Photo Credit: Bleacher Report
Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade were once bitter rivals, but they have since buried the hatchet and become friends. The two legends will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together on August 12, and they are looking forward to sharing the experience.
“We’ve actually bonded,” Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News. “We sat together with his family during one of the dinners, and we talked. And so I think it’s going to be great. I think there’s a lot of mutual respect there now.”
Nowitzki and Wade faced off against each other 41 times in their careers, with the Mavericks winning 22 of those games. The two players also met in the NBA Finals in 2006, when the Mavericks lost to the Heat in six games, and in 2011, when they won in six.
Despite their rivalry, Nowitzki and Wade have always had a grudging respect for each other. In 2019, after Wade announced his retirement, Nowitzki said that he was “one of the greatest players to ever play the game” and that he was “proud to have competed against him.”
Now that they are both Hall of Famers, Nowitzki and Wade are looking forward to putting their rivalry behind them and celebrating their accomplishments together.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Nowitzki said. “We’re both going to be there with our families, and we’re going to get to enjoy this moment together.”
The two players are sure to have a lot to talk about when they see each other again. They can reminisce about their rivalry, celebrate their accomplishments, and look forward to their future in the Hall of Fame.
