All About Dirk

"7-0, 245, Born June 19, 1978Country: Germany 8th NBA Season … 5th NBA All-Star "

For me Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best and matchless player in NBA..... Game weel thought-out one of the league’s influential players… Outstanding inside-outside scorer, possesses tremendous range and is able to shoot over smaller defenders … Ranks among league leaders in points, rebounds and double-doubles …... Named to his first All-NBA First Team in 2005…A two-time All-NBA Second Team selection (2002, 2003)…A two-time All-NBA Third Team selection (2001, 2004) … Averaged 28.7 points, 9.1 rebounds in seven games for Germany in the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis, earning Most Valuable Player award ... Competed in the All-Star Shootout in 2000 and 2001 … Selected by Milwaukee Bucks in first round (ninth overall) in 1998 NBA Draft … Draft rights traded by Bucks with draft rights to Pat Garrity to the Mavericks for draft rights to Robert Traylor on draft day.


Nobody has been more dynamic and fascinated more criticism than Nowitzki, who was the favorite all season to win the MVP last year, won it, and then afterward suffered criticism when the Mavericks were upset in the first round. The irony was almost too much to take considering the same thing happened in the 2006 Finals, when cries of him being overrated resonated as the Mavericks collapsed after holding a 2-0 lead vs. the Heat.
Getting down to it, he is a magnificent athlete and shooter, but he is not the low-post player people expect him to be with his size. And really, why should he be? He is a fabulous perimeter shooter. Did he buckle in the playoffs? Yes, but that doesn't diminish what he accomplished the rest of the season and how he has helped create the most dominant regular season team of the past two seasons. His next step, obviously, is to win a title. Certainly there have been plenty of superstars in this league never to win a title, so it isn't a prerequisite.

---------->How about playing style?<----------

Nowitzki is one of the best shooters in the NBA, and is capable of shooting a high percentage from both medium range and beyond the three-point line, unusual for a 7-foot forward. His tall frame and favorite fade away jump shots pose difficulties for defenders, and in 2006 and 2007 he shot over 90% at the free throw line. Nowitzki also has an effective high post game in the NBA, able receive passes near the top of the key and bring the ball down to the low post to score on a turnaround jump shot or a drive. He was also very effective working the pick and roll with former teammate, Steve NashNowitzki's defense improved under current Dallas coach Avery Johnson. Nowitzki notched a career high in blocks on January 6, 2006, with 7 against the Denver Nuggets. Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to register at least 150 three-point field goals and 100 blocks in a season (he had 151 three-point field goals and 101 blocks in the 2000-01 season).Nowitzki has been compared to Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird, both being prolific scorers and admired shooters. Both Bird and Nowitzki are rated as three-point contest champions and excellent free-throw shooters. However, Bird's career high season records exceed Nowitzki's in terms of season average per game assists and rebounds.

----------> How about the early years of Dirk?<----------

Nowitzki decided to declare for the 1998 NBA Draft at the age of 20. He had a promise from Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino that his team would take him with the 10th overall selection. However, one other team was interested in the German prospect: the Dallas Mavericks, and they selected him just one pick earlier. Technically, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, but the Bucks were selecting for the Mavericks; the two teams had a pre-arranged deal. The Mavericks had likewise selected Robert “Tractor” Traylor for the Bucks with the sixth pick. Even though the two teams were selecting for each other, the Nowitzki-for-Traylor deal has gone down as one of the most infamous and lopsided trades ever. The Mavericks also got the draft rights to nineteenth-overall pickPat Garrity, but that same draft, Garrity was traded (along with other players and future draft considerations) to the Phoenix Sun for young point guard Steve Nash. On that night, the Dallas Mavericks acquired two of the pieces on which they would build their franchise for years to come.Mavs GM Don Nelson touted Nowitzki as the sure-fire 1998-99 Rookie of the Year at the draft, a lofty expectation for a 20-year-old who was in the U.S. for the first time. Dallas fans were understandably upset, then, when Nowitzki looked lost when on the floor in mop-up minutes as a rookie. Determined to prove that he could be a force in the NBA, Nowitzki returned to Germany in the 1999 off-season, working hard on sharpening his total game. The summer of work helped immensely, as Nowitzki emerged as a starter and future star in1999-2000, when he averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, finishing second in voting for the league'sMost Improved Player.The following season (2000-01), he averaged 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds and became the first Maverick to be named to the All-NBA-Team, making the third team.