Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. He is a product of Röntgen Gymnasium and DJK Würzburg basketball club. After a considerable time with the latter club, he was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA Draft, and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has played ever since.

Nowitzki has led the Mavericks to 12 consecutive NBA Playoffs (2001–2012), including an NBA Finals appearance in 2006 and the franchise's first championship in 2011. He is the first Maverick ever to be voted into an All-NBA Team and also holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records. He is a 11-time All-Star and 12-time member of the All-NBA Teams. He is the first European-born player to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to get 100 blocks and 150 3-pointers in a single season. Dirk also led the German national basketball team to a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the silver medal in EuroBasket 2005. In addition to being the leading scorer, he was elected Most Valuable Player in both tournaments. He was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by Gazzetta dello Sport for five years in a row from 2002 to 2006 and again in 2011. He was named Eurobasket's All-Europeans Player of the Year from 2005 to 2008, and again in 2011. Nowitzki was also named the Mister Europa European Player of the Year by the Italian sports magazine Superbasket in 2005, and the FIBA Europe Basketball Player of the Year twice in 2005 and 2011. On December 18, 2011, he was named the 2011 German Sports personality of the Year for the first time in his profile. In 2012, he became the first non-American player to win the Naismith Legacy Award.

Dirk Nowitzki is considered one of the greatest power forwards of all-time and is known for his scoring ability, accurate shooting and his trademark fadeaway jump shot.