Dirk Nowitzki's Path to Stardom Is Unlike Anything the NBA Has Ever Seen
Dirk Nowitzki tallied 23 points in the Dallas Mavericks' 106-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, and he earned a couple of distinctions in the process.
With 8:56 remaining in the contest, the 36-year-old nailed a jumper and became the league's ninth all-time leading scorer, passing Hakeem Olajuwon's 26,946 points. In turn, the German superstar also became the most prolific international scorer in NBA history.
"Dirk has earned everything he's gotten, and every step up the ladder he takes is a reflection of his effort and his focus," Mavs owner Mark Cuban told reporters before Tuesday night's contest. "To be the greatest international scorer ever is an amazing accomplishment. We're glad to have him here."
Nowitzki could pass two others on the all-time scoring list before long. Elvin Hayes is currently eighth with 27,313 points, and Moses Malone is seventh with 27,409.
Much like Olajuwon, Nowitzki has scored many of his points with an array of dizzying moves on the block. But the comparison isn't a perfect one.
"I think you need a little athleticism for that move [Olajuwon's famed 'Dream Shake']," Nowitzki told reporters after the game, via Mavs Insider Earl K. Sneed. "...I came up with my own dream shake, I guess. The white version."
Numbers aside, the former Houston Rockets great was inimitable to be sure.
"...To pass The Dream is unbelievable," Nowitzki added. "He was unguardable on the block. His footwork, his skill level, his hands, his touch was second to none. So, I'm pretty proud."
For his career, the 17-year veteran has earned 12 All-Star appearances and averaged 22.5 points per contest. His credentials as one of the game's great power forwards put him in rare company, particularly when accounting for his ability to stretch the floor and rack up buckets in a variety of ways.
It's been a long road, and it's been anything but a traditional one.
After the Mavericks made a draft-night trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for the ninth overall pick in 1998, Nowitzki only averaged 8.2 points per contest as a rookie. Though he'd break out with 17.5 points per game during his sophomore campaign, it wasn't initially clear that Nowitzki would become a legitimate superstar.
"I remember everybody crushing on him and killing on him as being another [Big White Stiff]," Cuban recently said, reports Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Everybody was like, 'Who is this guy and will he ever make it?'
"It took a little bit, but he worked hard and he got there."
Mavericks center Tyson Chandler offers a similar narrative.
"Everything Dirk accomplishes he deserves," he said, per Price. "He's been putting in a lot of work into this league. He's one of the all-time greats and one of the all-time great professionals with the type of work and commitment that he's had throughout his entire career.
"It's really amazing, especially the way he started his career. The league had some doubts about whether or not he could play in this game, but he never stopped believing, and the organization never stopped believing."
That early faith paid off in a big way.
By his third season, Nowitzki was averaging 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in 38.1 minutes per game. Starting with that season, the Mavericks reached the playoffs without fail until 2012-13. Dirk remained at the center of those efforts even as his supporting cast evolved.
He's 1-1 in his two Finals appearances against the Miami Heat in 2005-06 and 2010-11, making him that rare scoring extraordinaire who also knows how to lead a winner. Nowitzki averaged 26 points per contest during the latter series and earned Finals MVP honors for his efforts.
While Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett seem to have defined this generation's 4 spot, no one has played it quite like Nowitzki.
He's made 38.4 percent of his career three-point attempts, and he's just as deadly from any mid-range spot on the floor. Capable of facing up or scoring with his back to the basket, guarding Nowitzki has become among the league's virtually impossible tasks.
And he's not finished just yet.
Eight games into the 2014-15 season, he's again averaging over 20 points per contest and showing few signs of slowing down. The Mavericks re-signed him to a discounted deal this summer, agreeing to pay him $25 million over the next three years.
It may be the last NBA contract Nowitzki signs, but he's taking his side of the bargain no less seriously than he did when he was coming up the ranks.
Indeed, he's still trying to get better.
"I want to expand a little bit on the block," Nowitzki said, per Sneed, when training camp opened in October. "There might be some situations where I have to shoot it, but I don't want to rely on the fadeaway all the time.
"Sometimes you have to go middle and make a strong move there or get fouled or swing a little hook, I think. You know, I've just got to mix it up a little more than just a right-shoulder fadeaway all the time."
Spoken like a man who's serious about winning another title while he still can, however long that may be.
"Everyone better enjoy Dirk Nowitzki while he's playing," Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, via Sneed, after Tuesday night's game. "'Cause there's not going to be another one like him ever."
Certainly none that trace his route to the top.
"Passing the Big O and knowing that only nine guys ever in this league scored more than me, that's crazy to think," Nowitzki said, reports Price, this week. "From where I came from—a little dump in Wurzburg, Germany—it's been an amazing ride.
"So you know, hopefully I can have a couple more good years, and we'll see where I end up."
Nowitzki will end up a little higher on that all-time scoring list. And he'll end up in the Hall of Fame sometime after that.
He might even end up with another championship along the way.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
