Dirk Nowitzki
(Born 1978)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2023
Card Shown: 2021-22 Panini
Noir 75th Anniversary
Position: PF/C
Height: 7’0″
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Dirk Nowitzki was a German basketball player who entered the NBA with a unique skillset for a seven-footer. Nowitzki could put the ball on the floor and shoot the mid-range as well as three-pointers. His iconic one-legged fadeaway was deadly and impossible to guard. Dirk will remain beloved in Dallas, where he played his entire career, as much for his open and kind personality as for leading the Mavericks to their first NBA championship.
Awards and Honors
- In 2006-07, Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player award. In doing so, he became the first European-born player to win the award. During that season he averaged 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
- Dirk led the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA championship in 2011. Other members of the team that defeated the Miami Heat 4-2 in the Finals included Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Caron Butler, and Tyson Chandler.
- Nowitzki was a fourteen-time NBA All-Star selection and was named to an All-NBA Team twelve times (First Team four times, Second Team five times, and Third Team three times).
- Dirk was honored with the 2016-17 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award which recognizes a player’s actions on and off the court. The award was named after Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes. After Stokes suffered a career-ending injury on the court that left him paralyzed, Twyman stepped up to become his legal guardian and ensure that Maurice received proper care during his lifetime.
- In 2021-22, Nowitzki was chosen to be part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team which honors the top seventy-five players to play basketball in the NBA during its first seventy-five years.
Points of Interest
- Dirk holds the record for the most years played all with one team in NBA history. He played 21 seasons for the Dallas Mavericks. Other notable players to play their entire career for one team include Kobe Bryant (20 seasons for the Lakers), Udonis Haslem (20 seasons for the Heat), Tim Duncan (19 seasons for the Spurs) and John Stockton (19 seasons for the Jazz).
- Nowitzki joined the exclusive 50-40-90 club in the 2006-07 season, a testament to his outstanding shooting. Dirk shot over 50% from the floor, over 40% from behind the three-point line, and over 90% from the free throw line. The small, elite group who have accomplished this feat includes Stephen Curry, Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Reggie Miller.
- In 2006, Dirk was the NBA Three-Point Contest Champion.
- At the time of his induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame, Nowitzki was the 6th all-time leading scorer in the NBA with 31,560 points. Those ahead of him, in order from one to five, include legends LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan.
- Dirk is considered by many to be the best international player in NBA history. He gives credit to players like countryman Detlef Schrempf, Drazen Petrovic, and Toni Kukoc for being international players who helped pave the way for him to play in the league.
Statistics
Dirk Nowitzki Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com
Personal Autograph Interaction
When my son Joshua and I attended the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend, we traveled to Dallas, switched planes, and continued on to Hartford, Connecticut. We were flying on a Wednesday for the weekend event and Joshua had said to me that maybe Dirk Nowitzki would end up on our flight out of Dallas. I thought the chances were slim to none that he would be traveling on our American Airlines commercial flight. I was wrong.
Sure enough, Dirk walked onto the plane and sat down in first class. We were about 5 rows behind him. The flight crew asked Dirk to take a few photos with them and he graciously agreed. After he sat down again, an announcement was made that we would not be leaving for about 10 minutes while the galley was being restocked with food. This was our chance! I figured that as long if we were going to be sitting at the gate for another ten minutes we should make the most of the opportunity.
Joshua and I got together the two cards each of Dirk and Dirk/Jason Kidd that we had brought for the weekend and walked up to meet up and ask him to sign our cards. He happily signed two cards each for us and took a selfie with us (see below.) I got my 2012-13 Panini Signatures Stars card signed (beautiful!) and he also signed the 2013-14 Panini Titanium Game Gear card that also features Jason Kidd. We talked briefly and he told us that Jason would be arriving on Friday. Funny story about how Jason ended up signing for us. You can find that on Jason’s profile.
We also had a ticket to the paid autograph session on Friday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun, but we had a problem. We were out of Nowitzki cards! We had only brought two with us and Dirk had already signed them. We met a nice collector named Mark at the Mohegan Sun and he sold us each another Dirk card which is how I got the 2004-05 Topps Total card signed a few days later at the autograph session.
Dirk has a reputation for being a very kind person and everything that we saw and experienced showed that to be true.
Thank you, Dirk!
In-Person Autograph Photos
2023
2023
Autographed Dirk Nowitzki Card
