Dirk Nowitzki just exposed a Mavericks secret the rest of NBA still can't crack

Dirk Nowitzki will always be a Dallas Mavericks legend for the magic he put together over his 21 years with the franchise, including two NBA Finals appearances and one NBA Championship, and the city of Dallas loves him like their own.

Nowitzki's game was like no other, as he was a 7-footer with a silky smooth jump shot and unstoppable one-legged fadeaway, but those weren't the only parts of his game that defenses couldn't stop. The Mavs ran a play with Nowitzki called the nail iso, where Nowitzki would catch the ball at the nail (the center of the free throw line), and take a defender one-on-one.

This play was Nowitzki's bread and butter, as he couldn't be stopped when he was at that spot on the floor, and he recently dove into the Xs and Os of that play in response to LeBron James and Steve Nash talking about it on the Mind the Game podcast.

Dirk Nowitzki reveals why his go-to Mavericks play was unguardable

Nowitzki talked about how this play originated from teams heavily switching his pick and rolls, and it was designed to take care of the advantage created from that without a back switch. A guard or wing would typically switch onto him, and the rest is history.

"The easiest was just after a high pick and roll, just to give me the ball right there on the nail," Nowitzki said. "My game wasn't really the whole back down and jump hook, get close to the basket. Wherever I would catch the ball, I would just turn around and probably shoot over the smaller defender."

Nowitzki goes on to talk about how the nail iso was one of their favorite plays, diving into how it was hard to trap him when he was at the nail because it would create a two-on-one advantage on the other side of the floor if they did decide to double team him.

He also talked about how the Mavs would overload one side when Nowitzki had the ball on the nail, leaving three players on one side of the floor and a sharpshooter like Jason Terry in the corner. This unique spacing would allow Nowitzki to have nearly an entire side of the floor to operate (the side of the floor with the lone shooter), as he could drive in that direction, knowing the defender guarding the shooter couldn't help off much.

Nowitzki could either shoot a jumper right over the defender from the nail or the elbow, or he could drive all the way to the rim and finish with either hand. This play worked to perfection in Game 2 of the NBA Finals in 2011, and even though Nowitzki didn't force a switch, he still had the spacing he needed to get to the rim and finish a layup over Chris Bosh with his left hand. The nail iso forced the defense to stay airtight on Nowitzki, and he had the option of turning and facing to shoot a jumper over a smaller defender, driving the bucket, or shooting a fadeaway jumper after taking a few dribbles.

The nail iso was truly one of the Mavericks' most unstoppable plays during Nowitzki's tenure, and the rest of the league could never find a way to shut it down due to Nowitzki's massive frame, high release point, and elite feel for the game. His time with the Mavericks as a player will never be forgotten, and now the team has to find a way to rope him back in before it's too late.

Fans are begging Mavericks brass to make things right with Nowitzki, as he hasn't been as involved with the franchise over the past few years due to internal decisions such as firing his good friend Casey Smith and trading away Luka Doncic, and they have to get him involved once again. Things aren't the same without Nowitzki being a face of the franchise.