And-Ones: Nowitzki, 2024 Draft, Extension-Eligible Players

Former Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who will be part of a star-studded 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame class, spoke to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News about his upcoming enshrinement, which will take place next Saturday (August 12).

As Nowitzki explains, growing up in Germany, he was unaware about the importance of the Hall of Fame. It wasn’t until he entered the NBA that he began to learn how meaningful it is to the game’s players. He visited the Hall of Fame in person for the first time in 2018, when he witnessed the inductions of his former teammates Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. Five years later, Nash and Kidd will be the co-presenters introducing Nowitzki when he enters the Hall.

“I remember being so happy for those two; that they got to go in for the careers they had,” Nowitzki said. “I remember just sitting and soaking it all in and listening to all the speeches. Now I’m so happy, I actually can’t believe it’s my time now.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report takes a look at six key storylines to watch in advance of the 2024 NBA draft, starting with a wide-open race for the No. 1 pick. One of the other topics of intrigue highlighted by Wasserman relates to the standout freshmen who will be looking to crack crowded, established rotations.
• Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype ranks the players who are eligible to be extended before the start of the 2023/24 season, including Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. While some of the players on Gozlan’s list figure to get new deals in the coming weeks or months, others will likely wait until 2024 or beyond to sign their next contracts.
• Depending on where the 2024/25 salary cap lands, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown has a chance to become the first player to earn $300MM on a single NBA contract. However, he certainly won’t be the last, according to Mike Vornukov of The Athletic, who explores what contracts could look like in a few years if the cap keeps increase at its current exponential rate.