News / Sports
Dirk Nowitzki Becomes First European to Win NBA MVP Award
Dirk Nowitzki was officially announced as the MVP of the NBA on Tuesday marking the first time that a European-born player to receive the honor.
Nowitzki finished the year averaging 24.6 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. The german born Nowitzki was the only player in the NBA to hit at least 50 percent of his shots, 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 90 percent from the foul-line and while his Dallas Mavericks were stunned in the first round, he led his team to a 67-15 regular season record, the 67 wind are sixth most in NBA history.
The seven-footer received 83 of the 129 first-place votes and totaled 1,138 points from the voters while former teammate and current leader of the Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash, finished second with 1, 013 points after collecting 44 first-place votes.
Nowitzki actually snapped Nash’s two-year hold on the MVP trophy.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant finished a distant third in the voting with Tim Duncan and LeBron James rounding out the top five.
