How the Dirk statue stays upright: An Axios investigation
Dirk #Dirk
Dirk Nowitzki’s legendary fadeaway is now cemented into Mavericks history. Photo: Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
The new Dirk Nowitzki statue, unveiled outside the American Airlines Center on Christmas Day, is one of the coolest sports statues ever — especially compared to some of the dismal tributes to athletes recently erected in other parts of the world.
The very big picture: The 24-foot, 9,000-pound sculpture, designed by artist Omri Amrany, depicts Dirk’s signature one-leg fadeaway. And like the big German himself, the statue seems to defy gravity.
Driving the news: We asked Fredrick Olness, an SMU physics professor, how that thing stays upright.
How it works: A lot of the statue’s weight is in the heavy base, which means the “center of mass” is also below where the statue’s foot meets the base, Olness tells Axios.
Be smart: “The physics principle that keeps the statue standing is the same one often used by magicians to give the illusion of levitation,” Olness says.
State of play: So how did the flesh-and-blood Dirk stay upright while shooting his legendary fadeaway?