The Mavericks have a new home court honoring Dirk Nowitzki

The Dallas Mavericks will have a new home court this season inside the American Airlines Center, at least according to NBA 2K20. Gone is the secondary logo, found on either end inside the three-point arc. Replacing it is a silhouette of Dirk Nowitzki’s iconic one-legged jumper.

It’s a wonderful tribute to the Mavericks’ legend. As you know, Nowitzki spent his entire 21-year career playing in Dallas, becoming synonymous with the organization. Dirk is and shall forever be the most recognizable face of the franchise. Outside the arena, a street will be renamed Nowitzki Way. Inside, the court immortalizes him, as it should.

Nowitzki’s image on the court isn’t what I’m here to talk about, however. The new design has another feature as well. Along the sideline, there’s a silhouette of Dallas’ skyline. Featuring the hometown skyline on the court is nothing new in the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers, for one, do so. With Dallas retiring its skyline jerseys, it only seems natural to include it on the court. But, there’s something off.

If you’re like me (I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing), you love the City of Dallas. The skyline is a point of pride. It won best international skyline in a poll by USA Today. That’s nothing to snooze about. What the Mavericks have on their court looks like Dallas’ skyline, but it’s an angle that doesn’t exist.

The newish Santiago Calatrava-designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge features prominently in the silhouette. Its suspension arch towers over the buildings in the background. The thing is the arch is misplaced.

Large Marge, as the bridge is known colloquially, sits north of downtown, connecting Woodall Rodger Freeway to Singleton Boulevard on the west side of the Trinity River. Reunion Tower, the large ball that lights up the night, lies to the south, near the I-30 and I-35 interchange. In the court’s depiction of downtown, Reunion Tower is well north of the arch. Oops?

Even if you go far enough north on the western side of the river—looking back toward downtown—you’re not going to find yourself at an angle where “The Ball” is to the left of the bridge and see the buildings that appear in the silhouette’s southern portion, like the AT&T building. Everything about the arch placement is just wrong.

I don’t know who designed the Mavericks’ new home court. I don’t know what picture they looked at when they chose to replicate the skyline. There clearly aren’t any that show this angle because it’s not possible. Someone should have pointed this out before it received final approval.

Maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing. It’s just a silly representation, after all. In the end, its not going to affect the play on the court. Nevertheless, accuracy matters and it’s going to bug me all season. I hope that the Mavericks will address this error before the season gets underway.