Dirk Nowitzki will join “HooperVision” on NBA League Pass on Dec. 17 (8 ET) for the Mavs-Cavs game.
Over his 21-year playing career with the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki treated fans to countless memorable moments, from game-winning shots to his signature fadeaway jumper and, of course, leading Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship. The future Hall of Famer (he is eligible for the 2023 class) has also entertained when handed a microphone, allowing his personality and sense of humor to shine while joining the Mavericks broadcast team over the years. Two of his calls have become legendary.
On Dec. 29, 2010 — early in the Dallas’ championship season — the 7-footer from Germany was sidelined with a sprained knee in a game against Toronto. Dressed in a suit rather than a uniform, he left the Mavericks’ bench and joined the broadcast crew for a bit of guest commentary.
Then, it happened. Jason Kidd tossed the pass up to Tyson Chandler, who finished the alley-oop and drew a foul and led to these famous four words from Nowitzki that would become part of Mavericks lore: “Take Dat Wit Chu.” (And yes, you have to spell it that way.) And yes, there is a remix video on YouTube you need to watch.
A little more than a year later (Jan. 25, 2012), Nowitzki was back with the broadcast team as he recovered from another injury. While discussing the role Peja Stojakovic played with the Mavericks during their championship run, Dallas had a fast break with Jason Terry tossing up an underhanded alley-oop pass to Dwight Powell. He threw it down and sent the home crowd into a frenzy and Nowitzki seized the moment with another famous call: “Oh! Shut it down! Let’s go home!” Unfortunately for Dallas, the game ended in a 105-90 loss to Minnesota.
On Saturday, Dirk will join former teammates JJ Barea and Devin Harris as part of an alternate stream of Dallas’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass). Nowitzki will be a part of NBA “HooperVision,” which debuted last season with former teammates Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson calling games over Zoom.
This season, the NBA is expanding the field of guest broadcasters to included legends calling games of their former teams. And there’s no bigger legend to discuss a Mavericks game than Nowitzki, as he, Barea and Harris will have plenty of stories to share while Luka Doncic and the Mavericks visit Cleveland.
Mavericks fans in Dallas can still watch the lead broadcast team of Mark Followill and Derek Harper call the game on Bally Sports Southwest, while fans on NBA League Pass can catch the ‘HooperVision’ stream as local blackout restrictions will apply.
Don’t miss your chance to catch Dirk’s latest legendary call on Saturday night on NBA League Pass.
