SAN FRANCISCO _ Twenty seasons, nearly 31,000 points, more than 50,000 minutes played as of Monday and one misspelled name on the back of his jersey.
Priceless.
Dirk Nowitzki passed the 50K milestone _ joining just five other players in NBA history to do so _ against the Los Angeles Clippers and, while it took everybody a long time to notice, the name on the back of his jersey in this historic game was spelled "Nowitkzi," with the Z and K transposed.
Worse, it was that way in the Sacramento game on Saturday, too, as the Mavericks wore home white uniforms for these two games. And nobody noticed.
"I actually just saw it," Nowitzki said in the postgame locker room after the Mavericks' 104-101 loss to the Clippers, in which LA scored the last 13 points. "I had no idea, no idea. I guess it happens. I usually look at my jersey.
"I guess it kind of sums up our season."
That it does.
But some good will come out of the misspelling.
Mavericks' equipment manager Al Whitley, who is responsible for all the gear the team uses, estimates that about 600 jerseys per season have to be made with all the home, road and alternative jerseys each stitched with players' names.
Whitley said that the Nowitkzi jersey will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Dirk Nowitzki foundation.
"It's a one-of-a-kind, for sure," Whitley said.
