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Dirk Nowitzki

30 for 30K: Celebrating Dirk Nowitzki's 30,000 points with 30 facts

AJ Neuharth-Keusch
USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center.  Milwaukee won 96-95.

When the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, Dirk Nowitzki cemented his name in the NBA record books.

As if it weren't already.

Nowitzki, now in his 19th season, needed just 20 points to reach 30,000 for his career — an elite club that only has five members: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He reached the milestone early in the second quarter on the same fadeaway jumpshot that he's torched opponents with for the past two decades.

To celebrate what will go down as one of Nowitzki's greatest accomplishments, we have 30 facts you might not know about the future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

1. He was born in Würzburg, Germany on June 19, 1978.

2. He served a mandatory stint with the German military before entering the NBA draft.

3. He was selected by Milwaukee with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, but his draft rights were traded to the Mavericks for the draft rights to Robert "Tractor" Traylor.

4. He knows how to play the guitar, piano and saxophone, but gave up the latter when he had a tooth knocked out during a game.

5. He turned heads of NBA coaches and scouts at the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit when he recorded 33 points, 13 rebounds and three steals against a team that featured Al Harrington, Stromile Swift, Quentin Richardson and Rashard Lewis.

6. He comes from an athletic family. His father, Joerg Nowitzki, played handball and his mother, Helga Nowitzki, played basketball.

7. Nowitzki is extremely active off the court. In addition to creating the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, he has donated to Jonathan's Place, a home for abused children; traveled to South Africa for the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program; participated in programs through the Make-A-Wish Foundation; donated presents and visited hospitalized children during holidays; and served as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dallas.

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8. In 2000-01, he became just the second player in NBA history to record over 100 three-pointers and 100 blocks in a single season.

9. He was named the German ambassador for UNICEF in 2013.

10. Nowitzki, who grew up playing tennis, hosted the Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic this September. The event featured tennis legend Andy Roddick and actor Ben Stiller.

11. In 2007, he became the first European-born player to win NBA MVP.

12. He's ambidextrous.

13. The Mavericks have been to the playoffs 15 times since Nowitzki was drafted.

14. He recorded his first career triple-double (29 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) in 2008 against the Bucks.

15. He and his wife, Jessica, have three children. Their third, a son who they named Morris, was born this November.

16. Nowitzki sang We Are the Champions at the Mavericks' victory parade after winning the 2011 NBA championship.

17. If Nowitzki returns for the 2017-18 season, he will join Kobe Bryant as the only players to spend 20 seasons with one team.

18. In 2006, he became the tallest player to win the Three-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend.

19. He has been selected to 13 All-Star Games, which is tied for the fourth-most in NBA history.

20. He has played in 1,377 regular season games — the 11th-most in NBA history.

21. He ranks seventh on the all-time leaderboard for minutes played with 48,224.

GALLERY: DIRK NOWITZKI THROUGH THE YEARS

22. In 2001, just his third season in the league, Nowitzki became the first Mavericks player to be named to an All-NBA team. He now has 12 All-NBA selections.

23. He has career averages of 21.8 points (on 47.3% shooting), 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

24. He sang the David Hasselhoff song, Looking for Freedom, on German TV in 2014.

25. He made 82 consecutive free throws in the 2010-11 season.

26. He is the Mavericks' all-time leader in points, games and minutes played, rebounds, field goals made and attempted, three-pointers made and attempted, among other categories.

27. Playing for Germany, Nowitzki competed against the United States in the preliminary round of the 2008 Olympics. He scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but Team USA dominated, 106-57.

Kobe Bryant shakes hands with Dirk Nowitzki before a preliminary round game during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

28. He joined the NBA's elite 50-40-90 club during his 2006-07 MVP season, shooting 50.2% from the field, 41.6% from three and 90.4% from the free throw line.

29. Nowitzki has only played for three head coaches during his NBA career: Don Nelson, Avery Johnson and Rick Carlisle.

30. Nowitzki led the Mavericks in scoring for 14 straight seasons, from 2000-01 to 2013-14. In the 2014-15 season, Monta Ellis averaged 18.9 to his 17.3.

Follow AJ Neuharth-Keusch on Twitter @tweetAJNK

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