The Charlotte Hornets drafted German center Hannes Steinbach, one of the best rebounders in this year’s class. The kid is 7-foot-something and loves crashing the boards. ESPN tried to give him a nice moment on draft night.
They rolled a video of Dirk Nowitzki, the greatest German player in NBA history, sending a personal congratulations to Steinbach. It was supposed to be a sweet handoff between generations. One problem: the audio never worked for the national broadcast.
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
So the whole country watched Dirk’s mouth move silently like a bad overdub.
Social media didn’t let ESPN off the hook
Fans piled on immediately. Kirk Henderson on X wrote, “ESPN with the worst production quality. Dirk on mute, this is hilariously painful.” Another user said, “You can’t even hear Dirk lmao. ESPN so broke.” Someone else noted the audio was fine on ABC but totally dead on ESPN. That’s a rough look for a network that charges cable providers billions.
People made jokes. One fan posted, “That dirk message really hitting deep,” with a crying-laughing emoji. Molly Morrison from Bleacher Report chimed in: “Very well said, Dirk.” Another tweet showed a fake screenshot of Steinbach crying, captioned with sarcasm about how moving the speech was.
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
Steinbach isn’t a typical lottery pick
Let’s be clear about what Charlotte drafted. Steinbach led the nation with 11.3 rebounds per game. He averaged 4.2 offensive boards a night. The guy is a monster on the glass. But his offensive game is raw. He doesn’t have flashy post moves or highlight dunks that make you gasp. Some scouts questioned whether his game translates to the modern NBA pace.
What he does bring is pure hustle. He fights for every loose ball and positions himself well under the rim. That kind of energy can make a difference for a Hornets team that struggled with second-chance points last season.
Steinbach also has underrated passing instincts. Pairing him with LaMelo Ball could create some nice chemistry in the pick-and-roll. If he sets solid screens and keeps his hands ready, Ball will find him.
The Hornets made some noise late last season. Adding a rebounding specialist who doesn’t need plays called for him might help them push for a real playoff spot. Whether the audio debacle was an omen or just a funny screw-up, Steinbach’s rookie year starts now. At least he’ll remember the message Dirk sent him. He just won’t know what it said.
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