Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki didn't grow up with a basketball in his hands. Dirk was born in Wurzburg, Germany, where soccer is the most popular sport. But as a teenager, Dirk discovered that he was a natural basketball player. After being selected in the 1998 NBA draft, the powerful 7'0" forward quickly proved that he is more than just a tall player. In 2011 Dirk was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA Finals as Dallas beat the Miami Heat to become world champions. Learn more about Dirk's unusual journey to the top of the basketball world.

Presents the life and career of the basketball star, from his childhood in Germany to his first-round selection in the NBA draft and his successful career with the Dallas Mavericks.

Inside Reading Second Edition is a five-level academic reading series that develops students’ reading skills and teaches key academic vocabulary from the Academic Word List.

LeBron James was a famous athlete as a teenager. His high school basketball games often aired on national TV. When LeBron started playing for his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he showed the world that he could be one of the all-time greats. After moving on to the Miami Heat, LeBron has won two NBA championships and was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player both times. Learn more about LeBron's incredible journey.

Yao Ming is a force on the basketball court. The center, born in Shanghai, China, towers over opponents at 7-foot-6. His strength, agility, and hard work have made him one of the most dominant big men in the NBA today. After leading his Chinese team to a championship in 2002, Yao was the top pick of the NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. His arrival in the United States has helped to break down cultural barriers and has made Yao one of the most recognized athletes in the world.

A journey into the mindset of a historic basketball superstar, and the importance of his landmark career. The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history. The Dallas Maverick’s legend revolutionized the sport, redefining the role of the big man in the modern game. Dirk moved differently: flexible and fast, confident and in control. He thought differently, too. On the court, his shots were masterful—none more venerated than his signature one-legged flamingo fadeaway, a move that lives on in the repertoire of today’s most skilled NBA players. How did this lanky kid from the German suburbs become an all-time top ten scorer and NBA champion? How can a superstar stay so humble? Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger spent over seven years traveling with Nowitzki. He witnessed Dirk’s summer workouts, involving fingertip pushups and the study of the physics, and spent days discussing literature and philosophy with Holger Geschwindner, Dirk’s enigmatic mentor and coach. Watching Nowitzki in empty gyms and in packed arenas with 30,000 fans, Pletzinger began to understand how Dirk and Holger’s philosophical insights on performance, creativity, and freedom enabled his success and longevity. The Great Nowitzki tells Dirk’s dramatic story like never before. Pletzinger describes Dirk’s youth in small-town Germany, follows the steep learning curve of Dirk’s early seasons, the devastating Finals loss to the Miami Heat, and the triumphant championship five years later. Traveling with Dirk in his final seasons, Pletzinger immerses himself in the community of people impacted by Nowitzki’s game, interviewing everyone from average fans in Dallas and security guards at the arena to front office executives and Hall of Fame teammates, who reflect on what Dirk’s career means to the next generation of ballplayers. And to the game itself. A masterpiece of sports writing that reads like a novel, The Great Nowitzki brims with a fan’s passion. Pletzinger shows how strongly basketball influences our imagination and the extraordinary journey an icon like Dirk Nowitzki must take to reach the pinnacle of the game.