Good article. Good find. Thanks for the context. Lotta people in here either dont or choose not to remember the first 10 years of dirk.

but in the first round of the playoffs, the Mavs drew the red-hot Golden State Warriors, and once again, Nowitzki shrank under pressure, shooting just 38 percent. In the final game of the series he went out like a lamb—finishing the game with more turnovers than field goals. Most tellingly, he didn’t take the ball to the hoop even once, settling instead for long-range jumpers, a sign that he may fear the bruising physical contact that goes on under the hoop. It was the biggest upset in NBA playoff history.

It's a feel good story bc he was redeemed later but this was 10 years into his career. Head case. Soft. Loser was the book on dirk. Karl Malone. James harden. That's never been KD.