Dirk Nowitzki

BY Cameron Barnett

Early Years• Dirk Nowitzki was born on June 19, 1978 in Wurzburg, Germany. • As a child, Nowitzki mostly favored playing handball and tennis.

• When Nowitzki was 15 years old he trained with Holger Geschwiner, a member of the 1972 West German Olympic basketball team. Holger took a broad based approach in his tutelage and enrolled Dirk in systematic training in fields such as saxophone, guitar, fencing, and chess in addition to basketball.

• At age 16, Nowitzki joined the DJK Wurzburg X-Rays, a second division team in the German Bundesliga.

• On September 1, 1997 he was drafted into a mandatory stint with the German army.

• In March of 1998, Nowitzki traveled with the International Junior Select Team to the Nike Hoop Summit game in to take on the top American high school seniors - a team that included Rashard Lewis and Al Harrington.

Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks• Skipped college to become a

professional basketball player.

• Nowitzki became only the 4th German player in NBA history.

• On December 2, 2004, Nowitzki scored 53 points in an overtime win against the Houston Rockets, a career best. As a reward, Nowitzki was voted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time. By being elected to the All-NBA First Team, Nowitzki became the first player who did not attend a United States high school or college to be on the All-NBA First Team.

Known For…

• Great step-back shot ( fade-away jump shot)• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfewOvwxMR0&feature=related This video features many players commenting on Dirk’s famous jump shot.

• Best at his position in the NBA• His style of play is compared to Larry Bird

Career highlights

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpPhpotcxk8 This video features Nowitzki in the 2011 NBA west conference playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jg7DsXp74s&feature=related This video features Nowitzki at an NBA All Star 3 point Challenge event.

Personal life

• Prefers a calm quite life.• Loves playing the saxophone.• Godfather of NBA player Steve Nash’s

Granddaughters. • When Dirk steps up to shoot free throws he

hums Looking for Freedom to calm himself. The song was a big hit in Germany when Nowitzki was younger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ot_katYYiU

Works Cited• "Dirk Nowitzki." - MavsWiki. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.

<http://mavswiki.com/index.php?title=Dirk_Nowitzki>.• "In Love with a Fraud." SPIEGEL ONLINE. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,632393,00.html>.

• Libs76. "Looking For Freedom - David Hasselhoff." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Apr. 2006. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ot_katYYiU>.

• NBA. "Dirk Nowitzki: Deadly Step-Back." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfewOvwxMR0>.