Dirk Nowitzki to Reunite With Steve Nash at Mavericks Icon’s Tennis Extravaganza

Although Dirk Nowitzki is no longer an active Dallas Maverick, he’s still active on another kind of court. Dirk’s first sports love growing up was tennis so he puts on a tournament for charity each year at Southern Methodist University.

This year’s 4th annual Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic is set for September 15 and an early look at the roster of players is out.

Joining Dirk in the round robin tournament will be former World No. 2 Tommy Haas, Grand Slam doubles champ and five-time Olympian Mark Knowles, and actor Boris Kodjoe, known for his roles in Station 19, Code Black and the 2000 film Love & Basketball. The most anticipated name though is former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, the ex-Maverick who played with Nowitzki for the first six seasons of the German’s legendary career.

Nowitzki said recently that not doing more to try to keep Nash in Dallas stands out as one of the bigger regrets of his career. With Nash in Phoenix and Nowitzki in Dallas, the two won three straight NBA MVP Awards (Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and Nowitzki in 2006-07), leading many to speculate on what they could have done together.

Nowitzki and Nash have always remained extremely close friends.

More players for the tennis tournament will be announced soon. The last time I attended Dirk’s tournament two years ago, actor Owen Wilson, Andy Roddick and Dallas Stars icon Mike Modano competed, as well as Dirk’s wife, Jessica Nowitzki, and current pro tennis player Donald Young. There is a good chance more big names will jump in.

The way that it works is that each celebrity or pro player is teamed up with an amateur. Competitors rotate between different partners and play a ten-point tiebreaker against different teams, but one team matchup will come out on top. Trash talk between the celebs and watching Nowitzki hit a serve are the most entertaining aspects of the tourney.

Tickets cost $20 to attend and proceeds benefit the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, which awards grants annually to organizations focusing on children’s wellbeing, health and education. The tournament will take place from 11 am to 3 pm September 15 at the SMU Tennis Complex. For more details and tickets, click here.