Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks

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Dirk Nowitzki

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. It uses material retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Nowitzki on 2011-05-18.

CONTENTS

Early years

DJK Würzburg (1994–98)

Dallas Mavericks (1998–present)

Difficult start (1998–99)

Mark Cuban and the "Big Three" (1999–2004)

Franchise player (2004–present)

International career

Player profile

NBA career statistics

Personal life

Books

See also

Notes

External links

Dirk Nowitzki
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Dirk Nowitzki

Nowitzki about to take a free throw for the Mavericks

No. 41    Dallas Mavericks

Power forward

Personal information

Date of birth

June 19, 1978 (1978-06-19) (age 32)

Place of birth

Würzburg, Germany

Nationality

German

Listed height

7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)

Listed weight

245 lb (111 kg)

Career information

NBA Draft

1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall

Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks

Pro career

1994–present

Career history

1994–1998

DJK Würzburg (Germany)

1998–present

Dallas Mavericks

Career highlights and awards

- NBA Most Valuable Player (2007)

- 10× NBA All-Star (2002–2011)

- 4× All-NBA First Team (2005–2007, 2009)

- 5× All-NBA Second Team (2002–2003, 2008, 2010–2011)

- 2× All-NBA Third Team (2001, 2004)

- NBA Three-Point Shootout Champion (2006)

- FIBA World Championship MVP (2002)

- EuroBasket MVP (2005)

- 7x European Player of the Year:

- 5× Euroscar Award Winner (2002–2006)

- Mister Europa Player of the Year (2005)

- FIBA Europe Player of the Year (2005)

Dirk Nowitzki at NBA.com

Dirk Werner Nowitzki (German pronunciation: [ˈdɪʁk ˈvɛʁnɐ noˈvɪtski]) (born June 19, 1978) is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An alumnus of Röntgen Gymnasium and DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA Draft, and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has played ever since. Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Nowitzki plays the power forward position but also has the mobility, size, and shooting ability to play the other frontcourt positions, center and small forward.

Nowitzki has led the Mavericks to eleven consecutive NBA Playoffs (2000–01 to 2010–11), including Conference Finals appearances in 2003 and in 2011 and an NBA Finals appearance in 2006. He is a ten-time NBA All-Star and eleven-time member of the All-NBA Teams, and is the first European-born player in NBA history to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player award.[1] He is the first Maverick ever to be voted into an All-NBA Team and also holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records.[2]

From 2000 to 2007 he was the best player in the NBA, as per his win shares. Despite his league-leading performances in those 7 years, he only won the MVP once. Nowitzki and only three players in NBA history have averaged more than 25 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs. Only Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have managed four consecutive 30 point 15 rebound games in the playoffs. Additionally, Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to get over 100 blocks and 150 three pointers in a single season.

Nowitzki led the German national basketball team to a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the silver medal in EuroBasket 2005, and was leading scorer and elected Most Valuable Player in both tournaments. Regarded as one of the best European players in basketball history, Nowitzki has been a seven time European Player of the Year, being named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport for five years in a row, the Mister Europa European Player of the Year by the Italian sports magazine Superbasket in 2005, and the FIBA Europe Basketball Player of the Year the same year.[2]

Early years

Born in Würzburg, Germany, Nowitzki comes from an athletic family: his mother Helga was a professional basketball player and his father Jörg-Werner was a handball player who represented Germany at the highest international level.[3] His older sister Silke, a local champion in track and field, also became a basketball player and now works for the NBA in International TV.[2][4] Nowitzki was a very tall child; most of the time he stood above his peers by a foot or more.[3] He initially played handball and tennis, but soon grew tired of being called a "freak" for his height and eventually turned to basketball.[5] After joining the local DJK Würzburg, the 15-year-old attracted the attention of former German international basketball player Holger Geschwindner, who spotted his talent immediately and offered to coach him individually two to three times per week. After getting both the approval of Nowitzki and his parents, Geschwindner put his pupil through an unorthodox training scheme: he emphasized shooting and passing exercises, and shunned weight training and tactical drills, because he felt it was "unnecessary friction."[6] Furthermore, Geschwindner encouraged Nowitzki to play a musical instrument and read literature to make him a more complete personality.[6]

After a year, the coach was so impressed that he said to his pupil: "You must now decide whether you want to play against the best in the world or just stay a local hero in Germany. If you choose latter, we will stop training immediately, because nobody can prevent that anymore. But if you want to play against the best, we have to train on a daily basis." After pondering for two days, Nowitzki decided on the former. Geschwindner let him train seven days a week with DJK Würzburg players and future German internationals Robert Garrett, Marvin Willoughby and Demond Greene, and in the summer of 1994, the 16-year-old Nowitzki made the DJK squad.[7]

DJK Würzburg (1994–98)

When Nowitzki joined the team, DJK played in the Second Bundesliga, South Division. His first trainer was Pit Stahl, who played the tall teenager as an outside-scoring forward rather than an inside-scoring center to utilise his shooting skills.[8] In the 1994–95 Second Bundesliga season, ambitious DJK finished as a disappointing sixth of 12 teams; the rookie Nowitzki was often benched and struggled with bad school grades, which forced him to study rather than work on his game.[9] In the next 1995–96 Second Bundesliga season, Nowitzki established himself as a starter next to Finnish star forward Martti Kuisma and soon became a regular double-digit scorer: after German national basketball coach Dirk Bauermann saw him score 24 points in a DJK game, he stated that "Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest German basketball talent of the last 10, maybe 15 years." DJK finished second in the South Division, but could not earn promotion after losing 86–62 in the deciding match versus BG Ludwigsburg: in that game, Nowitzki scored only eight points.[10]

In the 1996–97 Second Bundesliga season, the team's top scorer Kuisma left the team, and Holger Geschwindner replaced Pit Stahl as head coach. Filling Kuisma's void, Nowitzki averaged 19.4 points per game and led DJK again to second place after the regular season, but could not help his team gain promotion.[11] In the following 1997–98 Second Bundesliga season, Nowitzki finished his "Abitur" (German A-levels), but had to do his compulsory military service in the Bundeswehr (German Military) which lasted from September 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998;[2] Nowitzki described this period as "a tough time at first, we had no privileges and had to participate in all the drills... later [after finishing the tough "Grundausbildung," the most intensive initial part of the service] it was much more relaxed."[12] Concerning basketball, the 18-year old, who had grown to 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) tall, forward flourished further, leading DJK to a 36:4 point total (in Germany, a victory gives 2:0 points and a loss 0:2) and ending as leading scorer with 28.2 points per game. In the promotion playoffs, DJK finally broke its bane, finishing at first place with 14:2 points and earning promotion; Nowitzki scored 26 points in the deciding 95–88 win against Freiburg and was voted "German Basketballer of the Year" by the German BASKET magazine.[13]

Abroad, Nowitzki's progress did not go unnoticed. In 1996, FC Barcelona Bàsquet wanted to sign him, but Nowitzki refused to move before finishing his German A-levels.[14] A year later, the teenager participated in the Nike "Hoop Heroes Tour," where he played against NBA stars like Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen. In a 30-minute show match, Nowitzki outplayed Barkley and even dunked on him, causing the latter to exclaim: "The boy is a genius. If he wants to enter the NBA, he can call me."[15] On March 29, 1998, Nowitzki was chosen to play in the Nike Hoop Summit, one of the premier talent watches in U.S. men's basketball. In a match between the U.S. talents and the international talents, Nowitzki scored 33 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 14 rebounds and 3 steals for the internationals[2] and outplayed future US NBA stars Rashard Lewis and Al Harrington. He impressed with an array of quickness, ball handling, and shooting range, and from that moment on a multitude of European and NBA clubs wanted to recruit him.[16]

Dallas Mavericks (1998–present)

Difficult start (1998–99)

After leading DJK Würzburg to promotion and his Abitur and military service behind him, Nowitzki looked to the NBA for his future. Projected to be seventh pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, he passed up many college offers and leapt directly into the NBA as a then still rare prep-to-pro player.[17] In particular Rick Pitino and Don Nelson, head coaches of the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks respectively, were highly interested in acquiring him. After a 45-minute private workout with Pitino, where Nowitzki showcased his versatile shooting, rebounding and passing skills, the Boston coach immediately compared him to Celtics legend Larry Bird; Pitino assured Nowitzki that he would draft him with the Celtics' first-round draft pick at number ten.[18]

However, Pitino's plan was foiled by Nelson, whose team had the sixth pick. Nelson worked out draft day deals with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns: the Mavericks wanted Nowitzki and Suns reserve point guard Steve Nash; the Bucks desired muscular forward Robert Traylor, who was projected to be drafted before Nowitzki; and the Suns had set their sights on forward Pat Garrity, who was projected as a low first round pick. In the draft, the Mavericks drafted Traylor with their sixth pick, and the Bucks selected Nowitzki with their ninth and Garrity with their nineteenth pick. The Mavericks then traded Traylor to the Bucks for Nowitzki and Garrity, and they in return traded the latter to Phoenix for Nash.

In retrospect, Don Nelson had an outstanding trade instinct, essentially trading future career underachievers Traylor and Garrity for two future NBA MVPs, Nowitzki and Nash; in addition, both new recruits became best friends.[18] Nowitzki became only the fourth German player in NBA history, following pivots Uwe Blab and Christian Welp and All-Star swingman Detlef Schrempf, who was a 35-year old veteran player of the Portland Trail Blazers when his young compatriot arrived.[17] Nowitzki finished his DJK career as the only Würzburg player to have ever made the jump into the NBA.[19]

In Dallas, Nowitzki joined a franchise which had last made the playoffs in 1990. Shooting guard Michael Finley captained the squad, supported by 7-foot-6-inch (2.29 m) center Shawn Bradley, once a number two draft pick, and team scoring leader Cedric Ceballos, an ex-Laker forward. Nowitzki experienced a rocky start: prior to the 1998–99 NBA season, NBA commissioner David Stern wanted to introduce a salary cap, causing the NBA players' union to declare a strike, the combination putting the entire season in jeopardy. In limbo, Nowitzki returned to DJK Würzburg and played thirteen games before both sides worked out a late compromise that resulted in a shortened 1998–1999 schedule of only 50 instead of 82 regular season games.[20]

When the season finally started, Nowitzki struggled. Played as a power forward by coach Don Nelson, the lanky 20-year old felt overpowered by the more athletic NBA forwards, was intimidated by the expectations as a number nine pick, and played bad defense, causing hecklers to taunt him as "Irk Nowitzki," omitting the "D" which stands for "defense" in basketball slang.[21] He only averaged 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.4 minutes of playing time.[22] Looking back, Nowitzki said: "I was so frustrated I even contemplated going back to Germany... [the jump from Second Bundesliga to the NBA] was like jumping out of an airplane hoping the parachute would somehow open." The Mavericks only won 19 of their 50 games and missed the playoffs,[23] although Nowitzki completed the season with eight double-digit scoring games out of the last twelve.[2]

Mark Cuban and the "Big Three" (1999–2004)

In the 1999–2000 NBA season, Don Nelson wanted to use Nowitzki as a point forward to make use of his passing skills.[24] One of the most important moves was made outside the hardwood: until then, the owner of the Mavericks was Ross Perot, Jr., who had bought the franchise for $125 million, but had no plans of investing in players and admitted he knew little of basketball.[25] On January 4, 2000, he sold the Mavericks to Internet billionaire Mark Cuban for $280 million. Cuban quickly invested into the Mavericks and restructured the franchise, attending every game at the sidelines, buying the team a $46 million six-star Boeing 757 for traveling, and increasing franchise revenues to over $100 million. Nowitzki lauded Cuban: "He created the perfect environment... we only have to go out and win."[26] As a result of Nelson's tutelage, Cuban's improvements and his own progress, Nowitzki significantly improved his averages. The sophomore now scored 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 35.8 minutes,[22] had nine double-double games, and scored a career-high 32 points twice.[2] He was voted runner-up in the NBA Most Improved Player Award behind Jalen Rose, and made it into the NBA All-Star Sophomore squad along with peers Paul Pierce and Vince Carter.[2] In the traditional Rookie-Sophomore match, he scored 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in an overtime loss against the rookie team led by Steve Francis and Lamar Odom.[27] The 7-foot-0-inch (2.13 m) Nowitzki also was chosen for the NBA All-Star Three Point Shootout, becoming the tallest player ever to participate. After draining 15 three point shots in a row in the first shootout, he entered the final round, where he only was beaten by Jeff Hornacek.[27] While he improved on an individual level, the Mavericks missed the playoffs after a mediocre 40–42 season.[27]

In the following 2000–01 NBA season, Nowitzki further improved his averages, recording 21.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.[22] Now playing the power forward position, he became the second player in NBA history after Robert Horry to score 100 three-pointers and 100 blocks in the regular season by registering 151 and 101, respectively.[2] As a sign of his growing importance, he joined team captain Finley as only one of two Mavericks to play and start in all 82 games and had 10 games in which he scored at least 30 points.[2] Nowitzki became the first Maverick ever to be voted into the All-NBA squads, making the Third Team.[2] In addition, his best friend Nash became a valuable point guard, and with Finley scoring more than ever, pundits were calling this trio the "Big Three" of the Mavericks.

Posting a 53–29 record in the regular season,[28] the Mavericks reached the playoffs for the first time since 1990.[29] As the fifth seed, they were paired against the Utah Jazz of all-time assist leader John Stockton and second all-time leading scorer Karl Malone. After losing the first two games, Nowitzki scored 33 points in both games 3 and 4 and helped to tie the series.[30] In Game 5, the Mavericks trailed the entire game until Calvin Booth drained a jump shot which put them ahead 84–83 with 9.8 seconds to go. Jazz players Bryon Russell and Malone missed last-second shots and the Mavericks won, setting up a meeting with Texas rivals San Antonio Spurs of All-Star power forward Tim Duncan.[30] The Mavericks lost their first three games, and Nowitzki fell ill with flu and later lost a tooth after a collision with Spurs guard Terry Porter. After a Game 4 win, Nowitzki scored 42 points and 18 rebounds in Game 5, but could not prevent a deciding 105–87 loss.[31] While Sports Illustrated pointed out that the Mavericks shot badly during Game 5, Nowitzki was lauded for scoring his playoff career-high 42 points. The German said: "It's a disappointment to end the season on a blowout."[32]

Prior to the 2001–02 NBA season, Nowitzki signed a six-year, $90 million contract extension, which made him the second highest-paid German athlete after Formula One champion Michael Schumacher.[33] He continued to improve, now averaging 23.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, was voted into the All-NBA Second Team and into his first All-Star Game.[22] He also had 13 games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, third behind Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan.[2] Powered by new recruit Nick Van Exel, who became a high-scoring sixth man, the Mavericks "Big Three" convincingly made the playoffs with a 57–25 record.[34]

The Mavericks swept Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2002 NBA Playoffs 3–0: Nowitzki outscored Garnett with 33.3 points per game versus 24.0.[35] In the second round, the Mavericks met the Sacramento Kings with rival power forward Chris Webber. After splitting the first two games, Kings coach Rick Adelman changed his defensive scheme: before, Webber had defended Nowitzki one-on-one, but now, the Kings coach ordered his smaller but quicker player Hedo Turkoglu to cover the German. Turkoglu should use his agility to play Nowitzki tightly, and if the taller Maverick tried to post up Turkoglu, Webber would double team Nowitzki.[36] In Game 3 in Dallas, the Mavericks lost 119–125; Nowitzki scored only 19 points and said: "I simply could not pass Turkoglu, and if I did, I ran into a double team and committed too many turnovers."[36] In Game 4, more frustration awaited the German: the Mavericks gave away a 14-point lead, although the entire Kings starting frontcourt of center Vlade Divac and power forward Chris Webber (both fouled out) and small forward Peja Stojakovic (injury) were eliminated in the closing stages of the game. Nowitzki missed two potentially game deciding jump shots, and the Mavericks lost 113–115 at home. In Game 5, the demoralised Texans were no match for the spirited Kings, lost 101–114 and were eliminated again.[37] Among others, nba.com remarked that the Kings defended better than the Mavericks:[38] in those five games, the statisticians counted 115 Sacramento layups against the Mavericks, meaning the Kings averaged 23 uncontested baskets (i.e. 46 easy points) per game.[39] However, Nowitzki received a consolation award: the Gazzetta dello Sport voted him as "European Basketballer of the Year," his 104 votes lifting him over second-placed Dejan Bodiroga (54) and Stojakovic (50).[40]

Before the 2002–03 NBA season, Don Nelson and Mark Cuban put more emphasis on defense in the training drills, specialising in a zone defense anchored by prolific shotblockers Raef LaFrentz and Shawn Bradley. The Mavericks won their first 11 games, and Finley, Nash and Nowitzki were voted "Western Conference Players of the Month" in November 2002.[41] In that season, Nowitzki lifted his averages again, now scoring 25.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.[22] In addition, the German had 41 double-double games, the seventh highest figure that season. By averaging 25.1 points (the highest by a white player since the 25.9 average of Chris Mullin in 1992–93), he became the first European to score 2,000 points in a season, and it was also the first time by a white player since Chris Mullin in 1991–92.[2] As a reward, he was voted into the All-Star game and the All-NBA Second Team again,[22] and was also runner-up in the "German Athlete of the Year" election, only losing to ski jumper Sven Hannawald.[42] He led the Mavericks to a franchise-high 60–22 record, which earned them the third seed: as a result, the Mavericks had to play sixth seed Portland Trail Blazers in the 2003 NBA Playoffs.[43] Now playing in a best-of-seven series instead of the former best-of-five, Dallas quickly won the first three games, but then the Mavericks completely lost their rhythm and lost the next three matches. In Game 7, Portland held the game close, but 90 seconds before the end, Nowitzki hit a clutch three point shot, and the game ended 107–95 for the Mavericks. "This was the most important basket of my career," he later said, "I was not prepared to go on vacation that early."[44] He later added in an ESPN interview: "We had to be more physical in the paint and rebound the ball. We worked hard all season to get the home-court advantage and we used that advantage today."[45]

In the next round, the Mavericks met the Kings again. After losing the first game at home with 113–124, Nowitzki (25 points) and veteran sixth man Van Exel (36) led Dallas to a spectacular 132–110 Game 2 win in which the Mavericks scored 83 points in the first half.[44] Helped by the fact that Kings star forward Chris Webber injured his meniscus, Nowitzki and Van Exel led the Mavericks to a 141–137 overtime win in Game 3, before dropping Game 4 with 83–99, where Nowitzki only scored 11 points and was ejected after angrily kicking over a load of towels.[44] After splitting the next two games, Nowitzki delivered a clutch performance in Game 7, scoring 30 points, grabbing 19 rebounds and playing strong defense, and led the Mavericks to a series-deciding 112–99 win.[44] ESPN lauded Nowitzki as "Big D," and after again winning a Game 7, the German added: "We've really learned how to close games out."[46]

In the Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks met the San Antonio Spurs of Tim Duncan again. In Game 1 in San Antonio, Nowitzki scored 38 points on Duncan and led his team to a 113–110 win. In Game 2, Duncan quickly put Nowitzki in foul trouble, and the Spurs equalised the series with a 132–110 win. In Game 3, fate struck as Nowitzki went up for a rebound and Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili collided with his knee, forcing him out of the series: without their top scorer, the Mavericks still fought valiantly and trailed 2–3, before Spurs guard Steve Kerr got hot from three-point range late in Game 6 to end the series.[47] Don Nelson later commented: "We were playing so well for so long and the bottom just dropped out... We went cold at the wrong time."[48] Nowitzki only took little consolation in the fact that he again was voted "European Basketballer of the Year"[47] and was named "Best European Basketballer" in a general survey of the NBA general managers.[2]

In the 2003–04 NBA season, Mark Cuban and Don Nelson decided to add more offensive wing players to their squad. As a result, the Mavericks acquired two All-Star forwards, namely Golden State Warriors All-Star forward Antawn Jamison (along with Danny Fortson, Jiri Welsch and Chris Mills, for Van Exel and role players) and Antoine Walker (Boston Celtics) who came for center Raef LaFrentz. Basketball experts were wary about latter trade, because it sent away the Mavericks starting center; they argued it left a hole in the middle that the aging, injury-prone backup pivot Shawn Bradley could not fill anymore.[49] Unable to trade for a new center, Don Nelson decided to start the prolific rebounder Nowitzki at pivot, put Walker on Nowitzki's usual power forward spot and played Jamison as a high-scoring sixth man.[50] To cope with his more physical role, Nowitzki put on 20 lb (9.1 kg) of muscle mass over summer, sacrificed part of his agility, and put more emphasis on defense rather than scoring:[51] as a result, his averages fell for the first time in his career, dropping to 21.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game,[22] but he was still the Mavericks leader in scoring, rebounding, steals (1.2 spg) and blocks (1.35 bpg).[2] These figures earned him nominations for the All-Star game and the All-NBA Third Team.[22] Compiling a 52–30 record, the Mavericks met their familiar rivals Sacramento Kings again, but were eliminated in just five games.[52]

Franchise player (2004–present)

Nowitzki (no. 41) has been the face of the Mavericks franchise.

Before the 2004–05 NBA season, the Mavericks were re-tooled again. Defensive center Erick Dampier was acquired from the Golden State Warriors, but Nowitzki's close friend Steve Nash left Dallas and returned to the Phoenix Suns as a free agent. During the season, long-time head coach Don Nelson resigned, and his assistant Avery Johnson took on coaching duties. In the midst of these changes, Nowitzki stepped up his game and averaged 26.1 points a game, a career-high, 9.7 rebounds, and his 1.5 blocks and 3.1 assists were also career numbers.[22] In addition, Nowitzki scored at least 10 points in every game and was only one of four players who registered at least 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. This was also his second 2,000 point season, his 26.1 points scoring average set a new record by a European player, and was the highest by a white player since Tom Chambers knocked in 27.2 per game in 1989–90.[2] On December 2, 2004, Nowitzki scored 53 points in an overtime win against the Houston Rockets, a career best.[2] As a reward, Nowitzki was voted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time.[22] He also placed third in the league's MVP voting, behind Nash and Shaquille O'Neal. By being elected to the All-NBA First Team, Nowitzki became the first player who did not attend a United States high school or college to be on the All-NBA First Team.

However, the Mavericks had a subpar 2005 NBA Playoffs campaign. In the first round, Dallas met the Houston Rockets of scoring champion Tracy McGrady and 7–6 center Yao Ming, and Nowitzki was expected to average high figures against unheralded forward Ryan Bowen: nba.com described Bowen as "overmatched" versus the German.[53] Instead, Bowen limited Nowitzki to just 21 points in Game 1[53] and 26 points in Game 2, where the latter only hit 8 of 26 shots from the field.[54] The Rockets took a 2–0 lead before the Mavericks won three games in a row. After losing Game 6, Dallas won Game 7 convincingly and won the series even though Nowitzki struggled with his shooting.[55] In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Mavericks met the Phoenix Suns, the new club of Nash. They split the first four games, before the Suns won the last two games. In Game 6, which the Mavericks lost in overtime, Nowitzki was again not at his best: he scored 28 points, but also sank only 9 of his 25 field goal attempts;[56] in addition, he was visibly irritated, repeatedly shouting at his team mates and missing all his five shots in overtime.[57]

Prior to the 2005–06 NBA season, veteran Mavericks captain Michael Finley was waived over the summer, and now Nowitzki was the last player remaining from the Mavericks' "Big Three" of Nash, Finley, and himself. Nowitzki blossomed as the sole franchise player, averaging 26.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Not only was this his third 2,000 point season, but his scoring average of 26.6 points was highest ever by a European, and the highest by a white player since the 27.2 average of Tom Chambers again in 1989–90.[22] He improved his shooting percentage, setting personal season records in field goals (48.0%), three-point shots (40.6%) and free throws (90.1%).[22] During the 2006 All-Star Weekend in Houston, Nowitzki scored 18 points to defeat Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen and Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas in the Three-Point Shootout contest.[58]

Nowitzki paced the Mavericks to a 60-win season. The team finished with the third-best record in the league, behind the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons.[59] As in the 2004–05 season, he finished third in the league's MVP voting, this time behind Nash and LeBron James. He was again elected to the first team All-NBA squad.[22] Nowitzki confirmed his superstar status during the playoffs as he averaged 27.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.[22] The Mavericks swept the Memphis Grizzlies with 4–0, with Nowitzki's most spectacular play being a clutch three-point shot in the closing seconds of Game 3 which tied the game and forced overtime. In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Mavericks played against the San Antonio Spurs again. After splitting the first six games, the Mavericks took a 20-point lead in Game 7 before Spur Manu Ginóbili broke a tie at 101 by hitting a clutch three-point shot with 30 seconds left. On the next play, Nowitzki completed a three-point play, which tied the game at 104. In the end, the Mavericks won 119–111, and Nowitzki ended the game with 37 points and 15 rebounds.[60] Nowitzki commented: "I don't know how the ball went in. Manu hit my hand. It was a lucky bounce."[60]

The Mavericks advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they would again meet Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Nowitzki scored 50 points to lead the Mavericks to a victory in the crucial Game 5 with the series tied 2–2; the Mavericks would go on to win in six games and face the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals. A content Nowitzki commented: "We've been a good road team all season long, we believed in each other. We went through some ups and downs this season, but the playoffs is all about showing heart and playing together."[61] Of Nowitzki's performance, ESPN columnist Bill Simmons would remark, "Dirk is playing at a higher level than any forward since Bird."[62] The Mavericks took an early 2–0 lead, but then gave away a late 15-point lead in a Game 3 loss[63] and finally fell to a scoring onslaught by Heat Finals MVP Dwyane Wade: Wade scored at least 36 points in the next four games, which the Heat all won. Nowitzki only made 20 of his last 55 shots in the final 3 games as the Mavericks lost the Finals series 4–2 to the Heat. The German was criticised by ESPN as "clearly... not as his best this series" and remarked: "That was a tough loss (in Game 3) and that really changed the whole momentum of the series... After that, they got confidence. They played a lot better afterwards."[64]

The 2006–07 season was the year Nowitzki was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He shot a career-best 50.2% from the field, and recorded averages of 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists[22] and led the Mavericks to a franchise-high 67 wins, which meant Dallas earned the first seed of the 2007 NBA Playoffs.[65] Nowitzki was touted as the overwhelming favorite for the Most Valuable Player award, and was expected to lead the Mavericks to an easy win against the eighth seed Golden State Warriors. However, the Mavericks ended up losing to the Warriors in six games, marking the first time a #8 seed has beaten the #1 in a best of seven series in NBA history.[66] In the clinching Game 6, Nowitzki shot just 2–13 from the field for only eight points.[66] Defended by Stephen Jackson, Nowitzki averaged nearly five points less than his regular season average in that series and shot only 38.3% from the field as compared to 50.2% during the regular season.[22] He described this loss as a low point in his career: "This series, I couldn't put my stamp on it the way I wanted to. That's why I'm very disappointed."[67] In spite of this historic playoffs loss, Nowitzki was named the NBA's regular season Most Valuable Player and beat his friend and back-to-back NBA MVP Nash with more than 100 votes. He also became the first European-born player in NBA history to receive the honor.[68]

The 2007–08 campaign saw another first-round playoffs exit for Nowitzki and his Mavericks. Despite a mid-season blockbuster trade that sent veteran NBA All-Star Jason Kidd to Dallas, the Mavericks could only finish seventh in a highly competitive Western Conference. Nowitzki averaged 23.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a career-high 3.5 assists for the season.[69] In the playoffs, they faced rising star Chris Paul's New Orleans Hornets, and were eliminated in five games.[69] The few positive highlights that season for the German were his first career triple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 6, 2008, with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists, and on March 8, 2008 (34 points against the New Jersey Nets), when he surpassed Rolando Blackman with his 16,644th point to become the Mavericks' all-time career points leader.[70]

The 2008–09 NBA season saw Nowitzki finish with averages of 25.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He was fourth in the league in scoring, and garnered his fourth All-NBA First Team selection. He also made the 2009 All-Star game, his eighth appearance. Nowitzki led Dallas to a tight finish towards the playoffs, finishing 50–32 for the season (6th in the West), after a slow 2–7 start. In the playoffs, the German led Dallas to an upset win over long-time rival San Antonio (3rd seed), winning the first round series 4–1. The Mavericks, however, fell short against the Denver Nuggets 4–1 in the second round, with Nowitzki averaging 34.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 4 assists in the series.

The Mavericks finished the 2009-10 NBA season as the second seed for the playoffs—it was their 10th consecutive season with at least 50 regular season wins. Notable additions to the squad were multiple All-Stars Shawn Marion and Caron Butler, with the latter coming in the latter half of the season. On January 13, 2010, Nowitzki became the 34th player in NBA history—and the first European—to hit the 20,000 point milestone, while ending the regular season with averages of 25 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1 block. He was selected to the 2010 All-Star game, his ninth appearance. The Mavericks faced off against San Antonio once more in the first round of the playoffs, but for the third time in four seasons, they failed to progress to the next round. Nowitzki was the only consistent player throughout the series for the Mavericks, averaging 26.7 points per outing, while the likes of Jason Terry, second leading scorer for the Mavericks averaged only 12.7 points per game compared to his 16.6 regular season. There was speculation that Nowitzki might join another team in the off-season as a free agent, but on July 5, 2010, he agreed to remain with Dallas by re-signing to a four-year, $80 million deal.[71]

Despite Nowitzki's numbers dipping significantly as compared to previous seasons, the Mavericks concluded the 2010–11 regular season with 57 wins, seeding third behind the Spurs and the Lakers for the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The most significant changes to the team roster was the arrival of Tyson Chandler via a trade. During the playoffs, the Mavericks saw off Portland in the first round, and swept the Lakers (the defending champions) in the semi-finals, before meeting Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder in the Conference Finals. In Game 1 of that series, Nowitzki scored 48 points en route to setting an NBA Playoffs record of 24 straight free throws.

International career

Medal record

Nowitzki has been playing for the German national basketball team since 1999

Men's Basketball

Competitor for

Germany

FIBA World Championship

Bronze

2002 USA

Germany

FIBA European Championship

Silver

2005 Serbia & Montenegro

Germany

Nowitzki has been playing for the German national basketball team since the 1999 FIBA European championships. In his debut tournament, the 21-year old rookie emerged as the main German scorer, but Germany finished seventh and failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games.[72] In the 2001 FIBA European Championships, Nowitzki was top scorer with 28.7 points per game, and narrowly lost the MVP vote to Serbian player Peja Stojaković. Germany reached the semi-finals and were close to beating host nation Turkey, but down by three, Hedo Turkoglu hit a three-point buzzer beater, and the Turks eventually won in overtime.[73] Germany then lost 90–99 against Spain, and did not win a medal. However, with averages of 28.7 points and 9.1 rebounds, Nowitzki led the tournament in both statistics, and was voted to the All-Star team.[74] Back home, the German basketball team attracted up to 3.7 million television viewers, a German basketball record at the time.[73]

Nowitzki finally earned his first medal when he led Germany to a bronze medal in the 2002 World Championships. In the quarter-finals against the Pau Gasol-led Spain, Spain led 52–46 after three quarters, but then Nowitzki scored 10 points in the last quarter and led Germany to a 70–62 win.[75] In the semi-finals, his team played against the Argentinian squad led by Manu Ginóbili, but despite leading 74–69 four minutes from the end and despite Argentina losing Ginobili to a foot injury, the South Americans won 86–80.[75] However, the Germans won 117–94 against New Zealand in the consolation finals and won bronze, and tournament top scorer Nowitzki (24.0 ppg) was elected MVP. Back in Germany, over 4 million television viewers followed the games, an all-time record in German basketball history.[75]

The 2003 FIBA European Championships proved to be a major disappointment for Nowitzki and his German squad. In a preparation game, he suffered a foot injury after a collision with French player Florent Pietrus; as a result, Nowitzki played inconsistently and was also often target of hard fouls.[76] In the decisive second round match against Italy (only the winner was allowed to play the medal round), Germany lost 86–84, finished ninth and did not qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games. Nowitzki scored 22.5 points per game (third overall), but in general seemed to lack focus and dominance due to his injury.[76]

In the 2005 FIBA European Championships, Nowitzki came back strong. He surprisingly led a depleted German squad into the Finals, beating title favorites Slovenia in the quarter-finals and Spain in the semi-finals on the way. Eurobasket pundits praised Nowitzki in both matches: against Slovenia (76–62), the forward scored a game high 22 points and commented: "The Slovenians underestimated us. They said we were the team they wanted and that was wrong, you shouldn't do that in the quarter-finals."[77] Against Spain (74–73), Nowitzki scored a game-high 27 points and scored the decisive basket: down by one and with only a few seconds to go, he drove on Spanish forward Jorge Garbajosa, and hit a baseline jump shot over Garbajosa's outstretched arms with 3.9 seconds to go. The German later commented: "It was indescribable. Garbajosa kind of pushed me towards the baseline so I just went with it."[77] Despite losing the Finals 78–62 to the Greeks, Nowitzki was the tournament's leading scorer (26.7 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (10.8 rpg) and shot blocker (1.8 bpg), and was voted Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[78] In the 2006 FIBA World Championships, Nowitzki led the German team to an eighth place and commented: "It's tough luck. But overall, finishing eighth in the world is not bad."[79]

In the 2007 FIBA European Championships, in which the top three teams automatically qualified for the 2008 Olympics, Nowitzki led Germany to a fifth place. He was the leading scorer with 24.0 points per game.[80] The fifth place meant that Germany fell short of direct qualification, but was allowed to participate in the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Nowitzki led Germany into a decisive match against Puerto Rico for the last remaining slot. In that crucial match, he scored a game-high 32 points and was vital for the 96–82 win which sent the German basketball team to their first Olympics since the 1992 Summer Olympics.[81] 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 7.6 rebounds for the tournament.[82] In 2009, Nowitzki skipped the 2009 FIBA European Championships. In July 2010 he said that he would skip the 2010 FIBA World Championship. However he already announced that he will play the EuroBasket 2011 to help the team to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Player profile

Nowitzki (far right) is an outstanding free throw shooter, connecting on over 87% of his attempts.

Nowitzki is a versatile frontcourt player who mostly plays the power forward position, but has also played center, small forward and point forward throughout his career. Nowitzki is considered one of the best shooters in the game, hitting almost 88% of his free throws, connecting on almost 50% of his field goal attempts and on almost 40% of his three-point shots, and is also winner of the 2006 NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout competition.[22] In 2006–07 Nowitzki became only the fifth member of the NBA's 50–40–90 Club for players who shot 50% or better from the field, 40% or better on three-pointers, and 90% or better on free-throws in a single season while achieving the NBA league minimum number of makes in each category.

Throughout Nowitzki's career, he has responded to the increased pressure of the playoffs by increasing his productivity. In the regular season he averages 23 points, 8 rebounds. In the playoffs he averages 25.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, which only Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Pettit and Elgin Baylor have managed to do. In the most pressure packed games, such as playoff elimination games he averages 28.4 points, 12.2 rebounds. He has had 13 elimination games where he scored 30 or more points, with only Jerry West having more at 14. Of the top 100 elimination game performances in the last 20 years, Nowitzki has had the best performances in 8 of them, more than any other player in the NBA in that same time frame.[83]

His shooting accuracy combined with his long seven-foot frame and unique shooting mechanics, such as having a release point above his head, makes contesting his jump shots incredibly difficult. Additionally, he can put the ball down and drive with it from the perimeter, like few have been able to do with his size.[84] NBA.com lauds his versatility by stating: "The 7–0 forward who at times mans the pivot can strike fear in an opponent when he corrals a rebound and leads the break or prepares to launch a three-point bomb."[2]. Charles Barkley describes the best way to guard Nowitski is to "get a cigarette and a blindfold". When defenses guard Nowitzki with one of their biggest men, who is then pulled out to the perimeter, the net effect is that while Nowitzki's own stats are actually compromised by being out of position to offensively rebound or make an easy close range basket, the rest of the team becomes more offensively potent with the defense having to be spread across the floor. Often times this creates player mismatches that Nowitzk's teammates can exploit.

Some critics have alleged Nowitzki's defense is a weakness, as he averages just over one block per game and never made an All-Defense Team.[22] However, playing more around the perimeter takes him out of position where a typical power forward would be, with detracts from his overall defensive stats. Despite that, he is 9th in active players for defensive win shares, placing him higher than even Kobe Bryant.

Nowitzki is the 34th player in NBA history, and the first European to hit the 20,000 point milestone. Apart from being the Dallas Mavericks' all-time leader in points, rebounds, field goals, field goal attempts, 3-pointers, 3-point attempts, free throws, and free-throw attempts, Nowitzki has made the NBA All-Star games ten times, and the All-NBA Teams eleven times. He was voted NBA MVP of the 2006–07 NBA season, becoming the first European player to receive the honor. Other achievements include winning the 2006 NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout, being voted "European Basketballer of the Year" five times in a row by La Gazzetta dello Sport, and being the leading scorer and MVP of the 2002 FIBA World Championship, and Eurobasket 2005 tournaments.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP

Games played

GS

Games started

MPG

Minutes per game

FG%

Field-goal percentage

3P%

3-point field-goal percentage

FT%

Free-throw percentage

RPG

Rebounds per game

APG

Assists per game

SPG

Steals per game

BPG

Blocks per game

PPG

Points per game

Bold

Career high

(Correct as of end of 14 April 2011)[85]

Year

Team

GP

GS

MPG

FG%

3P%

FT%

RPG

APG

SPG

BPG

PPG

1998–99

Dallas

47

24

20.4

.405

.206

.773

3.4

1.0

.6

.6

8.2

1999–00

Dallas

82

81

35.8

.461

.379

.830

6.5

2.5

.8

.8

17.5

2000–01

Dallas

82

82

38.1

.474

.387

.838

9.2

2.1

1.0

1.2

21.8

2001–02

Dallas

76

76

38.0

.477

.397

.853

9.9

2.4

1.1

1.0

23.4

2002–03

Dallas

80

80

39.0

.463

.379

.881

9.9

3.0

1.4

1.0

25.1

2003–04

Dallas

77

77

37.9

.462

.341

.877

8.7

2.7

1.2

1.4

21.8

2004–05

Dallas

78

78

38.7

.459

.399

.869

9.7

3.1

1.2

1.5

26.1

2005–06

Dallas

81

81

38.1

.480

.406

.901

9.0

2.8

.7

1.0

26.6

2006–07

Dallas

78

78

36.2

.502

.416

.904

8.9

3.4

.7

.8

24.6

2007–08

Dallas

77

77

36.0

.479

.359

.879

8.6

3.5

.7

.9

23.6

2008–09

Dallas

81

81

37.7

.479

.359

.890

8.4

2.4

.8

.8

25.9

2009–10

Dallas

81

80

37.5

.481

.421

.915

7.7

2.7

.9

1.0

25.0

2010–11

Dallas

73

73

34.3

.517

.393

.892

7.0

2.6

.5

.6

23.0

Career

993

968

36.5

.476

.381

.877

8.4

2.7

.9

1.0

23.0

All-Star

9

2

17.0

.458

.227

.875

4.1

1.6

.8

.4

10.6

Year

Team

GP

GS

MPG

FG%

3P%

FT%

RPG

APG

SPG

BPG

PPG

2000–01

Dallas

10

10

39.9

.423

.283

.883

8.1

1.4

1.1

.8

23.4

2001–02

Dallas

8

8

44.6

.445

.571

.878

13.1

2.3

2.0

.8

28.4

2002–03

Dallas

17

17

42.5

.479

.443

.912

11.5

2.2

1.2

.9

25.3

2003–04

Dallas

5

5

42.4

.450

.467

.857

11.8

1.4

1.4

2.6

26.6

2004–05

Dallas

13

13

42.4

.402

.333

.829

10.1

3.3

1.4

1.6

23.7

2005–06

Dallas

23

23

42.7

.468

.343

.895

11.7

2.9

1.1

.6

27.0

2006–07

Dallas

6

6

39.8

.383

.211

.840

11.3

2.3

1.8

1.3

19.7

2007–08

Dallas

5

5

42.2

.473

.333

.808

12.0

4.0

.2

1.4

26.8

2008–09

Dallas

10

10

39.5

.518

.286

.925

10.1

3.1

.8

.9

26.8

2009–10

Dallas

6

6

38.8

.547

.571

.952

8.2

3.0

.8

.7

26.7

Career

103

103

41.7

.459

.372

.882

10.9

2.6

1.2

1.0

25.6

Personal life

Nowitzki's older sister, Silke, describes Nowitzki, four years her junior, as a confident, but low-key character unspoiled by money and fame.[86] He also enjoys reading and playing the saxophone.[2] Nowitzki passed his Abitur examination at Röntgen Gymnasium Grammar School of Würzburg. He also founded the "Dirk Nowitzki Foundation," a charity which aims at fighting poverty in Africa.[87]

Nowitzki dated Sybille Gerer, a female basketball player from his local club DJK Würzburg. The relationship started in 1992 and held for 10 years before it eventually ended; Nowitzki said, "At the end, we found out we developed in separate ways... It did not work anymore, but we are still good friends."[88] He added: "I surely want to start a family and have kids, but I cannot imagine it happening before I become 30."[88]

Nowitzki acknowledged close ties to his mentors Holger Geschwindner, whom he called his best friend. He is also good friends with his ex-teammate Steve Nash.[89] Nash said of playing with Nowitzki, "We were both joining a new club, living in a new city, we were both single and outsiders: this creates a bond... He made life easier for me and I for him... our friendship was something solid in a very volatile world." Nowitzki added, "He would have also become a good friend if we had met at the supermarket."[89]

Books

Nowitzki's career has been the subject of the book Dirk Nowitzki - german wunderkind by German sports journalists Dino Reisner and Holger Sauer. It appeared in 2004 at the CoPress Munich publishing house under the ISBN 3-7679-0872-7. The 160-page hardcover book follows Nowitzki's beginnings in his native Würzburg and documents his entry and ascent in the NBA, and ends at the beginning of the 2004–05 NBA season.

See also

- List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

- List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

- List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

- List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

- List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

- List of National Basketball Association players with 9 or more steals in a game

- List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

Notes

1. ^ Nowitzki is first European to be named MVP, sports.espn.go.com, May 16, 2007, accessed January 6, 2008

2. ^ [a] [b] [c] [d] [e] [f] [g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o] [p] [q] [r] [s] Dirk Nowitzki – Bio, nba.com, accessed January 6, 2008

3. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, Reisner, Dirk Nowitzki – german wunderkind, 2004, CoPress Munich, ISBN 3-7679-0872-7, 12–20

4. ^ Sauer, 30

5. ^ Sauer, 14–17

6. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 20–22

7. ^ Sauer, 22–24

8. ^ Sauer, 25

9. ^ Sauer, 26

10. ^ Sauer, 30–31

11. ^ Sauer, 33–38

12. ^ Sauer, 38–39

13. ^ Sauer, 38–45

14. ^ Sauer, 37–38

15. ^ Sauer, 39–40

16. ^ Sauer, 42–43

17. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 47

18. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 49–51

19. ^ DJK Basketball: Wir über uns, djk-wuerzburg-basketball.de, accessed March 9, 2008

20. ^ Sauer, 54–59

21. ^ Sauer, 59–65

22. ^ [a] [b] [c] [d] [e] [f] [g] [h] [i] [j] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o] [p] [q] [r] Dirk Nowitzki Statistics, basketball-reference.com, accessed January 6, 2008

23. ^ Sauer, 67

24. ^ Sauer, 69

25. ^ Sauer, 71

26. ^ Sauer, 74–75

27. ^ [a] [b] [c] Sauer, 77

28. ^ 2000–01 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed January 7, 2008

29. ^ Playoff Appearances, nbahoopsonline.com, accessed January 7, 2008

30. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 89–90

31. ^ Sauer, 92

32. ^ Spurs rout Mavs to wrap up semifinal series, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, May 14, 2001, accessed January 6, 2008

33. ^ Sauer, 93–94

34. ^ 2001–02 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed January 5, 2008

35. ^ Sauer, 103

36. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 104

37. ^ Sauer, 105

38. ^ Sacramento Stampedes Into Conference Finals, nba.com, May 13, 2002, accessed January 6, 2008

39. ^ Sauer, 107

40. ^ Sauer, 106

41. ^ Sauer, 108–109

42. ^ Sauer, 110

43. ^ Sauer, 112

44. ^ [a] [b] [c] [d] Sauer, 114

45. ^ Mavs avoid losing series after blowing 3–0 lead, sports.espn.go.com, May 4, 2003, accessed January 7, 2008

46. ^ Mavs make West finals for first time since 1988, sports.espn.go.com, May 17, 2003, accessed January 7, 2008

47. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 117

48. ^ Spurs outscore Mavs 34–9 in final quarter, sports.espn.go.com, May 29, 2003, accessed January 7, 2008

49. ^ Sauer, 118

50. ^ Sauer, 118–119

51. ^ Sauer, 119

52. ^ Bibby hits for 36, Nowitzki misses at buzzer, sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 7, 2008

53. ^ [a] [b] Rockets Reel in Game 1 Win, nba.com, April 23, 2005, accessed January 19, 2008

54. ^ Rockets 113 @ Mavericks 111, Game 2 Box Score, nba.com, April 25, 2005, accessed January 19, 2008

55. ^ Mavericks Cruise Past Rockets in Game 7, nba.com, May 7, 2006, accessed January 19, 2008

56. ^ NBA Western Conference Semi Finals, Game 6, Suns 130 @ Mavericks 126, nba.com, May 20, 2005, accessed January 19, 2008

57. ^ Nash Crashes Mavs' Party; Suns Advance, nba.com, May 20, 2005, accessed January 19, 2008

58. ^ Dirk's Daggers Light Up Houston, nba.com, accessed January 7, 2008

59. ^ NBA Standings – 2005–2006, sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 7, 2008

60. ^ [a] [b] Nowitzki, Mavericks Outlast and Dethrone Spurs, nba.com, May 22, 2006, accessed January 7, 2007

61. ^ Comeback win vaults Mavs into NBA Finals, sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 7, 2008

62. ^ Simmons, Bill, "Time to put Dirk in Pantheon", sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 19, 2008

63. ^ Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat, NBA Finals Game 3, Play-by-Play, nba.com, accessed January 7, 2008

64. ^ Wade Leads Heat to First NBA Championship, nba.com, accessed January 7, 2008

65. ^ NBA Standings – 2006–2007, sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 7, 2008

66. ^ [a] [b] Warriors Make History, Close Out Mavs, nba.com, accessed January 7, 2008

67. ^ Nowitzki stumbles to 2-for-13 shooting in Game 6, sports.espn.go.com, accessed January 7, 2008

68. ^ "Dirk Nowitzki Wins 2006–07 MVP Award", nba.com, accessed January 7, 2008

69. ^ [a] [b] Paul's Triple-Double Helps Hornets Oust Mavericks, nba.com, April 29, 2008, accessed May 9, 2008

70. ^ Aron, Jaime, "Nets Slapped with Fifth Straight Loss", nba.com, March 8, 2008, accessed March 9, 2008

71. ^ Stein, Marc, "Advisor: Dirk, Mavs agree to deal", sports.espn.go.com, July 4, 2010, accessed July 5, 2010

72. ^ Sauer, 122–124

73. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 125–129

74. ^ 2001 European Dream Team 2001, basket-stats.info, accessed January 19, 2008

75. ^ [a] [b] [c] Sauer, 129–140

76. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 140–145

77. ^ [a] [b] EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005, eurobasket.com, accessed January 19, 2008

78. ^ MVP Nowitzki Tops EuroBasket 2005 All-Tournament Team, eurobasket2005.fibaeurope.com, accessed January 19, 2008

79. ^ Game Report, Lithuania vs Germany, 77–62, 7th Place, fiba.com, accessed January 19, 2008

80. ^ Eurobasket 2007: Players – Statistical Leaders, www.eurobasket2007.org, accessed June 20, 2008

81. ^ Deutsche Basketballer erkämpfen sich Olympia-Qualifikation, www.spiegel.de, accessed June 20, 2008

82. ^ Basketball star Nowitzki to carry German Olympic flag, news.yahoo.com, August 6, 2008, accessed August 7, 2008.

83. ^ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=5605

84. ^ ESPN.com's Greatest Power Forwards, sports.espn.go.com, June 2, 2005, accessed January 7, 2008

85. ^ Dirk Nowitzki Career Stats Page, nba.com, accessed January 19, 2008

86. ^ Sauer, 46

87. ^ Sauer, 159

88. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 158

89. ^ [a] [b] Sauer, 85–86

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dirk Nowitzki

- Dirk Nowitzki at NBA.com

- Dirk Nowitzki NBA & ABA Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com

- Dirk Nowitzki on databasebasketball.com

- Official Dirk Nowitzki Foundation

- Dirk Nowitzki at the Internet Movie Database

- Dirk Nowitzki official site

- Basketboltr.NET >> Archive >> Dirk Nowitzki Available?

Awards and achievements

Preceded by
Pau Gasol

Mr. Europa
2005

Succeeded by
Jorge Garbajosa

Links to related articles

v · d · e1998 NBA Draft

First round

Michael Olowokandi · Mike Bibby · Raef LaFrentz · Antawn Jamison · Vince Carter · Robert Traylor · Jason Williams · Larry Hughes · Dirk Nowitzki · Paul Pierce · Bonzi Wells · Michael Doleac · Keon Clark · Michael Dickerson · Matt Harpring · Bryce Drew · Radoslav Nesterović · Mirsad Türkcan · Pat Garrity · Roshown McLeod · Ricky Davis · Brian Skinner · Tyronn Lue · Felipe López · Al Harrington · Sam Jacobson · Vladimir Stepania · Corey Benjamin · Nazr Mohammed

Second round

Ansu Sesay · Ruben Patterson · Rashard Lewis · Jelani McCoy · Shammond Williams · Bruno Šundov · Jerome James · Casey Shaw · DeMarco Johnson · Rafer Alston · Korleone Young · Cuttino Mobley · Miles Simon · Jahidi White · Sean Marks · Toby Bailey · Andrae Patterson · Tyson Wheeler · Ryan Stack · Cory Carr · Andrew Betts · Corey Brewer · Derrick Dial · Greg Buckner · Tremaine Fowlkes · Ryan Bowen · J. R. Henderson · Torraye Braggs · Maceo Baston

v · d · eNBA Most Valuable Player Award

1956: Pettit | 1957: Cousy | 1958: Russell | 1959: Pettit | 1960: Chamberlain | 1961: Russell | 1962: Russell | 1963: Russell | 1964: Robertson | 1965: Russell | 1966: Chamberlain | 1967: Chamberlain | 1968: Chamberlain | 1969: Unseld | 1970: Reed | 1971: Alcindor | 1972: Abdul-Jabbar | 1973: Cowens | 1974: Abdul-Jabbar | 1975: McAdoo | 1976: Abdul-Jabbar | 1977: Abdul-Jabbar | 1978: Walton | 1979: M. Malone | 1980: Abdul-Jabbar | 1981: Erving | 1982: M. Malone | 1983: M. Malone | 1984: Bird | 1985: Bird | 1986: Bird | 1987: Johnson | 1988: Jordan | 1989: Johnson | 1990: Johnson | 1991: Jordan | 1992: Jordan | 1993: Barkley | 1994: Olajuwon | 1995: Robinson | 1996: Jordan | 1997: K. Malone | 1998: Jordan | 1999: K. Malone | 2000: O'Neal | 2001: Iverson | 2002: Duncan | 2003: Duncan | 2004: Garnett | 2005: Nash | 2006: Nash | 2007: Nowitzki  | 2008: Bryant | 2009: James | 2010: James | 2011: Rose

v · d · eNBA All-Star Weekend Three-Point Shootout winners

1986: Bird | 1987: Bird | 1988: Bird | 1989: Ellis | 1990: Hodges | 1991: Hodges | 1992: Hodges | 1993: Price | 1994: Price | 1995: Rice | 1996: Legler | 1997: Kerr | 1998: Hornacek | 2000: Hornacek | 2001: Allen | 2002: Stojaković | 2003: Stojaković | 2004: Lenard | 2005: Richardson | 2006: Nowitzki | 2007: Kapono | 2008: Kapono | 2009: Cook | 2010: Pierce | 2011: Jones

v · d · eGermany squad - 2002 FIBA World Championship – Bronze medal

4 Lütcke | 5 Arigbabu | 6 Nikagbatse | 7 Garris | 8 Maras | 9 Demirel | 10 Pesic | 11 Roller | 12 Rödl | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Okulaja | Coach: Dettmann

v · d · eGermany squad - 2003 EuroBasket – 9th place

4 Demirel | 5 Okulaja | 6 Lütcke | 7 Pesic | 8 Schultze | 9 Hamann | 10 Nikagbatse | 11 Garris | 12 Arigbabu | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Maras | Coach: Dettman

v · d · eGermany squad - 2005 EuroBasket – Silver medal

4 Garrett | 5 Arigbabu | 6 Nikagbatse | 7 Greene | 8 Maras | 9 Demirel | 10 Pesic | 11 Roller | 12 Wucherer | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Schultze | Coach: Bauermann

v · d · eGermany squad - 2006 FIBA World Championship – 8th place

4 Demirel | 5 Okulaja | 6 Schultze | 7 Garrett | 8 Herber | 9 Hamann | 10 Greene | 11 Roller | 12 Grünheid | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Jagla | Coach: Bauermann

v · d · eGermany squad - 2007 EuroBasket – 5th place

4 Demirel | 5 Okulaja | 6 Arigbabu | 7 Garrett | 8 Herber | 9 Hamann | 10 Greene | 11 Roller | 12 Grünheid | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Jagla | Coach: Bauermann

v · d · eGermany squad - 2008 Summer Olympics – 10th place

4 Ohlbrecht | 5 Zweiner | 6 Schultze | 7 Garrett | 8 Wysocki | 9 Hamann | 10 Greene | 11 Roller | 12 Kaman | 13 Femerling | 14 Nowitzki | 15 Jagla | Coach: Bauermann

v · d · eFIBA World Championship Most Valuable Player Award

1950: Furlong | 1954: Minter | 1959: Pasos | 1963: Marques | 1967: Daneu | 1970: Belov | 1974: Kićanović | 1978: Dalipagić | 1982: Rivers | 1986: Petrović | 1990: Kukoč | 1994: O'Neal | 1998: Bodiroga | 2002: Nowitzki | 2006: Gasol | 2010: Durant

v · d · eEuroBasket Most Valuable Player Award

1935: Martín | 1937: Lubin | 1939: Ruzgys | 1946: Nemeth | 1947: Lõssov | 1949: Öztürk | 1951: Mrázek | 1953: Konev | 1955: Greminger | 1957: Baumruk | 1959: Zubkov | 1961: Korać | 1963: Rodríguez | 1965: Paulauskas | 1967: Zedníček | 1969: Belov | 1971: Ćosić | 1973: Brabender | 1975: Ćosić | 1977: Dalipagić | 1979: Berkovich | 1981: Kićanović | 1983: Corbalán | 1985: Sabonis | 1987: Galis | 1989: Petrović | 1991: Kukoč | 1993: Welp | 1995: Marčiulionis | 1997: Đorđević | 1999: Fučka | 2001: Stojaković | 2003: Jasikevičius | 2005: Nowitzki | 2007: Kirilenko | 2009: Gasol

v · d · eEuroBasket Top Scorers

1935: Franceschini | 1937: Lubinas | 1939: Veskila | 1946: Stok | 1947: Korkia | 1949: Öztürk | 1951: Mrázek | 1953: Idlibi | 1955: Skerik | 1957: Terrace | 1959: Korać | 1961: Korać | 1963: Korać | 1965: Korać | 1967: Kolokithas | 1969: Kolokithas | 1971: Jurkiewicz | 1973: Golomeev | 1975: Golomeev | 1977: Akerboom | 1979: Młynarski | 1981: Młynarski | 1983: Galis | 1985: Petrović | 1987: Galis | 1989: Galis | 1991: Galis | 1993: Bilalović | 1995: Marčiulionis | 1997: Kattash | 1999: Herreros | 2001: Nowitzki | 2003: Gasol | 2005: Nowitzki | 2007: Nowitzki | 2009: Gasol

v · d · eNBA Live/NBA Elite

NBA Live

95 · 96 · 97 · 98 · 99 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 06 · 07 · 08 · 09 · 10

NBA Elite

11

v · d · eDallas Mavericks current roster

0 Marion | 2 Kidd | 3 Beaubois | 4 Butler | 6 Chandler | 11 Barea | 13 Brewer | 16 Stojaković | 20 Jones | 28 Mahinmi | 31 Terry | 33 Haywood | 35 Cardinal | 41 Nowitzki | 92 Stevenson

Head coach: Carlisle | Assistant coaches: Stotts | Casey | Sterner

Persondata

Name

Nowitzki, Dirk

Alternative names

Nowitzki, Dirk Werner

Short description

German basketball player

Date of birth

July 19, 1978

Place of birth

Würzburg, (West) Germany

Date of death

Place of death

Dallas Mavericks

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. It uses material retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks on 2011-05-18.

CONTENTS

History

Uniforms

Head coaches

Season-by-season records

Home arenas

Rivalries

vs. San Antonio Spurs

vs. Phoenix Suns

Transactions

Players

Current roster

International rights

Olympian champions

Basketball Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

Individual awards

NBA All-Star selections

Notable players

References

External links

Dallas Mavericks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

Dallas Mavericks

2010–11 Dallas Mavericks season

Conference

Western Conference

Division

Southwest Division

Founded

1980

History

Dallas Mavericks
1980–present

Arena

American Airlines Center

City

Dallas, Texas

Team colors

Light Royal Blue, Navy Blue, Silver, White,

Owner(s)

Mark Cuban

General manager

Donnie Nelson

Head coach

Rick Carlisle

D-League affiliate

Texas Legends

Championships

0

Conference titles

1 (2006)

Division titles

3 (1987, 2007, 2010)

Official website

mavs.com

Home

Away

The Dallas Mavericks (also known as the Mavs) are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1980, the Mavericks have won three division titles (1987, 2007, 2010) and one conference championship (2006). According to a 2011 Forbes Magazine report, they are the sixth most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $438 million; the franchise is surpassed in value only by the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics, and the Houston Rockets.[1]

History

Dallas Mavericks Original Logo used from 1980–2001 (script logo used from 1991–2001). This logo was created by Texas professional graphic artist Patrick B. Stark

In 1979, businessman Don Carter and partner Norm Sonju requested the right to bring an NBA franchise to Dallas, Texas. The last professional basketball team in Dallas had been the Dallas Chaparrals of the American Basketball Association, which moved to San Antonio in 1973 to become the San Antonio Spurs.

At the 1980 NBA All-Star Game, league owners voted to admit the new team, with the team's name coming from the 1957–1962 TV western Maverick, the name was chosen by the fans with 4600 postcards received beating Wranglers and Express. James Garner, who played the namesake character, was a member of the ownership group. There was some controversy at the time since the University of Texas at Arlington also uses the Mavericks nickname. They joined the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, causing a divisional realignment with the Midwest and Central Divisions, and would stay there until the league went to six divisions for the 2004–05 season and the team moved to the Southwest Division. Dick Motta, who had guided the Washington Bullets to the NBA Championship in 1977–78, was hired as the team's first head coach. He had a well-earned reputation of being a stern disciplinarian, but was also a great teacher of the game.

Kiki Vandeweghe of UCLA was drafted by the Mavs with the 11th pick of the 1980 NBA Draft, but Vandeweghe refused to play for the expansion Mavericks and staged a holdout that lasted a month into the team's inaugural season. Vandeweghe was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with a first-round pick in 1981, in exchange for two future first-round picks that eventually materialized into Rolando Blackman in 1981 and Sam Perkins in 1984.

For much of the 1980s, the Mavericks boasted a very good team in the highly competitive Western Conference. Led by Mark Aguirre, original draft pick Brad Davis, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf, the Mavericks made the playoffs six of seven times from 1983–90, winning the Midwest Division in 1986-87 and reaching the Western Conference Finals in 1988. However, they never made it deeper in the playoffs, due to the dominance of the Los Angeles Lakers at the time.

The 1990s were known as the Mavs' "dark ages". They never reached the playoffs from 1991 through 2000, bottoming out with an 11-71 record in 1992-93 and a 13-69 mark in 1993-94. Much of their freefall was blamed for various off-court and on-court distractions, particularly Roy Tarpley's drug abuse, which eventually got him banned from the NBA, and the injuries and former coach Quinn Buckner's disciplinary approach. The mid-90s were considered the only positive period for the Mavs, led by The 3 J's: Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. Kidd would become the most famous of the trio, winning Co-Rookie of the Year (with Grant Hill) in 1994-95 and eventually a perennial All-Star.

The Mavericks returned to prominence in the 2000s, first led by a new "Big Three" of Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash. With a new owner in Mark Cuban and head coach Don Nelson leading the crew, they returned to the playoffs in 2001, eventually returning to the Conference Finals in 2003. However the San Antonio Spurs would emerge as their main rivals, defeating them in the playoffs each time. The Big Three gradually disbanded with Nash returning to the Phoenix Suns in 2004, and Finley picked up off waivers by the Spurs in 2005. Nowitzki emerged as the team's leader, and with Avery Johnson coaching the team, the Mavericks would make their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006; along the way exacting revenge against the Spurs and defeating Steve Nash and the Suns. However after leading 2-0 to the Miami Heat, they lost the Finals' next four games, though some point to biased refereeing and others argue it was the result of the Curse of the Crease. The Mavs' best regular season came in 2006-07, winning 67 games and earned the NBA's best record. Despite Nowitzki's MVP showing, the Mavericks were upset by their former coach Don Nelson and the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. Kidd returned to the team in 2008, and with new coach Rick Carlisle leading the crew, the Mavericks maintained their winning form throughout the decade.

Uniforms

1980-01 h

1980-81 a

1981-93 a

1993-01 a

2003-04 t

2001-10 a

During their expansion season of 1980–81, the Mavericks road uniform colors were royal blue with green and white trim, but the green and blue were reversed one season later, and green was the dominant road uniform color through the early-1990s. However, in the 1992-93 season, they were reverted back to their original road uniform scheme from their expansion season, with minor alterations to the "Dallas" script, a design that the Mavericks used until 2001. From 1980-2001, the home white uniforms had "Mavericks" in blue, with green and white trim, with a few minor alterations to the "Mavericks" script during the 1990s.[2] The 1980s green road jerseys were revived in the 2004-05 season as part of the Mavericks' 25th anniversary.

In the 2001–02 NBA season, the Mavericks drastically updated their logos and uniforms, with a new color scheme of midnight blue, royal blue and silver. The new uniforms consist of a "Dallas" script on both the home and road jerseys. On the home jersey, "Dallas" is in midnight blue across the chest and the numbers are in royal blue with silver trim, while on the road jersey, "Dallas" is in white, with the numbers in silver and white trim.

In the 2003–04 NBA season, the Mavericks debuted their shiny silver alternate uniforms, with "Mavericks" in white and royal blue trim, with blue numerals. However, it proved to be unpopular with fans (thus derisively nicknamed the 'Trash Bags'), and it was scrapped after just one game (at Lakers on October 28, 2003).

In the 2004–05 NBA season, the Mavericks introduced an alternate green uniform similar to their 1980s road uniforms. They were designed by rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, and featured "Mavs" in white on the front side of the jersey with blue trim, and the numbers in silver with white trim above the script on the left chest.

On September 21, 2009, the Mavericks unveiled a new alternate royal blue uniform with the same "Mavs" script, replacing the green uniform. The said uniform will also be used for the NBA's Noche Latina promotion, with the wordmark "Los Mavs.".[3]

On August 19, 2010, the Mavericks unveiled yet another change to their uniform set, with a new royal blue road uniform that displays the "Dallas" script in navy blue with silver numbers, both with white trim. The alternate royal uniform has been deactivated as a result.[4] However the 'Los Mavs' uniforms are still in use despite the change.

Head coaches

There have been nine head coaches for the Mavericks franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Dick Motta, who served for two non-consecutive stints, and coached for nine seasons with the Mavericks. Motta is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (738); Don Nelson, Donnie Nelson's father, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season game wins (339); Avery Johnson is the franchise's all-time leader for the most playoff games coached (47), the most playoff-game wins (23), and the highest winning percentage in the regular season (.735). Nelson is also named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history.[5] Johnson is the only coach to have ever won the Western Conference championship, but lost the 2006 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.[6] Johnson is also the only Mavericks coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, having won it in the 2005–06 season.[7] Quinn Buckner and Jim Cleamons have spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Mavericks. None of the Mavericks coaches have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.[8] Rick Carlisle has been the head coach of the Mavericks since 2008.[9]

Season-by-season records

Home arenas

- Reunion Arena (1980–2001)

- Moody Coliseum (1984 game 5 first round)

- American Airlines Center (2001–present)

Rivalries

vs. San Antonio Spurs

The Mavericks-Spurs rivalry is relatively new but very fierce. It features two teams with Dallas roots—the Spurs began their life in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and did not move to San Antonio until 1973. The Spurs defeated the Mavericks in 2001, 2003, and 2010; while the Mavericks defeated the Spurs in 2006 and 2009. The Spurs have won four championships and four conference titles, while the Mavericks have won one conference title. The Spurs have won 15 division titles, while the Mavericks have won 2. Both the Spurs and the Mavericks have 3 60-win seasons.

The two teams met in the playoffs during the 2000–2001 season with the Spurs winning in five games. Little was made during this series, as the Spurs won their first NBA championship only two years before. The Mavericks, run by a trio of Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and Dirk Nowitzki, had just defeated the Utah Jazz despite not having home court advantage and were only starting to meld into a title contender.

The two teams met again in 2003 in the Western Conference Finals. Both the Spurs and the Mavericks had 60-win seasons and reached the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, respectively. Despite having the best season of their history, the Mavericks fell in six games to the Spurs.

The rivalry took on a new meaning in 2005 when, near the end of the regular season, Don Nelson would resign as head coach of the Mavericks, apparently satisfied with the state of the team, and hand the coaching reins to former Spur Avery Johnson, the point guard of the 1999 NBA champion Spurs team who hit the game-winning shot against the New York Knicks. Since Johnson was coached under Spurs' Head Coach Gregg Popovich, he would be familiar with most, if not all, of Popovich's coaching style and philosophy. During the 2005 offseason, Michael Finley, waived by the Mavericks under the amnesty clause, joined the Spurs in search for the elusive title.

During the 2006 playoffs the two rivals met again. San Antonio won the first game at home 87-85. The Mavericks got revenge the next game winning 113-91 evening the series up at 1–1. The Mavericks won a dramatic Game 3 by one point 104-103. Though Manu Ginobili could have made the basket with five seconds remaining, he committed an error allowing the ball to bounce away from him with one second remaining. Dallas won a tightly-contested Game 4 123-118 in overtime. Game Five was won by one point with the Spurs taking the victory. In the final seconds of that game, Jason Terry was seen punching former teammate Michael Finley under the belt. This would lead to his suspension in Game 6. He was sorely missed in Game 6 as the Spurs took the series back home for a Game 7. In the crucial Game 7, with 2.6 ticks to go, Nowitzki converted a three-point play to force overtime. Manu Ginóbili, the one who fouled Dirk was the same person who gave San Antonio their first lead one possession earlier. Tim Duncan, who had played in all 48 minutes of regulation was too fatigued to carry his team in overtime. The Mavericks, meanwhile, were set to take control of the game and they did just that winning the game 119-111. The Mavericks went on to the Conference Finals where they defeated the Suns in six games, but succumbing to the champion Heat in the NBA Finals.

Despite much anticipation of a renewed meeting in the 2007 Western Conference finals, the Mavericks lost to the Golden State Warriors in one of the greatest upsets in NBA history.The Spurs won the NBA finals with after beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0.[10] The eighth seed Warriors, who made the playoffs on the last game of the NBA season, defeated the 67-win, first-seed Mavericks in six games.[11] Meanwhile, the Spurs would ultimately go on to win the 2007 NBA Championship, establishing themselves as a true NBA dynasty.[12][13][14][15] The season also gave longtime former Maverick Michael Finley his first championship. Many Spurs teammates claimed that the drive to win this season was partially to give Finley his first championship, especially since Finley had lost a bitter-fought series to his longtime team the year previous.[16]

Worth noting in a regular season meeting between the two rivals in April 2007, a game which the Mavs won 91–86, Tim Duncan suffered his first career ejection for supposedly laughing while sitting on the bench. Joey Crawford, the referee who ejected Duncan, allegedly asked Duncan to a fight which led to the longtime ref's season-ending suspension. As Duncan was heading into the locker room, American Airlines Center erupted into a huge cheer, applauding Duncan's ejection.

In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Mavericks and Spurs squared off again in the first round. San Antonio finished with a better record than Dallas, but were noticeably struggling due to Manu Ginobili suffering a season-ending injury. The Spurs and Mavericks split the first 2 games in San Antonio, but Dallas defeated the Spurs in games 3 and 4, both in Dallas. The Mavericks then went on to close out the series and eliminated the short-handed Spurs at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

In 2010, the Dallas Mavericks matched up against the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Although the Mavericks managed to obtain the number two seed, they were defeated by the Spurs in six games.

vs. Phoenix Suns

During the 2004 off-season, former Dallas Mavericks point guard Steve Nash signed a free-agent deal with the 29–53 Phoenix Suns to help out their offense. The addition of Nash helped as Phoenix rolled to a 62-20 record and the best record in the NBA. The teams met in the Western Conference Semifinals with Phoenix having the home-court advantage.

Phoenix won Game One 127-102 with a 40-point game by Amar'e Stoudemire. Steve Nash was also given his NBA MVP award during that game, a game in which he terrorized his former team. However, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki hit a game-winning turn-around jumper in Game 2 to beat Phoenix 108-106 to send the series back to Dallas tied 1–1. Phoenix and Dallas split the two games in Dallas which saw both winners of games score 119 points. The series went back Phoenix then took care of Dallas 114-108 in the America West Arena (now US Airways Center). Then, in Game Six, with Dallas facing elimination, Phoenix beat Dallas in a thriller which saw Steve Nash with a 39-point game, to go along with 12 assists. Phoenix then made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they eventually lost to the San Antonio Spurs who then went on to win the NBA Title that season.

The following year, a Suns team without Stoudemire (who was injured), Joe Johnson, and Quentin Richardson, but with a core of new players led by Raja Bell (who clotheslined Lakers star Kobe Bryant in a first-round series game), Boris Diaw and Tim Thomas to go along with Nash and fellow All-Star Shawn Marion. Phoenix had to play seven game series against the two Los Angeles teams, the Los Angeles Lakers (who had a 3-1 lead against Phoenix) and the resurgent Los Angeles Clippers. They faced a Mavericks team who won 60 games, but were forced to be the fourth seed since the division winners got the top three seeds. On their way to the Western Conference Finals, Dallas swept the Memphis Grizzlies, and beat in-state rival San Antonio Spurs in seven tense games. Phoenix won Game One 121-118 after Diaw hit a game-winning shot in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Bell, though injured himself in Game One, missing Games Two and Three. After that, Dallas took control of the series, winning Games Two and Three by the scores of 105-98 and 95-88. Bell came back for Game Four and led Phoenix to a 106-86 blowout win. Dallas however, beat Phoenix 117-101 in Game Five which included a 50-point performance from Dirk Nowitzki, and eliminated the Suns in Phoenix 102-93 in Game Six. Dallas would later on lose to the Miami Heat in six games, despite winning the first two games.

On March 14, 2007 in Dallas, Phoenix beat Dallas in a 129-127 double overtime thriller. With the Mavericks up by 7 with a minute left in regulation, Dirk Nowitzki (a 90% free throw shooter) missed two free throws. Steve Nash fed off his mistakes and scored 10 straight points including the game-tying three pointer with 3 seconds left to go. Dirk Nowitzki's potential game-winning shot bounced off the rim and sent the game to overtime. Jason Terry sent the game into another overtime with a game-tying three pointer of his own. Dirk Nowitzki's potential game-tying shot in double overtime went in and out of the rim as Amar'e Stoudemire's 41 points were too much for Dallas to handle. Many considered this game the Game of the Year for the 2006–07 season and many compared it to Game 6 of the 2005 Conference Semifinals.

Transactions

Players

Current roster

Dallas Mavericks rosterv · d · e

Players

Coaches

Pos.

#

Nat.

Name

Height

Weight

From

1.5 !G

11

PUR !

Barea, José Juan

72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)

175 lb (79 kg)

Northeastern

1.5 !G

3

FRA !

Beaubois, Rodrigue (IN)

74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

185 lb (84 kg)

France

4.0 !F

13

USA !

Brewer, Corey

81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)

185 lb (84 kg)

Florida

4.0 !F

4

USA !

Butler, Caron

(IN)

79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

228 lb (103 kg)

Connecticut

4.0 !F

35

USA !

Cardinal, Brian

80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)

240 lb (109 kg)

Purdue

6.0 !C

6

USA !

Chandler, Tyson

85 !7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)

235 lb (107 kg)

Dominguez HS (CA)*

6.0 !C

33

USA !

Haywood, Brendan

84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)

263 lb (119 kg)

North Carolina

1.5 !G

20

USA !

Jones, Dominique

(IN)

76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

215 lb (98 kg)

South Florida

1.5 !G

2

USA !

Kidd, Jason

76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

210 lb (95 kg)

California

6.0 !C

28

FRA !

Mahinmi, Ian

83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)

230 lb (104 kg)

France

4.0 !F

0

USA !

Marion, Shawn

79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

228 lb (103 kg)

UNLV

4.0 !F

41

GER !

Nowitzki, Dirk (C)

84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)

245 lb (111 kg)

Germany

1.5 !G

92

USA !

Stevenson, DeShawn

77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)

218 lb (99 kg)

Washington Union HS (CA)

4.0 !F

16

SRB !

Stojaković, Peja

82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)

229 lb (104 kg)

Serbia

1.5 !G

31

USA !

Terry, Jason

74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

180 lb (82 kg)

Arizona

Head coach

- Rick Carlisle (Virginia)

Assistant coach(es)

- Terry Stotts (Oklahoma)

- Dwane Casey (Kentucky)

- Tom Sterner (Millersville*)

Athletic trainer(s)

- Casey Smith (Arizona State)

- Dionne Calhoun (San Diego State)

Strength and conditioning coach(es)

- Robert Hackett (Wisconsin)

Legend

- (C) Team captain

- (DP) Unsigned draft pick

- (FA) Free agent

- (IN) Inactive

- (S) Suspended

- Injured

Roster • Transactions
Last transaction: 2010-10-21

International rights

F

Georgios Printezis

2007 NBA Draft

Originally drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 58th pick

G/F

Shan Foster

2008 NBA Draft

51st pick

G

Nick Calathes

2009 NBA Draft

Originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 45th pick

F

Ahmad Nivins

2009 NBA Draft

56th pick

Olympian champions

- Sam Perkins – 1984 Los Angeles

- Jason Kidd – 2008 Beijing

Basketball Hall of Famers

- 11 Alex English, F, 1990–91

- 24 Adrian Dantley, F, 1989–90

- 70 Dennis Rodman, F, 2000

- Don Nelson, Coach, 1997-05

Retired numbers

- 15 Brad Davis, G, 1980–92

- 22 Rolando Blackman, G, 1981–92

Individual awards

NBA Most Valuable Player

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2007

NBA Rookie of the Year

- Jason Kidd – 1995

NBA Coach of the Year

- Avery Johnson – 2006

NBA Sixth Man of the Year

- Roy Tarpley – 1988

- Antawn Jamison – 2004

- Jason Terry – 2009

All-NBA First Team

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

All-NBA Second Team

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011

All-NBA Third Team

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2001, 2004

- Steve Nash – 2002, 2003

NBA All-Defensive Second Team

- Derek Harper – 1987, 1990

- Tyson Chandler – 2011

NBA All-Rookie First Team

- Jay Vincent – 1982

- Sam Perkins – 1984

- Roy Tarpley – 1987

- Jamal Mashburn – 1994

- Jason Kidd – 1995

NBA All-Rookie Second

- Courtney Alexander – 2001

- Josh Howard – 2004

- Marquis Daniels – 2004

Three-Point Shootout

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2006

NBA All-Star selections

- Mark Aguirre – 1984, 1987, 1988

- Rolando Blackman – 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990

- James Donaldson – 1988

- Jason Kidd – 1996, 2010

- Chris Gatling – 1997

- Michael Finley – 2000, 2001

- Don Nelson – 2002

- Dirk Nowitzki – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

- Steve Nash – 2002, 2003

- Avery Johnson – 2006

- Josh Howard – 2007

Notable players

- Mark Aguirre

- Jose Juan Barea

- Rodrigue Beaubois

- Rolando Blackman

- Shawn Bradley

- Caron Butler

- Sam Cassell

- Cedric Ceballos

- Tyson Chandler

- Erick Dampier

- Adrian Dantley

- Brad Davis

- James Donaldson

- Dale Ellis

- Michael Finley

- Chris Gatling

- A. C. Green

- Tim Hardaway

- Derek Harper

- Devin Harris

- Brendan Haywood

- Josh Howard

- Juwan Howard

- Jim Jackson

- Antawn Jamison

- Ronald "Popeye" Jones

- Jason Kidd

- Shawn Marion

- Jamal Mashburn

- George McCloud

- Eduardo Nájera

- Steve Nash

- Dirk Nowitzki

- Sam Perkins

- Dennis Rodman

- Detlef Schrempf

- Jerry Stackhouse

- Peja Stojakovic

- Roy Tarpley

- Jason Terry

- Gary Trent

- Nick Van Exel

- Jay Vincent

- Antoine Walker

References

1. ^ Badenhausen, Kurt; Ozanian, Michael K.; Settimi, Christina. "In Pictures: The NBA's Most Valuable Teams". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2011/01/26/knicks-lakers-bulls-business-sports-basketball-valuations-11-teams_slide_6.html.

2. ^ http://sportslogos.net/team.php?id=228 Dallas Mavericks - Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page

3. ^ http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/mavericks-debut-a-new-alternate-jersey.html

4. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/082010dnospomavsunis.6cef8e29.html

5. ^ "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". National Basketball Association. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. http://www.nba.com/history/top_10_coaches.html. Retrieved July 30, 2008.

6. ^ "2005-07 Dallas Mavericks Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2006.html. Retrieved December 8, 2008.

7. ^ "NBA postseason awards - Coach of the Year". National Basketball Association. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. http://www.nba.com/history/awards_coachofyear.html. Retrieved December 8, 2008.

8. ^ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinees By Category". Basketball Hall of Fame. CBS Interactive. http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/bhof-halloffamers-category.html#coaches. Retrieved December 8, 2008. [dead link]

9. ^ "Dallas Mavericks Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/coaches.html. Retrieved December 8, 2008.

10. ^ NPR: Dallas Mavericks Upset by Oakland Upstarts

11. ^ ESPN - Dallas vs. Golden State Recap, May 03, 2007

12. ^ Sweep! Spurs 'Dynasty' Captures 4th Title. ABC News

13. ^ NBA Finals: Series sweep could establish Spurs dynasty. The Albuquerque Tribune

14. ^ Spurs an unappreciated, forgotten dynasty. MSNBC

15. ^ MVP Parker joins Spurs' elite. ESPN.com

16. ^ Reign men: Spurs win 4th NBA title | Sports News | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas

External links

Dallas-Fort Worth portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dallas Mavericks

- Dallas Mavericks official website

- DallasBasketball.com website

v · d · eDallas Mavericks

Founded in 1980 • Based in Dallas, Texas

The Franchise

Franchise • History • Expansion Draft • Seasons • Transactions • Head coaches • Current season

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Conference Championships (1)

2006

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v · d · eDallas Mavericks seasons

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v · d · eSports teams based in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex

Baseball

MLB: Texas Rangers, TL: Frisco RoughRiders, AA: Fort Worth Cats • Grand Prairie AirHogs

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NFL: Dallas Cowboys, AFL: Dallas Vigilantes, IFL: Allen Wranglers, NAFL: Dallas Diesels, WFA: Dallas Diamonds • Lone Star Mustangs, IWFL: North Texas Knockouts, LFL: Dallas Desire

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NHL: Dallas Stars, CHL: Allen Americans • Texas Brahmas, NAHL: Texas Tornado

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MLS: FC Dallas, PDL: DFW Tornados

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North Texas • SMU • TCU • UT-Arlington

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Annual events: Draft · Summer League (Orlando) · Christmas Day · All-Star Weekend (Game · MVP) · Celebrity Game · HORSE Competition · Rookie Challenge · Shooting Stars · Skills Challenge · Slam Dunk Contest · Three-Point Shootout · Playoffs · Finals (MVP)

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Category · Portal · 2010–2011 season