sport in 2006. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, but, I did. I thought at the time it would be permanent. What a fool believes, right? Anyway, I was away from the sport starting from late 2006, sometime between September and Christmas, for several years. There was one season- I don't remember now if it was 2008-09 or 2009-10- where I didn't watch a single game. Not one.

What got me back was the Mavs run to the NBA Championship in 2010-11. I didn't watch the regular season or the start of the playoffs, but my mom did. A big Jason Kidd fan, she was supporting the Mavs heavily. I ended up watching the Western Conference Finals with her, and the NBA Finals as well. The Mavs won, their only championship in franchise history.

Who did they beat for the title that year? The Finals series that got me back into it? The Miami Heat. Led by Dwyane Wade. (with some help from LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and others)

Dirk was named Finals MVP. During the next lockout season, I started picking up some cards here and there. Most importantly, I was watching the sport on a regular basis again. At the start of the 2012-13 season, I entered my entire collection onto the Trading Card Database, and Hoops packs that year were 44 cards for under 5 dollars...I got back into the sport full time.

That might never have happened if not for that Mavs-Heat finals. So, it's pretty accurate to say that these two players played a pretty big role in my life.

Dirk retires as the greatest European player in the history of the sport. 6th all-time in scoring. Third in all-time games played and minutes played. Top ten all time in shots both made and attempted, and free throws. 2007 MVP. 14 time All-Star and 12 time All-NBA. A legend all around.

Dwyane retires without cracking the top 10 leaderboards of any major statistical category, but had injuries not taken their toll- he's missed more than 20 games per season in 10 of his 16 seasons, and are playing a major role in his career ending now, instead of in a few years from now- I have no doubt that would be different. He does have 3 NBA Championships, including a Finals MVP of his own, 13 time All-Star, 8 time All-NBA, and he led the league in scoring in 2008-09. He is absolutely a legend. I was surprised when researching this post that he never won regular season MVP. I generally only remember for a year or two after who won, so I have to look it up when I want to talk about the winners.

2003-04 Skybox Autographics

not a great scan, but a good photo. 2015-16 Hoops Silver

Unfortunately...I won't get to see either game live. I will be sleeping through them, and the start of the NHL playoffs. Hopefully I will be able to catch a repeat on League Pass of the Mavs at the Spurs. The Heat play the Nets in Brooklyn so I should be able to catch the local broadcast repeating.