Dirk Nowitzki is a retired German professional basketball player, currently a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks. Standing at 7 feet tall, he's celebrated as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history and often regarded as the best European player ever. Nowitzki's accolades include being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
News covers Dirk Nowitzki's past encounter with a con artist, Devin Booker potentially surpassing Nowitzki's title, and Nowitzki urging Jason Terry to improve during the 2011 NBA Finals.
In 1966, Dirk Nowitzki's mother, Helga (née Bredenbröcker), participated in the EuroBasket Women as a member of the West Germany national team.
On June 19, 1978, Dirk Werner Nowitzki was born. He later became a celebrated basketball player.
In 1990, the Mavericks reached the playoffs for the first time since 1990.
In 1992, Dirk Nowitzki chose to wear jersey number 14 because Charles Barkley wore that number during the Olympics.
In 1992, Nowitzki started dating Sybille Gerer, a female basketball player from his local club DJK Würzburg.
In 1992, the German basketball team played at the Summer Olympics for the last time until Nowitzki helped them qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In 1994, Nowitzki made the DJK squad
In the 1994-95 and 1995-96 Second Bundesliga season, Dirk Nowitzki struggled with his school grades, which forced him to study rather than work on his game. By the next season he established himself as a starter and a regular double-digit scorer.
In the 1996-97 Second Bundesliga season, Nowitzki averaged 19.4 points per game and led DJK again to second place after the regular season.
On September 1, 1997, Dirk Nowitzki began his compulsory military service in the Bundeswehr, which lasted until June 30, 1998.
In 1997, Dirk Nowitzki began playing for the German national basketball team.
In 1997, Michael Jordan played in the NBA Finals despite having flu-like symptoms. In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki evoked comparisons to Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" because he played an important game in the NBA finals with a fever of 101 °F (38 °C).
On March 29, 1998, Dirk Nowitzki participated in the Nike Hoop Summit, where he scored 33 points and had 14 rebounds, impressing scouts and NBA clubs with his skills.
On June 30, 1998, Dirk Nowitzki finished his compulsory military service in the Bundeswehr, after serving since September 1, 1997.
In 1998, Dirk Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks and immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he spent his entire 21-year NBA career.
In 1998, the Milwaukee Bucks selected Dirk Nowitzki with the ninth pick and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks. He wore No. 41 after being unable to use No. 14 due to Robert Pack already wearing it.
In 1998, the NBA season was delayed by a lockout, causing Dirk Nowitzki to return to DJK Würzburg and play thirteen games before a compromise deal led to a shortened NBA season.
In 1999, Dirk Nowitzki made his debut at the EuroBasket tournament. He emerged as the main German scorer, but Germany finished seventh and failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games.
On January 4, 2000, Mark Cuban purchased the Dallas Mavericks for $280 million and invested heavily in the team, creating a supportive environment for players like Dirk Nowitzki.
In 2000, Germany failed to qualify for the Olympic Games.
In 2000, Nowitzki was named to the FIBA EuroBasket 2000–2020 Dream Team.
In the 2000-01 NBA season, Dirk Nowitzki improved his averages and was voted into the All-NBA Third Team, marking the first time a Maverick received this honor. This success alongside best friend Steve Nash and Michael Finley led to the trio being nicknamed the "Big Three" of the Mavericks.
Karl Malone had a 40-point game in the 2000-2001 season. In March 2015, Dirk Nowitzki became the first 37-year-old to achieve the same record since.
In 2001, Dirk Nowitzki signed a six-year, $90 million contract extension with the Mavericks, making him the second-highest-paid German athlete after Michael Schumacher.
In 2001, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to NBA playoff appearance
In November 2002, Finley, Nash, and Nowitzki were voted "Western Conference Players of the Month" after the Mavericks won their first fourteen games.
In 2002, Dirk Nowitzki led Germany to a bronze medal in the FIBA World Championship. Nowitzki, as the tournament's top scorer, was elected the tournament MVP.
In 2002, Dirk Nowitzki led the Germany national team to a bronze medal at the FIBA World Championship, where he was also the leading scorer and MVP.
In 2002, Nowitzki was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by Gazzetta dello Sport.
In 2002, Nowitzki was the leading scorer and MVP of the 2002 FIBA World Championship.
In 2002, Nowitzki's 10-year relationship with Sybille Gerer ended.
In 2003, Dirk Nowitzki suffered a foot injury during a preparation game for EuroBasket after a collision with Florent Piétrus, leading to inconsistent play.
In 2003, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to a franchise-high 60-22 record. They defeated the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings in the playoffs before losing to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals after Nowitzki was injured.
On December 2, 2004, Nowitzki scored a career-best 53 points in an overtime win against the Houston Rockets.
In 2004, "Dirk Nowitzki: German Wunderkind", a 160-page hardcover book written by Dino Reisner and Holger Sauer, was published by CoPress Munich. The book documents Nowitzki's early life, NBA entry, and ascent up to the beginning of the 2004–05 NBA season.
In 2004, Germany did not qualify for the Olympic Games. At EuroBasket 2003, Nowitzki lacked focus due to his injury.
In the 2004-05 season, Nowitzki finished third in the league's MVP voting, behind Nash and Shaquille O'Neal.
In 2005, Dirk Nowitzki led a depleted German squad into the EuroBasket Finals, eventually losing to Greece but earning a silver medal. Nowitzki was the tournament's leading scorer, second-leading rebounder and shot blocker, and was voted the Most Valuable Player.
In 2005, Nowitzki and the Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Mavericks then lost to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semi-finals.
In 2005, Nowitzki led the Germany national team to a silver medal in EuroBasket, and was also the leading scorer and MVP of the tournament.
In 2005, Nowitzki was named the Mister Europa European Player of the Year by Superbasket and the FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year.
In 2005, Nowitzki was the MVP of the EuroBasket 2005 tournament.
Prior to the 2005-06 NBA season, Michael Finley was waived, leaving Nowitzki as the last player remaining from the Mavericks' "Big Three" of Nash, Finley, and himself.
In 2006, Dirk Nowitzki led the German team to an eighth-place finish in the FIBA World Championship.
In 2006, Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance.
In 2006, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat. The Mavericks defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns on the way to the finals.
In 2006, Nowitzki was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by Gazzetta dello Sport.
In 2006, Nowitzki won the NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest. In the 2006–07 season, Nowitzki became only the fifth member of the NBA's 50–40–90 Club.
In 2006, Nowitzki won the Three-Point Contest.
In the 2006-07 season, Nowitzki made the 50-40-90 club.
In 2007, Dirk Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, recognizing his outstanding performance during the season.
In 2007, Nowitzki was named the NBA's regular-season Most Valuable Player, becoming the first European player to receive the honor. However, the Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
In the 2007-08 season, Nowitzki and the Mavericks suffered another first-round playoff exit. They were eliminated by the New Orleans Hornets in five games, leading to the firing of Avery Johnson as head coach.
On February 6, 2008, Nowitzki recorded his first career triple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks, with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists.
On March 8, 2008, Nowitzki surpassed Rolando Blackman to become the Mavericks' all-time career points leader, scoring his 16,644th point against the New Jersey Nets.
In 2008, Nowitzki led Germany into a decisive match against Puerto Rico for the last remaining slot and he scored a game-high 32 points, securing a 96–82 win. Nowitzki was chosen to be the flag bearer for the German Olympic Team at the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Olympics. Nowitzki led the German team to a tenth-place finish, and averaged 17.0 points and 8.4 rebounds for the tournament.
In the 2008-09 NBA season, Nowitzki finished with averages of 25.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
In 2009, Nowitzki led Dallas to an upset win over long-time rival San Antonio, winning the first-round series, 4-1. However, the Mavericks fell short against the Denver Nuggets in the second round, 4-1.
In 2009, Nowitzki skipped the EuroBasket tournament.
In 2009-10, the Mavericks finished the NBA season as the second seed for the 2010 NBA Playoffs.
On January 13, 2010, Nowitzki became the 34th player in NBA history—and the first European—to hit the 20,000-point milestone.
In July 2010, Nowitzki announced he would skip the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
In 2010, Nowitzki met and began dating Jessica Olsson, sister of twin footballers Martin Olsson and Marcus Olsson.
Prior to the 2010-11 season, the Mavericks traded for center Tyson Chandler. In 2010, Nowitzki was selected to the All-Star Game for the tenth time, despite missing nine games.
In November 2011, the Würzburg local newspaper Main-Post published a 216-page book written by Jürgen Höpfl and Fabian Frühwirth titled "Einfach Er – Dirk Nowitzki – Aus Würzburg an die Weltspitze" (Just Him – Dirk Nowitzki – From Würzburg to the Top of the World).
On December 8, 2011, the NBA lockout ended. Following this, the defending champions Dallas Mavericks lost key players and added new ones. The Mavericks played only two preseason games, which led to a slow start for Dirk Nowitzki.
Before the start of the 2011 NBA Finals, LeBron James called Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway the second most unstoppable move ever, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook.
In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to their only NBA championship and was awarded the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.
In 2011, Nowitzki played with Germany in the EuroBasket 2011, where the team reached ninth place.
In 2011, Nowitzki was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by Gazzetta dello Sport and the FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year.
In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks faced the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. During Game 1, Dirk Nowitzki tore a tendon in his left middle finger, but he played through the injury. Despite carrying a 101 °F fever in Game 4, he made the winning basket to tie the series, eventually leading Dallas to win their first championship. He was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
On July 20, 2012, Nowitzki married Jessica Olsson at his home in Dallas.
In October 2012, Dirk Nowitzki underwent knee surgery and missed the first 27 games of the season.
On December 10, 2012, Dirk Nowitzki became the first non-American player to receive the Naismith Legacy Award, acknowledging his contributions to basketball.
On December 23, 2012, Dirk Nowitzki returned to the court in a game against San Antonio after recovering from knee surgery.
In 2012, Dirk Nowitzki made his 11th straight All-Star game appearance in Orlando. His streak of 11 seasons with 1,500 points ended after scoring 1,342 in the shortened NBA season. Dallas clinched the seventh spot in the West and were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
In 2012, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to NBA playoff appearance
In January 2013, Dirk Nowitzki and some of his teammates made a pact not to shave their beards until the team reached .500. They were often called "The Beard Bros."
On April 14, 2013, in a game against the New Orleans Hornets, Dirk Nowitzki scored his 25,000th point, becoming the 17th player in NBA history to reach this milestone. The Mavericks won the game and climbed back to .500, leading Nowitzki to shave his beard. However, the Mavericks missed the playoffs, ending their 12-year streak.
In July 2013, Nowitzki and Jessica Olsson had a daughter.
Dirk Nowitzki had his last 40-point game in January 2014, prior to setting a new season high with 40 points in March 2015.
On January 29, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki scored his 26,000th point in a game against the Houston Rockets, recording 38 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 assists.
On March 12, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki passed John Havlicek on the NBA scoring list, finishing the game with 31 points for a total of 26,426 points in a victory over the Utah Jazz.
On April 8, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki scored his 26,712th point, surpassing Oscar Robertson to move to the 10th position on the NBA all-time scoring list. He led the Mavericks back to the playoffs, where they faced the San Antonio Spurs in the first round but lost the series in seven games.
On July 15, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks for a reported three-year, $25 million contract. He was also reunited with former teammate Tyson Chandler.
On November 11, 2014, Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points to surpass Hakeem Olajuwon as the highest-scoring player born outside the United States, totaling 26,953 career points in a game where the Mavericks defeated Sacramento, 106–98.
In 2014, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to NBA playoff appearance
In 2014, the film documentary "Nowitzki. The Perfect Shot" was released, chronicling Nowitzki's career and life.
On January 5, 2015, Dirk Nowitzki passed Moses Malone for seventh place on the NBA's all-time scoring list in a 96–88 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.
In March 2015, Nowitzki and Jessica Olsson had a son.
On November 11, 2015, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 31 points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and passed former teammate Shawn Marion for 15th on the all-time career rebounding list.
In 2015, Nowitzki captained Germany at the EuroBasket. They won only one game, and were eliminated in the group stage, on home soil.
In January 2016, Nowitzki officially announced his retirement from Germany's national team, concluding a career where he averaged 19.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
On July 27, 2016, Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks.
In November 2016, Nowitzki and Jessica Olsson had a son.
Following the 2016–17 season, Nowitzki exercised his player option to become a free agent in 2016; this move allowed the Mavericks to re-sign him with less money and be able to pursue other free agents.
In 2016, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to NBA playoff appearance
On March 7, 2017, in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Dirk Nowitzki became the sixth player in NBA history to score 30,000 regular-season points. He also became the first international player to reach the milestone and one of only three to score all 30,000-plus with one team.
On July 6, 2017, Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks on a two-year, $10 million contract.
In 2017, Nowitzki won the NBA Teammate of the Year award.
On February 5, 2018, in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Dirk Nowitzki became the sixth player in NBA history to reach 50,000 career minutes.
On February 28, 2018, Dirk Nowitzki reached 31,000 career points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On March 17, 2018, Dirk Nowitzki played in his 1,463rd game, moving past Kevin Garnett into fifth place on the NBA career games list.
On July 23, 2018, Dirk Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks for the 2018–19 season.
On December 13, 2018, Dirk Nowitzki made his season debut, setting the NBA record for the most seasons played with the same team (21), tying an NBA record.
On March 18, 2019, Dirk Nowitzki became the sixth-highest scoring player of all time, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain's 31,419 points in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
On October 30, 2019, part of Olive Street was renamed Nowitzki Way by a unanimous resolution of the Dallas City Council. The street runs past the American Airlines Center.
In December 2019, Nowitzki received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in recognition of his social commitment.
In 2019, Thomas Pletzinger published the 502-page biography "The Great Nowitzki", for which he had followed Nowitzki over several years.
In 2020, Nowitzki was named to the FIBA EuroBasket 2000–2020 Dream Team.
In 2021, Dirk Nowitzki was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, recognizing his significant contributions to the sport.
In 2021, Nowitzki received a green card, though he remains a German national.
On January 5, 2022, Nowitzki's number 41 was retired by the Mavericks, and Mark Cuban unveiled the design for a statue of Nowitzki to be installed outside the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The statue was unveiled on Christmas Day later that year.
In September 2022, Dirk Nowitzki became the first German men's player to have his number retired, marking a significant honor in his career.
In September 2022, the German Basketball Federation (DBB) honored Nowitzki with a jersey (number 14) retirement ahead of EuroBasket 2022. The ceremony was held on September 2, immediately before Germany's EuroBasket opening game against France in Cologne, Germany. DBB also announced that a replica of Nowitzki's national team jersey would hang from the arena rafters at all future Germany men's home games.
In 2022, to commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary, The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Nowitzki as the 21st greatest player in NBA history.
On October 12, 2023, a Dirk Nowitzki statue was unveiled in Frankfurt, Germany, in recognition of Nowitzki's long-term advertising activities by the CEO of ING Germany in the presence of Nowitzki. The statue, made by the sculptor Andreas Artur Hoferick of bronze, shows Nowitzki sitting on a wooden bench.
In 2023, Dirk Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, solidifying his place among basketball's elite.
In 2025, Nowitzki was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
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