Nowitzki Nearing Exclusive Club with 27,000 Points and 10,000 Rebounds
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki needs nine rebounds in Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs to become the seventh player in NBA history with 27,000 or more points and 10,000 or more rebounds, per Earl K. Sneed of the Mavericks' official website.
Nowitzki, whose wife gave birth to the couple's second child Monday night/Tuesday morning, enters the contest with 27,945 career points and 9,991 rebounds.
Whether Tuesday night or at a later date, the German forward will eventually join an exclusive group that is currently comprised of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes.
Nowitzki will be the first international player on the list, further cementing himself—alongside Hakeem Olajuwon—as one of the two greatest non-U.S.-born players in league history.
Dirk ranks seventh on the NBA's all-time scoring list with his 27,945 points, while the 9,991 rebounds are good for 37th place.
Though still a major contributor to a team that is all but assured of a playoff spot, the 36-year-old Nowitzki has seen his numbers drop off across the board this season.
His shooting percentages are all at their lowest point since at least 2011-12, while his scoring (17.3), rebounding (5.9) and assist (1.9) averages all match or fall below his worst marks since his rookie season of 1998-99.
All statistics courtesy of basketball-reference.com unless specifically noted otherwise.
