User:Onomatopoeia/Dirk Nowitzki
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Dirk Werner Nowitzki (IPA: [no'v?tski]) (born June 19, 1978 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German basketball player for the United States' National Basketball Association's (NBA) Dallas Mavericks. An alumnus of the German Röntgen Gymnasium high school and the DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has been playing ever since. Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Nowitzki plays the power forward position, but is also capable of playing other frontcourt positions like center, small forward or point forward.
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Dallas Mavericks | |
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Position | Power forward |
Personal information | |
Born | (1978-06-19) June 19, 1978 (age 46) Würzburg, Germany |
Nationality | Germany |
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
Career information | |
NBA draft | 1998: 9th overall |
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks | |
Playing career | 1998–present |
Career highlights and awards | |
Six-time All-Star Seven-time All-NBA 2002 World Championships MVP 2005 EuroBasket MVP 2006 All-Star Three-Point Shootout Champion 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player | |
Olympic medal record | ||
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Representing ![]() | ||
Men's Basketball | ||
World Championships | ||
![]() | 2002 USA | Germany |
European Championships | ||
![]() | 2005 Serbia & Montenegro | Germany |
Nowitzki is a six-time member of the NBA All-Star and seven-time member of the All-NBA Teams and is the first European-born player in NBA history to receive the league's Most Valuable Player award.[1] He is the first Maverick ever to be voted into an All-NBA Team and also holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records.[2] He led the German national basketball team to a Bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championships and the Silver medal in the 2005 FIBA European Championships, and was leading scorer and elected Most Valuable Player in both tournaments. Regarded as one of the best European players in basketball history, Nowitzki was named "European Basketball Player of the Year" by Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport for five years in a row and voted FIBA European Basketball Player of the Year in 2005.[2]