Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki took part in a local slam dunk contest recently and got way more than he bargained for.
In a recent video shared by X user Dallas Texas TV, Nowitzik holds a ball above his head as a participant gets a running start. The intention was likely to replicate Aaron Gordon’s iconic dunk over Tacko Fall several years ago, where Gordon jumped over Fall while Fall was holding the ball above his head and dunked it.
Unfortunately, that participant didn’t have the hops that Gordon did and the execution did not go as planned. He couldn’t get enough air and wound up jumping right onto Nowitzki, causing the NBA icon to fall face-first into a wall.
The dunk attempter didn’t even get the ball up for a good shot either.
“Almost took Dirk out last night,” the X user wrote in the caption to the video.
Almost took Dirk out last night 😳 pic.twitter.com/z5efnU4UtO
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) June 13, 2024
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Despite what the user on X wrote it looked like there was no “almost” about it. The MC appeared to have to help Dirk up as he was escorted off the court.
“Whos idea was this? Lil bro didn’t even come close to Dunkin over him smh they gonna injured the legend,” one user replied to the video.
“Don’t hurt him, we need him for game 4,” another fan joked, referencing the Mavs’ current 3-0 slump against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
“That guy almost became public enemy #1 in Dallas,” a third declared.
We’re all just glad that Dirk is okay.