Dirk Nowitzki was born June 19, 1978 in Würzburg, Germany. He is the son of Jörg and Helga Nowitzki. Jörg, a successful handball player, and Helga, a star player on the German women’s national basketball team, provided Dirk quite the pool of athletic genes. As to be expected, Dirk enjoyed sports very much. As a boy he particularly enjoyed handball, tennis, and gymnastics. By the age of thirteen those sports got old and Dirk had found a new interest – basketball.
Besides spending the majority of his free time on the court, Nowitzki also attended the prestigious Röntgen Gymnasium. It was not commonplace for a child who dedicated so much time developing their athletic abilities would also commit to the academic load of Gymnasium. When he was fifteen, Dirk found a mentor and friend, named Holger Geschwindner. Geschwindner, a former German national team player offered to work individually Nowitzki. He had much to teach the young athlete. Geschwindner recognized Dirk’s raw talent and natural gift of height, and knew Dirk could be molded into a legend of the hardwood. Geshwindner’s teaching methods were unconventional, but proved to be effective.
By sixteen, Dirk was playing basketball professionally for a German team called the X-Rays. He would also go on to captain the German Olympic team before turning seventeen. At twenty, Nowitzki was named Player of the Year by the popular German basketball magazine, Basket. Also at the age of twenty, Dirk entered himself into the NBA draft. This was a huge move in his career. Upon being selected by a team, this meant that Dirk would have to move to America, a foreign land to him. As expected, Nowitzki was quickly drafted. The Milwaukee Bucks choose Dirk 9th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. His career with the Bucks would be short lived, as Dirk was almost instantly traded to the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks had high hopes for their new acquisition.
Nowitzki’s first year in the NBA was rough, to say the least. He was completely thrown out of his element, which may have helped attribute to his subpar performance that first year. Averaging only 8.2 points per game, Dirk let down his team. They did not give up on him however. Everyone understood Dirk had a lot on his plate. Basketball is far more popular in the United States than Germany. Nowitzki had to learn to handle the fame that came along with being an up and coming NBA prodigy. He was in a new country, one that spoke a different language no less, and he found himself far from the comforts of home. Without the help of his team-mates, Dirk may have never overcame the culture shock.
Steve Nash, also a Dallas Mavericks player, took it upon himself to help make Dirk feel more at ease. Over time they became great friends, both on and off the court. Nash was already recognized as a rising star in the NBA, and he used his power to help Nowitzki gain playing time. The more he was able to get Dirk involved, the better Dirk got. By the end of his second season, Nowitzki had an average of 17.5 points per game. This was more than double that of his debut year.
As the years passed, Dirk got progressively better. By 2001 Nowitzki was scoring an average of 28.4 points per game. The all-star duo of Steve and Dirk helped propel the Mavericks to a fourteen game winning streak in 2002. Although defeated by the San Antonio Spurs in the championship game, not all was lost. Dirk was selected for the to play in the All-Star game, quite an honor. Even while consumed with his NBA endeavors, Dirk found time to play for the German National team too. He helped them to achieve their first ever medal in 2001 and got them to win a few games in Athens at the 2004 Olympic games.
While Nowitzki has yet to win a NBA Championship, he is still regarded as one of the greatest basketball players gracing the court today. The seven foot tall center from Germany has been awarded NBA All-Star six times, All-NBA seven times, 2002 World Championship MVP, 2005 EuroBasket MVP, 2006 NBA All-Star games 3-Point shootout Champion, and 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player. He already holds many records and accomplishments, and his career is still just entering its midpoint Always adapting and improving, Dirk Nowitzki has shown us time and time again that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Works Cited
Schofield, Matthew. “NBA Star’s Fan Base Extends to His Native Germany.” McClatchy Washington Bureau. 27 Oct. 2007. McClatchy Newspapers. 20 Nov. 2007 < http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/matt_schofield/story/20836.html >.
