page_title: Dirk Nowitzki
section_title: 2007–08 season
hierarchical_section_title: Dirk Nowitzki / Dallas Mavericks (1998–2019) / Franchise player (2004–2010) / 2007–08 season
caption_attribution_description: English: w:Dirk Nowitzki playing with the w:Dallas Mavericks
context_page_description: Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German retired professional basketball player. An alumnus of the DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was chosen as the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played his entire 21-year National Basketball Association career.
  Listed at 7 ft 0 in, Nowitzki is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and he is considered by many to be the greatest European player of all time. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 15 NBA playoff appearances, including the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2006 and its only NBA championship in 2011. Known for his scoring ability, versatility, accurate outside shooting, and trademark fadeaway jump shot, Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2007 and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2011.
  Nowitzki is the only player ever to play for a single NBA franchise for 21 seasons. He is a 14-time All-Star, a 12-time All-NBA Team member, the first European player to start in an All-Star Game, and the first European player to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
context_section_description: The 2007–08 campaign saw another first-round playoff exit for Nowitzki and the Mavericks. Despite a mid-season trade that brought veteran NBA All-Star Jason Kidd to Dallas, the Mavericks finished seventh in a highly competitive Western Conference. Nowitzki averaged 23.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a career-high 3.5 assists for the season. In the playoffs, they faced rising star Chris Paul's New Orleans Hornets, and were eliminated in five games. The playoff loss led to the firing of Avery Johnson as head coach and the eventual hiring of Rick Carlisle. The few positive highlights that season for Nowitzki were his first career triple-double against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 6, 2008, with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists, and on March 8, 2008 (34 points against the New Jersey Nets), when he surpassed Rolando Blackman with his 16,644th point to become the Mavericks' all-time career points leader.
caption: Nowitzki shoots his fade-away jump shot in 2008.
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