The decision for the NBA
On June 16, 2023, Dirk Nowitzki was a guest at the Top Arbeitgeber Congress in Mainz.
I had the honor of creating a painting for Nowitzki as a guest gift.
Since Nowitzki did his compulsory military service in Mainz until June 1998, I wanted to bring together all his sporting successes from 1998 in the painting.
And here is the story of June 24, 1998:
The decision for the NBA
The day before the draft, Dirk Nowitzki is not in an interview marathon in Vancouver, Canada, where the draft will take place on June 24, 1998.
Because Nowitzki is not even sure if he will be drafted by an NBA team, he stays home and goes through another training session with Holger Geschwindner.
There are numerous offers from major US colleges and top European clubs on the table at this point.
Rumors speak of a next stop at Kinder Bologna, who just won the European Cup.
But in the night, the call finally comes from Donnie Nelson.
The Mavericks trade their 6th pick Robert Traylor for the Milwaukee Bucks' 9th pick, Dirk Nowitzki.
At the 10th spot, the Boston Celtics would have also already expressed interest in Nowitzki.
In addition, the Mavs are sending Pat Garrity to Phoenix for Steve Nash.
A golden future for the Mavericks is in store and the two Nelsons arguably did one of the best scouting jobs in NBA history on draft day.
In order to convince Dirk Nowitzki of a direct move to the best basketball league in the world, Don and Donnie Nelson fly to Würzburg after the draft and meet Nowitzki's family.
Dirk and Holger also fly to Texas to meet Dallas and his future teammates Steve Nash and Michael Finley.
His decision is made.
But then the lockout happens and Dirk Nowitzki returns to the Bundesliga in Germany.
He only plays 16 games (out of a total of 26), but that is enough for him to be named MVP at the end of the main round with 22.9 points and 8.4 rebounds.
