Dirk Nowitzki is humbled to see Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid replicating his signature one-legged fadeaway jumper.
"That's an honor," the Dallas Mavericks legend said on the "Takeoff with John Clark" podcast. "That's so sweet to see that he thinks that that's a good move and a shot that he can put in his repertoire, so it's fun to see.
"When (the 76ers) actually played here in Dallas, I watched some of the game, and he texted me the day after and said, 'I had to show respect to you and shoot it on your silhouette.' You know, my silhouette is now on the Mavs' floor, and so he said he had to shoot one for me. So that made me of course feel really good. I'm honored that he thinks it's a good shot to have."
Nowitzki also gave his assessment of Embiid's form.
"It looks pretty good, I got to say," the 42-year-old said. "He's so big, but he's so agile and so athletic, and he's still got the touch. I mean, he's a wonderful player and so much fun to watch. It almost looked better than the real thing, I got to say."
Embiid told reporters at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game that he watched old tapes of Nowitzki when he first started playing basketball. The 27-year-old and his trainer also studied Nowitzki in preparation for the 2020-21 season.
Embiid says he and his trainer started watching a lot of old Dirk Nowitzki tape prepping for this year, which he credits for some of his success operating/catching at the nail this season
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 17, 2021
Embiid and the 76ers are back in action Wednesday night when they host the Washington Wizards in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
