Photo Gallery All Hail Dirkules!
"We're world champions," Dirk Nowitzki said in an interview immediately following his team's victory in Game 6 of the NBA championship. "It sounds unbelievable." The ultimate victory came after a decade of playing for the Dallas Mavericks.
Nowitzki, 32, was named the finals most valuable player. Here, he is seen with his MVP trophy and a well-earned bottle of champagne.
It was a long road to Sunday night's championship. For years, Nowitzki had been among the NBA's best, but had failed to win a championship. Many accused him of being "too soft." Here, he is honored in January for scoring his 20,000th point in the NBA.
When the Mavericks signed Nowitzki in 1998, he was full of talent, but short on the kind of experience necessary to succeed in the NBA. Here, the 21-year-old in early 1999.
In recent years, Nowitzki has been the undisputed leader of the Dallas Mavericks, but many thought he would never win a championship. Here, he poses for a publicity photo in 2008.
Even prior to Sunday's NBA Finals victory, Nowitzki had widely been considered the best European to ever play in the NBA. He has been selected to the All Star team 10 times.
Nowitzki changed the Mavericks from being a perennial loser to a playoff team for the last decade.
Nowitzki's playoff record, however, has been spotty. In 2003, the Mavericks lost in the first round, and they did in 2007 and 2008 as well. In 2006, the team lost in the finals to the Miami Heat.
Nowitzki was able to find success on the German national team. In the 2002 world championships, Germany took home the bronze. In the 2005 European championships, Nowitzki's team took silver.
The low point of Nowitzki's NBA career was the finals loss to the Miami Heat in 2006. His team held a 2:0 lead in the series before blowing the last four games. His reputation took a hit as a result.
The finals loss was even more painful in that it came on the heels of being named Most Valuable Player for his play during the regular season.
With Nowitzki and his teammates aging, many felt that the Dallas Mavericks' window for a championship had closed.
In 2008, Nowitzki led the German Olympic team into the stadium during the opening ceremonies in Beijing.
Last summer, as the basketball world was concentrating on higher profile players such as LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Nowitzki quietly signed a four-year contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks.
Now, he has finally won a championship. Commentators in the US have begun discussing where he ranks among the sport's all-time greats.
