Top 100 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season, Part 2

6. The final 2 games for Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade

We’ve already got separate entries dedicated to the highlights of Dwyane Wade’s farewell tour and Dirk Nowitzki’s final season, but the last two games of these legends’ careers were so unforgettable they demanded their own spot on the list.

On the final two nights of the regular season, Flash and Dirk made sure fans around the NBA felt how dusty it was getting, and it was only fitting how similar their exits were.

In their home finales on April 9, the future Hall-of-Famers both scored exactly 30 points. Wade had already gotten people emotional with a touching Budweiser commercial earlier that morning, but when the pregame tribute video and a Barack Obama shoutout started the evening off, everyone knew this goodbye was going to be excruciating.

So of course Flash got the scoring started with a dunk to send the emotional crowd into an early frenzy. Of course the crowd started chanting “Paul Pierce sucks” to show their disdain for the Truth’s ridiculous comments. And of course Wade and Udonis Haslem got to check in together one last time.

Even when D-Wade biffed his signature jump onto the scorer’s table, those 30 points in a win were the perfect way to send off his days at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Meanwhile, on that very same night in Dallas, Nowitzki was getting the same Hall of Fame treatment with both a pregame and in-game video tribute, the latter of which brought the seven-footer to tears.

Like Wade, Dirk had the first bucket of the night. He nearly blew the roof off when he scored the Mavs’ first 10 points. He not only unleashed one last vintage one-legged fadeaway, but he even added a classic Dirk dunk that elicited the kind of pure, unbridled joy out of Luka Doncic that everyone in the arena was feeling.

Nowitzki matched Wade’s 30 in his home finale, moving into 11th on the NBA’s all-time 3-point list and becoming the oldest player in NBA history to score 30 points, passing Michael Jordan.

The two weren’t done, however, since they both finished their careers on the road. LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Devin Booker and dozens more showed up in Brooklyn for the final game of Wade’s career. Flash rewarded them with a show, recording the fifth triple-double of his career with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

The best part? Wade’s 10th assist to secure the triple-double came on a bucket for Udonis Haslem.

In San Antonio, the Spurs honored their longtime rivalry with Dirk with another touching tribute that brought the legend to tears once again. Though the Mavs (like the Heat) lost their final game of the season, Nowitzki went out with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

These two legends who met in two NBA Finals and split their one-on-one series there went out on remarkably similar terms, but also on their own terms. In other words, it was the perfect way for each of them to walk away from NBA basketball.