Inside the Sights & Sounds of Dirk Nowitzki’s 30K Night

Here is a look inside of the American Airlines Center on the night that Dirk Nowitzki joined the prestigious 30,000 point club.

March 7th, 2017 will forever be remembered in the Dallas sports history books as the beloved Dirk Nowitzki scored his 30,000th point in his career. With accolades that can be talked about for hours, this accomplishment is near the top of the list.

Even though the shot to hit 30k will be the most remembered, here is the storied progression of the memorable night starting from the morning at shoot around.

In the late morning of Tuesday, the media rolled into shoot around to notice a certain shirt draped over all of the seats in the American Airlines Center.

This was not at the approval of Dirk Nowitzki though. In Nowitzki’s post game press conference later that night, he admitted that he wasn’t a fan of the idea and texted someone within the organization about it. He felt that if he didn’t get the 20 points it would look dumb, but that obviously would not be the case.

After pre-game press conferences from the coaches, then it was time for the Mavericks to take the floor. Nowitzki and the Mavs took the floor to an already crowded AAC on a Tuesday night.

If you were inside the AAC and didn’t know about the potential milestone, then you figured it out during warmups. Media could barely walk around the court as everyone on the court and in the crowd was taping footage of the Big German knocking down his classic jump shot.

After that, it was time for the starting lineups with a certain big man at the end like he always is. Nowitzki is always greeted with a roar from the crowd, but on Tuesday night, it had a different vibe.

Pressure to get to 20 points? Nerves? Nope, Dirk embraced it all and started the game perfect…but really.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/839292260315443200

Dirk went 6/6 from the floor to start the game with two of them being from behind the arc. From the opening jump shot that brought the crowd to their feet to the MVP chants during his free throws, the first quarter was one for the history books as he scored 18 points.

Then, at the beginning of the second quarter, Dirk hit THE shot to reach 30,000.

After Dirk hit the shot, the arena and both teams were all out of sorts. Waiting for a break in action to celebrate the moment, Dallas came down the court again for a moment that really brought the whole place down.

Finally, a timeout was called and it was time to celebrate the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki.

Mark Cuban admitted previously that they had some things planned for when Nowitzki hit the mark. While the team and arena celebrated, the tribute video was shown on the jumbotron.

But the tribute video on Dirk’s career wasn’t the only tribute video shown throughout the night. As the game progressed, more videos were shown on the jumbotron of people congratulating Dirk on his accomplishment.

There was a video of past teammates, including Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and more that brought a loud applause to the arena. There was also a video from some of his German athletes that meant a lot to Nowitzki.

The shot was the biggest moment of the night obviously, but the second best moment was no doubt the emotion of his long-time mentor, Holger. Holger was in the audience for the big night and shared some tears as the tribute videos were shown.

Nowitzki didn’t play a ton as the Mavericks cruised to an easy victory, but did take a moment to embrace the crowd after the game before he walked off.

These past two videos of Dirk leaving the crowd and walking to the locker room define him. Taking time to interact with the fans is truly what he has done over the last 19 years of his career.

After the game, Rick Carlisle spent more time at the podium than usual as he delivered a heartfelt monologue on the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki.

You can read all of Carlisle’s full quotes and comments HERE.

After Carlisle, Nowitzki came to the podium to address the media as the big man answered questions candidly on his career and the millstone. It was a perfect moment for everyone involved.

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You simply couldn’t have written it any better for Nowitzki and the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

The Mavericks earned their third straight win in a blowout victory while the focus was all on the greatness of Nowitzki. Everyone took notice of Nowitzki’s accomplishment on Tuesday night as players from around the league and retirement shared their love on social media.

You can read about all of the social media love from LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen and more HERE.

In the words of Rick Carlisle after the game, “We all witnessed one of the most amazing accomplishments really in the history of sports.”

From the cold chills to the watery eyes, this moment will never be forgotten.

Next: Rick Carlisle's Heartfelt Monologue on Dirk's Milestone

Never leave us Dirk.