Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history.

Over his career he has earned some of the NBA’s highest honors, including an NBA championship, an NBA Most Valuable Player award, and 14 NBA All-Star appearances. He owns multiple Dallas Mavericks franchise records, including career points, three-point field goals, free throws, rebounds, and points in a single game. Over the years, his fadeaway jumpshot proved to be one of the most effective signature scoring maneuvers in NBA history, and Nowitzki became a perennial All-Star.

Nowitzki takes his work seriously on the court, but he is also serious about making a difference off the court. In 2007, the NBA honored him with the NBA Community Assist Award in recognition of his outstanding efforts in the community and for his ongoing philanthropic work. In 2013, Nowitzki was named a German ambassador for UNICEF with a focus on fighting malnutrition in the world and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Through the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, he awards grants annually to organizations focusing on children’s well-being, health and education.

Nowitzki first came to the attention of NBA scouts in 1998 with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 steals at the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit. He garnered dozens of scholarship offers to play collegiately in the United States, but Nowitzki instead declared his eligibility for the NBA draft. Nowitzki became the ninth pick in the draft, with an arranged trade that sent him from Milwaukee to Dallas.

As Nowitzki developed into one of the biggest stars in the game, he was also the key to the period of greatest team success in Mavericks history. The franchise had not qualified for the playoffs for eight straight seasons when Nowitzki joined the Mavericks, but in 2000–01 he helped Dallas win 53 games and advance to the postseason. That was the first of 11 consecutive 50-win seasons for the Mavericks, one of the longest such stretches in league history.

In 2006-2007, the Mavericks won a franchise record 67 games, and Nowitzki earned NBA Most Valuable Player honors. In 2011, Nowitzki and the Mavericks attained their highest achievement to date by reaching the NBA Finals where they defeated the Miami Heat. Nowitzki was named NBA Finals MVP.

Nowitzki was named the 2011 German Sports Personality of the Year, the first basketball player to receive the award. In 2012, he became the first non-American player to receive the Naismith Legacy Award. He also received the AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Germany TransAtlantic Partnership Award which honors active, exemplary, and long-term initiatives by German or American individuals and institutions.

In November 2014, Nowitzki scored his 26,947th career NBA point to surpass Hakeem Olajuwon as the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history. In March 2017, Nowitzki became just the seventh player in league history to score 30,000 career points. He finished his NBA career with 31,560 points scored, which was the sixth highest total in league history at the time.