When it comes to being a franchise player in the NBA, there have been low numbers. But Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers, Udonis Haslem with the Miami Heat, and lastly Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks, have kept the idea alive. In his 21 years with the Mavericks, which is the longest a player has played for the same team, Nowitzki delivered a championship in 2011, with the rest of the years having their ups and downs. However, that is not to say the German legend was void of opportunities to switch sides. Nowitzki just did not. Here’s why. 

On his appearance on Shaquille O’Neal‘s The Big Podcast, Nowitzki revealed, “At the beginning, I didn’t really know what to expect, but people here were great to me. People were loyal to me and made me feel welcomed at the beginning. They wanted me to succeed, and having a great relationship with Mark [Cuban], you know, and I just sort of felt like I owed it to the city and the franchise.” 

Along with the above words, Nowitzki also had a message for the people out there. The 2011 champion added, “There were some tough years early, there were some tough years really late. But I always say, you know, you have to go through the tough times as well. You can’t always be there for the good times.” 

It’s not an individual’s decision to be a franchise player. There are a lot of uncontrollable factors that have to work in your favor. In Nowitzki’s case, everything worked out right, starting way back from the draft night. 

The iconic story of how the Dallas Mavericks landed Dirk Nowitzki instead of Paul Pierce

The Milwaukee Bucks selected Dirk Nowitzki as the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA draft. However, their eyes were on forward/center Robert ‘Tractor‘ Traylor. Mavericks took note of the Bucks’ desire to land Traylor. The Dallas unit drafted Traylor as the 6th pick and traded him to the Bucks for Nowitzki. However, before that, there was a big dilemma.

Paul Pierce was also available for the Mavericks. Don Nelson, the former head coach of the team detailed how he made a choice. He shared, “We get to the draft, and both he [Nowitzki] and Pierce are still available…I’m trying to make my decision. We’re on the clock, and they’re both available.”

Nelson was fond of Pierce and believed he was a “fantastic player“. However, Nelson’s son Donnie was adamant that the Mavericks should draft Nowitzki. Nelson said, “We traded picks and I think they gave me a million dollars, too. We got our guy and it worked out perfectly.” The above story shows us why Nowitzki was destined to be a Maverick for life.

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