Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki’s Best Sidekicks Over The Years
By Cole Mentzel
Honorable Mentions
Dirk Nowitzki has played with so many players in his career. Here are some of his best teammates that didn’t make the list:
Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis only played with Nowitzki for two seasons (2013-15) before signing with the Indiana Pacers during the summer of 2015. However, his skill set seemed to mesh with Nowitzki’s. The two were great at executing the two-man game and Ellis provided a light at the end of the tunnel after two bad seasons where the Mavs were searching for another man to pick up the slack.
One signature game for him and Nowitzki was a comeback against the Houston Rockets just 12 games into the duo’s first season together. Ellis scored 37 and Nowitzki scored 35 as they propelled the Mavs to victory late. He left his mark on the organization with a couple of buzzer-beaters as well as two 38-point games where he was almost unstoppable.
Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler is arguably the best center that has ever played for the Dallas Mavericks and he made an immediate impact on the team, proving to be the missing piece that would eventually lead them to their first Championship in 2011. He left for the New York Knicks after that season but eventually returned to pair up with Nowitzki in the Mavs’ frontcourt for the 2014-15 season.
Chandler helped the Mavs on defense and hid a lot of Nowitzki’s defensive woes. He had a total of 53 double-doubles during his career with Dallas including 32 in his second stint. Overall, Nowitzki and Chandler formed a great bond and it’s a shame they only got to play together for two seasons.
Michael Finley was the third and final piece of the original “Big Three” in Dallas during the early 2000s. He was the primary scorer of the trio, averaging at least 20 points in five of his nine seasons with the Mavs. Finley was a great guy to have in the locker room and was always a reliable option.
He still stays close to the organization and can often be seen sitting next to Mark Cuban on game nights. Finley is now getting to enjoy the twilight of Nowitzki’s career from a different perspective.
Josh Howard was one of the few successful draft picks for the Mavs in the 2000s. He averaged double-digits in every season with the Mavs except for his rookie year and was a main contributor during the Mavs’ run to the NBA Finals in 2005-06.
A few of his major accomplishments were making the All-Rookie second team in 2004 and making the All-Star Game in 2007. Howard was lucky enough to experience Nowitzki’s best years, including his MVP season in 2007.
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