The Charlotte Hornets drafted one of the best big men in this year’s draft class: German center Hannes Steinbach. After he was drafted, ESPN’s production team played a video of German legend Dirk Nowitzki’s message for his fellow countrymen.
It was supposed to a be a sweet moment: the greatest German NBA player of all-time congratulating the new Hornets rookie. There’s just one problem, though.
The audio never played.
ESPN played a personal video to Hannes from DIRK!
But screwed up the audio for the national audience pic.twitter.com/exwdsL3jYr— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) June 24, 2026
Naturally, fans put ESPN on blast for this gaffe. Kirk Henderson on X said, “ESPN with the worst production quality. Dirk on mute, this is hilariously painful.” Another fan said, “You can’t even hear Dirk lmao. ESPN so broke.”
One fan pointed out that the audio was seemingly fine on ABC, but was completely inaudible on ESPN. That’s a brutal blunder from the media giant, who had a good moment with the Hornets rookie and Nowitzki.
Others just joked about the muted audio, sarcastically saying that Dirk’s speech was moving. One fan said, “That dirk message really hitting deep,” while Molly Morrison of Bleacher Report said, “Very well said, Dirk.”
Damn that dirk Speech got me in tears man, he has such a way with words pic.twitter.com/n219clvD6W
— zinzy°
(@zinzy_js) June 24, 2026
Arguably the most prolific rebounder in this year’s draft, Steinbach is a little different than your traditional first-round picks. His offensive game is limited, and he doesn’t have the flashy highlights or the jaw-dropping measurables that other big men drafted this early usually have. What the Hornets rookie provides, though, is tenacious rebounding. He led the nation in rebounds per game with 11.3. He’s also one of the best offensive rebounders in the draft, averaging 4.2 offensive boards per game.
The Hornets will appreciate having another ferocious rebounder under the paint. Steinbach fits well with Charlotte, with his passing in particular potentially becoming a great complement to LaMelo Ball’s playmaking. After making some noise last season, can the Hornets crack the playoff picture next season?
The post Fans clown ESPN for silent Dirk Nowitzki message to Hornets’ Hannes Steinbach appeared first on ClutchPoints.
