The Celebrity Pickleball Showdown at PPA Worlds is a marquee event that offers spectators the unique opportunity to watch notable figures share the court with some of pickleball's brightest stars.

And this year's edition of the festivities was no different. 

NBA Hall of Famer, Dirk Nowitzki, headlined the field of celebrity participants, alongside NFL Hall of Famer, Terrell Owens, World Series champion, J.D. Martinez, and social media star, Tfue. Representing the PPA Tour were pros Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, Anna Bright, Tyson McGuffin, Jack Sock, and a group of rising youngsters with remarkable potential.

Waters and Nowitzki battled Bright and Owens to get things started. Bright couldn’t help but playfully trash talk Nowitzki. For his part, Owens was quite the showman with his impressively spinny game, which certainly gave Waters and Nowitzki a run for their money. 

It was immediately evident that Nowitzki has been working on his slice game, but that wasn't enought to keep Owens and Bright from securing a 5-2 victory.

In the next game, Waters went head-to-head with Martinez in singles.

Keep in mind that Waters has 55 single titles on her resume, while Martinez hadn't played singles before. When he was about to get pickled by Waters, Sock sprung into action for a 2-on-1 matchup, and Martinez snagged a point in the end. 

In the end, Waters defeated Martinez by a score of 7-1.

“It was a nightmare,” he said.

Johns and Tfue then battled Sock and Martinez. For his part, Tfue had an impressive drive down the line that secured an 8-7 triumph. Tfue is an avid pickleball player, so seeing his skills on full display with the GOAT was pretty exciting. 

Then, 12-year-old Elsie Hendershot, 14-year-old Camden Chaffin, 14-year-old Tama Shimabukuro, 15-year-old Dallas native Ella Yeh. 

Broadcaster Dave Fleming even hopped in on a game to help Owens make a comeback against Bright and Tfue. Although Fleming and Owens were able to tie things up, Bright and Tfue secured a 9-8 victory. 

In the last match of the evening, Bright and Martinez faced McGuffin and Nowitzki in a back-and-forth affair. Nowitzki and Martinez played like they were permanent partners, and best of all, Nowitzki body-bagged Martinez in the middle of the game. 

But in the end, Bright and Martinez won 8-7. 

This marked Nowitzki’s third straight appearance at the event.

He was thrilled to dink for a good cause since proceeds go to the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation. 

“It’s been wonderful being out here again,” said Nowitzki. “Pickleball has been growing, and following the growth has been tremendous. Everybody can come out and tinker around a little bit and play, so it’s a super fun sport for young and old. Everybody can enjoy it, so it’s been wonderful to watch.”