DIRK NOWITZKI

German basketball is having a great summer.

Fans waved a German flag and chanted Dirk Nowitzki’s name when he walked the red carpet into Symphony Hall for the Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.

Gregg Popovich didn't want to be inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame until the players that helped his teams win NBA championships had already gone in.

There are very specific rules that NBA teams must follow right now when it comes to mentioning the name of 7-foot-3 French star Victor Wembanyama.

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem is toward the end of what has been a 20-year NBA career.

Gregg Popovich, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade and Becky Hammon are the headliners of the 2023 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.

Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker are all one step closer to basketball immortality.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 of his 26 points in a huge third quarter for Dallas and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-115.

The Dallas Mavericks have honored retired star Dirk Nowitzki by unveiling his statue outside the arena before a Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors just a few days ago.

The Dallas Mavericks are buying time to get Luka Doncic involved in their first-round series against Utah after winning Game 2 at home without their star.

LeBron James highlight the 2010s all-decade team for the NBA, as voted on by AP Sports staffers directly engaged with the NBA At 75 season-long series.

Antawn Jamison knows what it's like to play basketball with Michael Jordan in a pickup game while in college — and what it's like to go up against MJ in the NBA, too.

Michael Jordan gave way to LeBron James in the NBA of the 2000s, just as traditional forms of communication began to yield to the birth and growth of new media.

Karl-Anthony Towns gave big men everywhere something to shoot for.

Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks celebrated before a ceremony to retire Dirk Nowitzki’s number by beating cold-shooting Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 99-82 on Wednesday night.

The Dallas Mavericks have retired the No. 41 of franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki.

For the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, 75 players weren’t enough.

Adam Silver, the basketball fan, would prefer to see Kyrie Irving on the court again with the Brooklyn Nets as soon as possible.

Luka Doncic has signed the richest contract in the history of the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic is set to sign a $207 million supermax extension with the Dallas Mavericks.

Jason Kidd is coming back to Dallas again, this time to replace the coach he won a championship with as the point guard of the Mavericks 10 years ago.

Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson, instrumental in the club’s acquisitions of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic, is leaving the organization after 24 seasons.

Nikola Jokic was revealed Tuesday as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for 2020-21, making him by far the lowest draft pick ever to win the award.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, Paul George added 29 and the Los Angeles Clippers spoiled Luka Doncic’s home playoff debut, beating the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 to get back in the first-round playoff series.

Luka Doncic scored 24 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-109 to finish a season sweep.

Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis (6) shoots against Brooklyn Nets forward Jeff Green (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in New York. Luka Doncic scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 18 in his return from injury and the Mavericks snapped the Nets' eight-game run with a 115-98 victory Saturday night. James Harden had 29 points for the Nets, but only four after halftime while playing as Brooklyn's solo superstar with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sidelined. I think it was way better.”Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left hamstring strain and Irving rested his surgically repaired right shoulder. It's the second game Irving has sat out to rest the shoulder, which limited him to 20 games last season.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) goes for a layup in front of Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis (6) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. Lillard hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute after a big Dallas rally, and the Trail Blazers held off Doncic and the Mavericks for a 121-118 victory Sunday night. Lillard connected on the go-ahead 3 after Doncic assisted on a tying 3-pointer from Dorian Finney-Smith after the Mavericks trailed by 13 midway through the fourth quarter. Mavericks: Doncic shared the previous club record of 13 straight games with at least 25 points with Mark Aguirre (1983-84) and Dirk Nowitzki (2005-06). The Mavericks and Pistons met just once during the coronavirus-interrupted season, with Dallas winning in Mexico City behind 41 points from Doncic.

Doncic scored a career-high 46 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 36 and the Mavericks overcame Williamson's career-best 36 points in a 143-130 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. The Mavericks matched their season best with a fourth consecutive victory and beat the Pelicans for the fifth straight time. The Pelicans gave up a franchise-record 25 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. Mavericks: Dallas finished above 50% shooting for the third consecutive game while improving to 7-0 when scoring at least 120 points. MORE HISTORY FOR DONCICDoncic tied a franchise record shared by Mark Aguirre (1983-84) and Dirk Nowitzki (2005-06) with his 13th consecutive game of at least 25 points.

The case number reported Tuesday is the lowest since India had 35,065 newly confirmed infections on July 17. Those counties have a daily average of at least 25 new virus cases per 100,000 residents. The seven-day average for daily COVID-19 deaths has also been climbing from 12 to 22 over the past 10 days. WHO’s emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan noted that 46% of all global COVID-19 cases last week were reported in Europe. ___ROME — Italy registered slightly more than 17,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday.

Draisaitl has won the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the NHL in scoring. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)EDMONTON, AB – The Stanley Cup Final is in Edmonton, and Oilers star Leon Draisaitl made history Monday night. Draisaitl became the first German player to win the Hart Trophy as MVP after leading the league in scoring with 110 points in 71 games. Draisaitl is the second Oilers player to win the Hart in the past four years following Connor McDavid, who is widely considered the best hockey player in the world. Like Draisaitl, Makar was (virtually) presented the award by Wayne Gretkzy on an awards show with an Oilers flare.

For the first time since 1990, the Dallas Mavericks are going to the playoffs without Dirk Nowitzki on the roster. The German great retired after last season, officially passing the torch as leader of the Mavs to Doncic the Slovene who nearly averaged a 30-point triple-double in just his second NBA season. So, no, he hasnt seen what the NBA playoffs are like. Behind Doncic, they only assembled the greatest year in NBA history in terms of offensive efficiency. He can make those incredible plays.And now Doncic gets the chance to make those plays on the NBAs best stage: The playoffs.