Clippers Coach Doc Rivers Honors Dirk Nowitzki with Incredible Gesture

Dirk Nowitzki. Photo by BabiradPicture/REX/Shutterstock

In what many assume will be NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki’s final season, the tributes have come rolling in.

However, what the Los Angeles Clippers and their coach Doc Rivers did for the 2011 NBA Finals MVP was unprecedented and something that NBA fans had never seen before.

With his team leading the Mavericks 121-112 in the final seconds of Monday night’s game at Staples Center, Rivers called a timeout.

After the initial confusion as to why Rivers would call a timeout at such a strange moment in the game, the coach walked to the scorer’s table, grabbed the PA microphone, and began to speak.

He chanted “Dirk, Dirk!” and encouraged the Clippers fans in the Staples Center to join him in honoring the retiring legend.

The crowd at Staples Center immediately took to Rivers’ request and began to give Nowitzki a rousing standing ovation to pay tribute to the German power forward’s outstanding career.

The humble 7-footer sheepishly grinned and gave Rivers a thumbs-up, and appeared to get emotional as the crowd applauded. Several Clippers players game over to shake Nowitzki’s hand and to hug him.

The moment between certain Hall of Famers Rivers and Nowitzki was a reminder of why we love sports. It was a historic moment that will go down in NBA history.

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