Dirk Nowitzki dealt with a sinus infection that resulted in a 101-degree fever during Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals, which allegedly prompted taunting from Miami Heat superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
James and Wade appeared to mock Nowitzki's illness prior to Game 5, and Nowitzki didn't like it.
"I just thought it was a little childish, a little ignorant," Nowitzki said before Saturday's practice at American Airlines Arena. "I've been in this league for 13 years. I've never faked an injury or illness." (via ESPN)
Naturally, the Heat's dynamic duo denied the report, saying that the media blew the story up.
"I actually did cough," Wade said. "And with the cameras being right there, we made a joke out of it because we knew you guys were going to blow it up. You did exactly what we knew.
"We never said Dirk's name. I think he's not the only one in the world who can get sick or have a cough. We just had fun with the cameras being right in our face about the blowup of the incident, and it held to be true. You blew it up."
"I'm not feeding into that," said James, who has been heavily criticized for performing well below his standards during this series. "If you guys want to feed into everything that not only myself or D-Wade or the Miami Heat do, I think that's a non-issue. There's bigger issues in this series than that." (via ESPN)
Here's the video of the alleged mocking of Nowitzki. Decide for yourself who's right on this.
For more 2011 NBA Finals coverage, visit SB Nation an follow our StoryStream.