Nowitzki’s place in history secure, Haywood says

Dallas Mavericks backup center Brendan Haywood said teammate Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t need to win a championship ring to  justfied his worth as an NBA great.

“I’ve been in the league 10 years. this is my first time ever making it out of the second round,” said Haywood, who spent his first nine-plus seasons with the Washington Wizards. “A lot of guys don’t get rings. A lot of great players don’t have rings. I don’t want that to be the case with Dirk. I want to get one this year, but he doesn’t have to win a ring to validate himself. The work he’s put in over the years validates himself. This franchise wasn’t where it was until he got here. What’s he have, 10 straight 50-win seasons? (Actually 11.) That’s validation — MVP; 20,000 (career) points; the work that he puts in when no one is looking. That’s all you need.”

The Mavericks can advance to the NBA Finals with a victory at 8 tonight over the Oklahoma City Thunder inside American Airlines Center. Nowitzki is in 11th postseason and still looking for his first world championship, as is the Dallas franchise.

“In some people’s minds, that’ll stamp him as an all-time great,” Haywood said. “In my mind, it’s one of those things that he doesn’t need. It’s your effort and what you put into it. It’s so much more than that (winning a ring), man. Only one team wins the ring every year. To me, it’s about what you put in at such a high level for such a long period of time.

“People who want to justify his career by (him) winning a ring or not are just foolish.”

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