Earlier this week, I made the case that in his prime, Dirk Nowitzki deserved the distinction of The Best Player In The World. Win Shares, Player Efficiency Rating, MVP voting, clutch scoring … those are all meant to be objective tools for a construction project that is ultimately subjective, debatable and fun.



As Dirk concludes his career, we’re all looking to properly frame the unique and beautiful portrait he has painted for us. Once I get past the “but what about my guy?” thoughts, I’m left to consider something ultimately immeasurable, something I imagine every Mavericks fan has attempted to catalogue internally. That is: What did Dirk’s career mean to me? This is selfish, of course. Sports are simultaneously a way distract ourselves from reality but also a way to find meaning; a way to tell us something about not only our own existence but also our confusing surroundings.



I am not going to put forward the idea that Dirk had...