The 1998–99 NBA season was the Mavericks' 19th season in the NBA, in the offseason, the Mavericks traded their top draft pick Robert Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks for which rookie, a German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and considered to be one of the greatest power forwards of all time?
Dirk Werner Nowitzki
Title: 1994–95 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Passage: The 1994–95 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 6th season in the National Basketball Association.  During the offseason, the Timberwolves acquired Sean Rooks from the Dallas Mavericks.  Under new head coach Bill Blair, the Timberwolves continued to struggle losing 13 of their first 14 games, as Michael Williams missed all but one game of the season due to a left heel injury.  Midway through the season, top draft pick Donyell Marshall was traded to the Golden State Warriors for Tom Gugliotta.  Despite a stellar season from second-year star Isaiah Rider leading the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game, the Timberwolves lost nine of their final ten games.  They finished last place in the Midwest Division with a 21–61 record, setting a dubious record in becoming the first team ever to lose 60 or more games in four consecutive seasons.
Title: 1998–99 Milwaukee Bucks season
Passage: The 1998–99 NBA season was the Bucks' 31st season in the National Basketball Association.  After a four-month lockout, the Bucks hired head coach George Karl, who previously coached the Seattle SuperSonics, traded their top draft pick Dirk Nowitzki to the Dallas Mavericks for rookie Robert Traylor, and signed free agents Dell Curry and Vinny Del Negro.  The Bucks transition continued at midseason trading Terrell Brandon to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and acquiring Sam Cassell and Chris Gatling from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Elliot Perry in a three-team trade.  In another trade, they dealt Tyrone Hill to the Philadelphia 76ers for second-year forward Tim Thomas and Scott Williams, while signing free agent Haywoode Workman.  Under Karl, the Bucks played above .500 for the entire season as they finally entered the playoffs after a seven-year playoff drought, finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 28–22 record.
Title: Dirk Nowitzki
Passage: Dirk Werner Nowitzki (] ) (born June 19, 1978) is a German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).  An alumnus of Röntgen Gymnasium and the DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was chosen as the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has played since.  Listed at 7 ft , Nowitzki is considered to be one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
Title: Jamaal Magloire
Passage: Jamaal Dane Magloire (born May 21, 1978) is a Canadian retired professional basketball player.  He played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, Portland Trail Blazers, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors.  The 6 ft , 265 lb center was selected out of the University of Kentucky by the Charlotte Hornets, with the 19th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, after withdrawing his name from the previous draft.  He was voted into the NBA All-Star Game in 2004, becoming only the second Canadian All-Star in NBA history.
Title: 2003–04 Milwaukee Bucks season
Passage: The 2003–04 NBA season was the Bucks' 36th season in the National Basketball Association.  During the offseason, the Bucks acquired Joe Smith from the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Under new head coach Terry Porter, the Bucks played around .500 for most of the first half of the season.  At midseason, the team traded Tim Thomas to the New York Knicks for Keith Van Horn.  The young Bucks managed to play well as Michael Redd, who continued to show improvement had a breakout season averaging 21.7 points per game, while being selected for the 2004 NBA All-Star Game.  However, after holding a 33–27 record as of March 3, the Bucks lost eight of their next nine games, but still managed to make the playoffs despite finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 41–41 record.  Top draft pick T.J. Ford made the All-Second Rookie Team.  However, the Bucks did not make it out of the first round once again, losing to the eventual champions, the Detroit Pistons, in five games.
Title: 2000–01 Denver Nuggets season
Passage: The 2000–01 NBA season was the Nuggets' 25th season in the National Basketball Association, and 34th season as a franchise.  During the offseason, the Nuggets acquired Calbert Cheaney and former Nuggets guard Robert Pack from the Boston Celtics, who acquired Pack from the Dallas Mavericks, while acquiring Voshon Lenard from the Miami Heat.  However, Cheaney only played just nine games due to a strained left hamstring.  At midseason, the Nuggets traded Keon Clark to the Toronto Raptors for Kevin Willis.  Antonio McDyess finally realized his potential averaging 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, while being selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game.  The Nuggets were a playoff contender posting a record of 26–18 as of January 27.  However, they faded in February and March winning just nine of 28 games as they missed the playoffs with a 40–42 record, sixth in the Midwest Division.  Following the season, Willis was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, who then sent him back to the Houston Rockets, and Pack was released.
Title: 2010–11 Dallas Mavericks season
Passage: The 2010–11 Dallas Mavericks season was the 31st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  The Mavericks won the NBA Championship after defeating the Miami Heat in 6 games in the 2011 NBA Finals.  The Mavs playoff run came with a 6-game first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, a series in which the Mavericks blew a 23-point lead in Game 4, but still won the series.  In the conference semi-finals, the Mavericks run was motivated with a sweep of the champions of the previous two seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers.  The series against the Lakers also became the birth of the Mavericks Royal Blue-Out games in the AAC, with almost all fans wearing T-shirts that read "The Time is Now".  In the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mavericks won the last 3 games winning by 4th quarter comebacks, to win their second Western Conference Championship, and a trip to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006, with a rematch against the Heat.  Following a disappointing Game 1, the Mavericks pulled the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history in Game 2 to even the series at 1 game each.  After a loss in Game 3, the Mavericks won the last two games in Dallas to take a 3–2 series lead heading to Game 6 in Miami.  The Mavericks won their first NBA Championship in Game 6 to clinch the first major sports championship in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since the Dallas Stars in 1999, and the first title in Mavericks franchise history.  The Mavericks are the third team to win an NBA title in the state of Texas, joining the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs.  The Mavericks are also the third team to win a major sports championship in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, joining the Dallas Cowboys' five Super Bowl titles and the Dallas Stars' only Stanley Cup, leaving the Texas Rangers as the only team to not win a major sports title in the area, as they have not won the World Series.  The Mavericks championship parade was held on June 16, 2011 in downtown Dallas.
Title: 1996–97 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Passage: The 1996–97 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 8th season in the National Basketball Association.  In the 1996 NBA draft, the Timberwolves selected Connecticut shooting guard Ray Allen with the fifth pick, but soon traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks for rookie point guard Stephon Marbury out of Georgia Tech.  Offseason acquisitions included acquiring James Robinson from the Portland Trail Blazers, and Cherokee Parks from the Dallas Mavericks, while signing free agents Dean Garrett and Chris Carr.  The addition of Marbury made a positive effect on the entire team, as second-year star Kevin Garnett and Tom Gugliotta became the first Wolves to be selected to the All-Star team, both being selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.
Title: 1998–99 Dallas Mavericks season
Passage: The 1998–99 NBA season was the Mavericks' 19th season in the National Basketball Association.  In the offseason, the Mavericks acquired point guard Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns, traded their top draft pick Robert Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks for rookie Dirk Nowitzki, signed free agent Gary Trent and released Khalid Reeves to free agency.  In a season shortened by a four-month lockout, the young Mavericks still struggled losing eight of their first nine games, but began to show promise by posting their first winning record at home in ten years at 15–10.  However, with Cedric Ceballos only playing just 13 games due to a wrist injury, they were still a mile away from the playoffs as they finished fifth in the Midwest Division with a 19–31 record.  Michael Finley led the team averaging 20.2 points per game.  Following the season, A.C. Green was traded back to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Samaki Walker signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs.
Title: 2004–05 Dallas Mavericks season
Passage: The 2004–05 NBA season was the Mavericks' 25th season in the National Basketball Association.  During the offseason, the Mavericks acquired Jason Terry from the Atlanta Hawks, and Jerry Stackhouse along with rookie Devin Harris from the Washington Wizards.  The Mavericks got off to a fast start winning seven of their first eight games, holding a 35–16 record before the All-Star break.  At midseason, the team acquired Keith Van Horn from the Milwaukee Bucks.  However, on March 19, head coach Don Nelson stepped down and former Maverick Avery Johnson took over Nelson's duties for the remainder of the season.  Under Johnson, the Mavericks won their final nine games of the season, finishing second in the Southwest Division with a 58–24 record, good for fourth place in the Western Conference.  Dirk Nowitzki was selected for the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.
1998–99 Dallas Mavericks season Dirk Nowitzki