Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki used to be around the Dallas Mavericks a lot. Whether it’s watching their games live in the stadium or being with the team in practice, Dirk was a familiar sight even after his retirement.
But Mavs fans have noticed that the 2007 NBA MVP is no longer visible during Mavs’ games, practices, or team activities. During a recent interview with “105.3 The Fan,” Nowitzki clarified his current relationship with the Mavericks.
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“I’m not too involved in front office decisions these days. I tried to go to practice a lot, two to three seasons ago, J-Kidd asked me to be around more and be part of it. It felt a little weird to go to the gym every day not knowing my role and so since then, I kinda pulled back again and so I haven’t really been involved the last couple of years. Of course, I’m a phone call away,” he said.
Dirk distanced himself even before the Luka trade
In 2021, former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban offered Nowitzki a special advisor role on the team. As a consultant, Dirk’s job was to help management assess and make front-office decisions. Back then, the first order of business was to hire a general manager to replace Donnie Nelson.
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That guy became Nico Harrison, but since then, Nowitzki revealed that his relationship with the team he led to the NBA title in 2011 has gone cold.
At first, many thought that Dirk’s relationship with the Mavs soured when they traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last February. However, that does not seem to be the case. As Dirk revealed to “105.3 The Fan,” he lay low as far back as a couple of years ago and it had nothing to do with Doncic.
Rather, he felt his job description was not clear.
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“I’ve met with Patrick, I’ve met with Nico through the years, but I’m not really part of the day-to-day business. That’s where it stands. And now, obviously, going into some broadcasting, I’ll be super busy starting October with the season, I’ll be traveling to L.A. a lot. I don’t think anything is going to change anytime soon, but like I said, I’m a phone call away if Cooper or anybody needs something,” he added.
Dirk is willing to help Flagg
Nowitzki mentioning the Mavs’ number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft is nothing new.
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Although he’s never met Cooper Flagg before, Dirk said he exchanged text messages with the former Duke star to welcome him to Dallas and tell him he’d be happy to help him with anything he needed.
However, Dirk also said that, as far as advice, Flagg has plenty of great vets on the team who can help him with whatever he wants to know.
“I’m not quite sure I can help him with advice, Nowitzki said earlier this month to the Dallas Morning News.
“The only thing is to keep your eyes and ears open. Keep learning from your veterans. He’s got some incredible players on the team now with Kyrie, obviously Klay. AD’s been around forever,” Dirk explained. “There’s so much knowledge there that he can tap into and learn from. Ask questions. How are their pregame routines? What do they eat? How do they prepare for events? What do they do with appearances? How do they interact with the media?”
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The Mavericks were lucky to have a star like Dirk who played all of his 21 years with them and led them to their only NBA title. But as we know now, while he may not be as close to the team as he was before, the loyalty is still there, long after his playing years.
For that, the Mavs should be extremely grateful to have someone like Nowitzki.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.