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Tag: Dirk Nowitzki

  • Mavericks fire GM Nico Harrison 9 months after widely panned Luka Doncic trade

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    DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, an admission nine months later that the widely criticized trade of Luka Doncic backfired on the franchise.

    The move came a day after Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont attended a 116-114 loss to the Bucks in which fans again chanted “fire Nico,” a familiar refrain since the blockbuster deal in February that brought Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers and angered the Dallas fan base.

    The Mavericks appointed Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi as co-interim general managers to oversee basketball operations.

    Dumont’s hope for goodwill with the fans never came even after Dallas landed No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg with just a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery.

    There have been plenty of empty seats in the upper deck of American Airlines Center this season, something not seen consistently since 2018, when the Mavericks traded up to get Doncic with the third overall pick.

    Doncic was a 25-year-old generational point guard in his prime when Harrison unloaded him for the oft-injured Davis, who has missed 30 of 44 regular-season games since his arrival in February.

    Harrison was in his fourth season and had engineered three trades that helped the Mavs go on a run to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals two years later.

    The Doncic trade and a slow start to the first full season without the young superstar led to a stunning downfall for Harrison, who declined to comment to The Associated Press. Dallas is 3-8, and Davis has missed six of the 11 games with a calf injury.

    “No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season,” Dumont wrote in a letter to fans. “You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act.”

    While Dumont didn’t directly mention the Doncic trade in the letter, he acknowledged the vitriolic reaction of fans, who protested after the shocking deal. The Las Vegas-based Dumont and Adelson families, who bought the Mavericks from Mark Cuban in late 2023, were targets of the criticism as well.

    “I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had,” Dumont wrote. “Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks.”

    Dumont approved Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic, which kept the Mavericks from having to commit to a $346 million, five-year supermax extension for the Slovenian star.

    Harrison tried to defend the deal by repeating a “defense wins championships” line. But with Davis sidelined by a calf injury and star guard Kyrie Irving still out after tearing the ACL in his left knee last March, defense hasn’t mattered much because Dallas has one of the worst offenses in the NBA.

    With Davis and Irving playing together for just part of one game last season, the Mavericks missed the playoffs a year after Doncic led them to the NBA Finals.

    The slow, injury-plagued start to this season for the Mavericks coincided with Doncic joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to open a season with three consecutive games of at least 40 points.

    Doncic’s historic run was interrupted by a three-game injury absence, but the Lakers won twice without him and are 8-3.

    Harrison had spent 20 years with Nike and had close relationships with several NBA stars, including the late Kobe Bryant, when Cuban hired him in 2021.

    The hiring of Harrison was the first step in trying to restore stability after former general manager Donnie Nelson was fired, then Rick Carlisle resigned as coach a day later. Nelson and Carlisle had been together for 13 years.

    Harrison hired Jason Kidd as coach, and the Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals their first season together after Harrison’s first blockbuster trade.

    He broke up the European pairing of Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and got Spencer Dinwiddie, who played a key supporting role with Doncic as the Mavericks stunned Phoenix with a Game 7 blowout in the second round before losing to Golden State in five games.

    A year later, Dinwiddie was part of the next blockbuster trade, which brought Irving from Brooklyn. The Mavericks faltered the rest of that season largely because of injuries, but they reached their first NBA Finals in 13 years in 2023-24, led by the pair of star guards. Dallas lost to Boston in five games.

    That deep playoff run came in the first six months after Cuban sold the team. He said then that he would maintain control of basketball operations, but that didn’t happen.

    Dumont quickly put full control of the basketball side in the hands of Harrison, who saw Davis as a championship-caliber player in the mold of Bryant. Davis won a title with LeBron James and the Lakers in 2020.

    Cuban criticized the trade of Doncic, saying he never would have approved it and adding that he didn’t think Dallas got enough in return. Months later, though, Cuban credited Harrison for his salary cap management.

    Finley, who was Harrison’s top assistant and has been in the Dallas front office for a decade, was a two-time All-Star for the Mavericks in the early 2000s when Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki was coming of age.

    Finley had moved on to San Antonio when Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2006. Dallas lost to Miami that year but beat the Heat five years later for the franchise’s only championship.

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    AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

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  • FIFA Announces Dallas Will Host 9 World Cup Matches

    FIFA Announces Dallas Will Host 9 World Cup Matches

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    The World Cup is still two years away, but Dallas is already a winner. At a press conference Sunday hosted at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, media members, celebrities and local officials gathered to watch the official FIFA schedule announcement.

    From June 11, through July 19, 2026, the World Cup will have 104 games over 16 cities in North America, with 11 in the U.S.

    This marks the first time the men’s World Cup will take place across three different countries: Mexico, Canada and the U.S. The opening match is on June 11, in Mexico City in Aztec Stadium. The games will continue in Toronto on June 12; Los Angeles will host the first game in the U.S. also on June 12.

    This isn’t the only first. The tournament has expanded from 32 participating teams to 48.

    In a press conference that included Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith and Dallas Stars former goaltender Marty Turco, it was announced that North Texas will host the most matches of any city, nine, including one semifinal game, at AT&T Stadium on July 14. Of the 104 World Cup games, Dallas is hosting the most.

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    Former Dallas Star goaltender Marty Turco was in attendance at the FIFA press conference on Sunday.

    Mike Brooks

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    Basketball star Dirk Nowitzki (left) spoke about his love for a different sport: soccer.

    Mike Brooks

    “This is the biggest event in the world,” said Nowitzki, who spoke about growing up in Germany where people have “soccer in their DNA.” Nowitzki says he has watched soccer become more popular in the U.S. since English star David Beckham first made his way to LA Galaxy in the early 2000s.

    For the portion of the announcement that was televised, FIFA enlisted Kevin Hart, Drake and the
     “World’s most famous soccer Mom” Kim Kardashian, who announced Los Angeles as the first host city in the U.S.

    Suffice to say, FIFA is really trying to spur a pandemic of soccer fever, following the tradition of Latin America and Europe. The sport is having a bit of a renaissance in the U.S. with Inter Miami recruiting star players Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. This week, FC Dallas made a landmark signing with Petar Musa in a deal worth nearly $10 million.

    Also in attendance at the Arlington press conference were Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Fort Worth Councilwoman Macy Hill.

    The city of Frisco, said Mayor Cheney, will be investing 100 million into the historic downtown to “show off” the city.

    “We saw the Messi impact,” said the Frisco mayor of the recent two games that brought Inter Miami to matches against FC Dallas, to record attendance.

    Beyond its cultural significance, the men’s World Cup is a major economic boon. According to a report by Forbes, FIFA brought $7.5 billion in revenue after the last World Cup in Qatar — which saw Argentina take the cup in a match of giants between Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi and previous World Cup champion France and Kylian Mbappe — of which Qatar reportedly banked $1.56 billion. Qatar, however, had reported investing $220 billion into hosting, making the World Cup a major financial loss.

    For the 2026 soccer championship, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross was asked at the press conference whether his city’s lack of public transportation may have hindered Arlington’s bid for a final.

    “If you’ve ever experienced coming in and out of here, we get people in and out as good, if not better, than any other city in the country,” said Ross. “So we do have a public transportation system. We’re just not assigned to a transit authority.”

    Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he hadn’t been given any reasons why FIFA didn’t pick AT&T Stadium for the final. But, he pointed out, Arlington is a city that was able to support three Taylor Swift concerts, “Which is as big as the World Cup.”

    Before Sunday’s announcement, Dallas was projected to earn $300-400 million in revenue for hosting — which should cover Dallas’ rising rent for about a month. Though at the Sunday press conference, the numbers hadn’t yet been calculated to account for the economic impact of hosting nine games.

    Other host cities include Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Miami.

    Dallas will host its first game on June 14, with subsequent group-stage matches on June 17, June 22, June 25 and June 27. Round of 32 matches are on June 30, and July 3. The next game (round of 16) is July 6. The semifinal game in Dallas will be played on July 14.

    The final game is on July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. You can register for tickets on FIFA’s website.

    “This is fabulous,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of the news. “This is easily the most significant sports event that has taken place in our region.”

    To explain to North Texans the impact of the nine games, FC Dallas president Dan Hunt offered, “It’s like nine Super Bowls.” 

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    Local officials answered questions about how the World Cup will affect their cities in 2026.

    Mike Brooks

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    Several panels of speakers answered press questions about the 2026 World Cup on Sunday.

    Mike Brooks

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    A scene from the press conference at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.

    Mike Brooks

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    Dirk showed love to his new hometown of Dallas on Sunday.

    Mike Brooks

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    Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hosted the media event at “Jerry World,” Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium, where it was announced that Dallas will host nine World Cup matches in 2026.

    Mike Brooks



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    Lauren Drewes Daniels

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  • Please Watch This Amazing Overwatch X Dallas Mavericks Video

    Please Watch This Amazing Overwatch X Dallas Mavericks Video

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    Last night I was scrolling through TikTok in the midst of an edible comedown, and I stumbled upon something so ridiculous, so cringe, so brilliant, that I couldn’t believe I had yet to see it before. It’s called Maverwatch, and it’s a 2018 hype video for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks that features its star players doubling as Overwatch characters.

    This Wacky Magical Girl Anime Is Studio Trigger-Coded To Perfection

    Read More: NBA Star Luka Doncic Is A Grandmaster Overwatch Player, Mains Zarya

    Edited to look like an Overwatch play-of-the-game clip, which highlights a particularly gnarly play (usually a multi-kill) at the end of every match, this minute-long video feels like something my high brain cooked up in a daydream. But it’s not. This clip is real, and every second is transfixing, a strange mix of car-wreck tragedy and knee-slapping comedy. You can’t deny, however, that the editing is top-tier, with the all-too-familiar ding sounds indicating an Overwatch kill, the Overwatch font showing off “eliminations” of rival players getting stunted on, and the in-game music swelling in-between each wooden NBA player delivery of a hero’s line.

    Athletes are, by and large, not known for their acting and line-reading skills. In the rare chance that you get an athlete with a glittering personality who can actually say dialogue without sounding like a kid forced to read out loud during class, teams will push them to the forefront of marketing materials and commercial opportunities (Eli Manning, Tom Brady) or even let them play the lead in a film (LeBron James, Michael Jordan). I can say with some confidence that none of the 2018 Dallas Mavericks players have the same je ne sais quoi as James or Brady, but that only makes the Maverwatch experience better.

    The man behind Maverwatch

    The clip begins with Dirk Nowitzki aping Soldier: 76’s ultimate ability line (“I’ve got you in my sights”) while pretending to activate an imaginary visor before cutting to clips of him sinking threes.

    “Dirk got Soldier because he’s the rugged old leader of the team,” Austin Guttery, former in-game media creator for the Dallas Mavericks and creator of Maverwatch, told Kotaku via email.

    The second player highlighted is former Mavs center Deandre Jordan, who pretends to pop a Lucio ult (“oh, let’s break it down”) under the nickname “Shootscio.” Help me. “Jordan got Lucio because of his great defensive plays and his ability to keep the team alive,” Guttery explained.

    But when it came time to assign Mavericks point guard and Grandmaster Overwatch player Luka Doncic a character, things got a little heated. “Luka actually reeeeeally wanted to be Hanzo, since that’s who he usually plays, but there was a player on the team, Wes Matthews, who was known for pretending to shoot a bow and arrow after each shot during the games, so naturally we HAD to make him Hanzo,” Guttery said. “I picked Luka to be Junkrat because of his blonde hair. Luka was the tiniest bit salty and tried to talk us into making him Hanzo, but we had already shot Wes’s part, and we only got one quick shot with each player every year.”

    The other players were assigned based on any connections Guttery could make between them and an Overwatch hero—or if he thought they could manage to pull off a good enough mime of a character’s moves. No, I cannot stop laughing at Luka pretending to pull a Junkrat RIP-Tire.

    Aside from the drama that came with assigning Mavs players their Overwatch counterparts, Guttery says that it took ages for him to get the video approved because his boss “didn’t actually know what Overwatch was.” But telling him that Doncic was a huge Overwatch fan “really helped sell it.” The clip was shot during the team’s media day, and aired on the in-arena screens during a lull in gameplay to a “pretty good reaction” from fans.

    But when Guttery shared the video to Reddit, which is presumably where this TikToker found it, he got in a fair bit of trouble.

    “I almost got fired!” he related cheerily. “After our videos air in-game, we usually don’t put them out online until after the season, or unless we get permission from [owner Mark] Cuban to run them. But I was so excited about how this one turned out, I really wanted to see how the Overwatch community would react to it. So I posted it on Reddit and within the day it BLEW UP…It eventually caught the eye of my boss who got, um, pretty upset that it was out there, and he was afraid that if Cuban saw this, we wouldn’t be making videos for them anymore, so I removed it. Luckily Cuban never got wind of it, so it was a non-issue.”

    But Overwatch developer Blizzard did indeed see the video, and sent Guttery a “really nice Widowmaker figure” that the team kept on display at the office. And now, that very same video is making the rounds on social media yet again. Time is a flat circle, but Luka Doncic is no longer a Hanzo main. It’s Zarya now.

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    Alyssa Mercante

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