Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award winners: Dallas Mavericks
Dirk Nowitzki won the Kia MVP for the 2006-07 regular season.
The Dallas Mavericks have had a bevy of elite players take the floor for the franchise during their history. However, only one of them has won a regular-season MVP award. Let’s highlight that MVP campaign from Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki landed with the Mavericks in a draft-night trade with the Bucks in 1998. He didn’t play much during his rookie season, logging just 20 minutes per game. He became a regular starter for the Mavericks in 1999-00, averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Nowitzki averaged 21.8 points per game in 2000-01, which began a streak of 12 straight seasons in which he averaged at least 21.0 points per game. He made his first All-Star team in 2001-02 and finished eighth in MVP voting that season. He was a regular in the MVP voting early in his career, finishing as high as third for the award in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Nowitzki finally won the MVP in 2006-07, averaging 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He shot 50.2% from the field that season, which ended up being the second-highest mark of his career. His average of 3.4 assists was the second-highest mark of his career. Another impressive stat from that season was that he shot 41.6% from behind the arc.
With Nowitzki thriving during the 2006-07 season, the Mavericks finished with a 67-15 record. However, they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in six games by the Warriors.
Nowitzki would go on to play his entire career with the Mavericks. Across 21 seasons, he made 14 All-Star teams and finished inside the top 10 in MVP voting eight times. He was named first team All-NBA four times and second team All-NBA five times.
Despite the Mavericks’ disappointing playoff run in 2006-07, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the championship in 2011. During that 21-game playoff run, Nowitzki averaged 27.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and was named Finals MVP.
Across 1,522 regular-season games, Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 3-pointers. He shot 47.1% from the field and 38.0% from behind the arc. He was even more productive in the playoffs, averaging 25.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists across 145 games. With a long list of impressive career accomplishments, Nowitzki was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.
