Dirk Nowitzki has a case to be considered the greatest international player of all time, but it’s not something anyone would have bet on when he first came into the league.
The Dallas Mavericks traded for Dirk Nowitzki on draft night in 1999 after the Bucks selected him 9th overall. He came directly from Germany as a 20-year-old and there was an adjustment period, even off the court. He told Rachel Nichols a hilarious story about his first rental car.
“I came to the US only for those few months, because I came in the middle of January and I knew I was leaving right after the season and I was only gonna be there for 2-3 months,” Nowitzki said. “(So I thought) I’ll take my time and buy a car in my Year 2 when I come back. And so my Year 1, I just had a rental car.
“I was driving it around, it worked and of course, the players were always killing me when I drove up to practice. They all had their fancy cars, their SUVs, and the Hummer was big at the time and I had my little rental car.
“And so, we’re getting into April and May because the season was shifted and it was getting hot already. And I’m like, ‘Oh God’, I’m getting to games and I’m sweating… I walk into the locker room and I’m sweating a bit and they’re like, ‘Why are you sweating?’
“And I was like, ‘It’s super hot and I drove with the window down.’ And someone came down to the car and said, ‘See this AC button down here? You have to actually push that in and then the AC comes on.’ I was like, ‘Oh I was wondering how that worked.’ Growing up, the car I had in Germany didn’t have the AC button, so that was a valuable lesson for sure.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk33IS-vWbc
Dirk Nowitzki’s first season in the NBA was a lockout-shortened year, and he struggled to adjust on the court as well. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in his Rookie Year. He figured it out the very next season, though, taking a massive leap in production and eventually blossoming into a complete superstar, destroying some of the greatest defenders ever along the way.
Dirk Nowitzki’s Career Took Off During His Third Season In The NBA
By his third season in the league, Nowitzki was averaging 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and that’s when people realized he was going to be a problem. Starting in his 4th season, he made the All-Star team 11 consecutive times, won an MVP, and eventually won a championship and Finals MVP as well.
From 2001 to 2012, Nowitzki averaged 24.3 points and 8.6 rebounds, all while scoring efficiently. He shot 47.8% from the field, 38.3% from three-point range, and 88.7% from the free-throw line. In doing so, he changed the game and how big men were perceived as well. He may not have known much coming into the league, but he certainly learned quickly and then changed the game after he settled in.
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