Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash Highlight Dirk Side-Kicks

It seems the Dallas Mavericks have been constantly looking for the right side-kick for Dirk Nowitzki. They may have found their answer(s) this year with both Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons, but before them the Mavs have rolled out many other players to fill the void.

Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, and Jason Kidd highlight the previous batch of Dirk side-kicks.

So, who was Dirk’s best side-kick?

Winston Zhang: Purely for the fact that they went through both 2006 and 2011 together, JET. He could be pretty frustrating sometimes, but that pic of Dirk hugging him after they won the title (could link the pic if you know the one I’m talking about) just sums it all up. I really think Dirk feels a real kinship with JET.

Bailey Rogers: Hard not to go with JET, but for the sake of variety, I’ll go with Tyson Chandler. While the two only shared one season (so far) as frontcourt partners, it was clear that Tyson had a dramatic effect on Dirk. Dirk loved playing with Tyson, and Tyson perfectly complemented Dirk. I can’t wait to see what happens when we get them together again this season.

Brian Gosset: No question, it’s the Jet. Two prime examples…during 2011 playoffs. Game 4 vs Lakers when he made nine 3-pointers and Game 6 vs Miami to clinch the title. Dirk struggled in that game vs Miami…think he ended up with 21, but shot it poorly. Jet had a great first half and ended with 27 I think. If it wasn’t for that, who knows. Miami may have won that game, and I said if Dallas wasn’t going to win Game 6, the Mavs weren’t going to win Game 7 in Miami.

Sameer Moosa: Jason “The JET” Terry. It’s not even a debate for me. Aside from the fact that he’s my favorite player, Jet was the only player on both finals teams with dirk and he felt the pain and the redemption when the mavs ended up winning a championship. And the Jet was as reliable as any sidekick could get. He was actually in the top five for fourth quarter scoring in the ENTIRE LEAGUE for a couple of years. In 2010, the mavs traded for Caron butler trying to get a legit Robin to Dirk’s Batman. But really, they had one all along in JET.

Ace Feltman: Productively it’s Jason Kidd. It took four seasons to do it, but Kidd (and Tyson Chandler) were absolute necessities on the Mavericks to compete and then win a championship.

From a fans perspective though I pick Jason Eugene Terry, or you may know him as the “JET.” Dirk and Jet went through it all together – the agony of 2006, the depressing disappointment of 2007 and the search for that “right” team through 2011, and also a pissy 2012 but hey, 2011.

Austin Ngaruiya: Does Steve Nash count as a sidekick? I think he’s by far the best player Dirk has ever played with. Offensively, Nash complemented in a way that no other player in the league could. The Nash and Dirk two-man game was one of the most deadly combinations in league history. Nash was the secondary scorer Dirk always needed as well as the setup man to get the ball to Dirk at his spots. I love both Jet and Monta, but I’ll take the Nash and Dirk tandem for all eternity.

Rami Michail: Josh Howard. Everyone forgets how good he actually was with the Mavs.