Dirk Nowitzki: The Story of the best German basketball player – Konrad B.
Dirk Werner Nowitzki was born in 1978 in Würzburg Germany. His mother Helga was a professional basketball player and his father Jörg-Werner was a handball player who represented Germany at the highest level. After joining the local DJK Würzburg, the 15-year-old attracted the attention of German international basketball player Holger Geschwindner, who spotted his talent and offered to coach him individually two to three times per week.
NBA Career:
Nowitzki rejected many college offers and went directly into the NBA as a prep-to-pro player (1998). The Milwaukee Bucks selected Nowitzki with the ninth pick in the draft and traded him to the Dallas Mavericks in a multi-team deal. Future star point guard Steve Nash came to Dallas in the same trade. Nowitzki was the fourth German player in NBA history. The first years in the NBA were not easy for Dirk. The start of the season was delayed by the 1998– 99 NBA lockout. Nowitzki returned to DJK Würzburg and played thirteen games before both sides worked out a late compromise deal that resulted in a shortened NBA schedule of only 50 games. When the season finally started, Nowitzki struggled. Played as a power forward by coach Don Nelson, the 20-
year-old felt overpowered by the more athletic NBA forwards.
Championship season:
The Mavericks defeated Portland in the first round of the playoffs and swept the two-time defending champion Lakers in the Conference semi-finals. In the Conference Finals, they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. In Game 1, Nowitzki scored 48 points and set an NBA record of 24 consecutive free throws made in
a game as well as a record for most free throws in a game without a miss. In Game 4, with Dallas leading the series 2–1, Nowitzki scored 40 points to rally his team from a 99–84 fourth-quarter deficit to a 112–105 overtime victory. Dallas won the Western Conference title in Game Five.
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