Nowitzki Nears 30,000 Points As Mavs Host Lakers
By: Josh Clark
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Mavericks are getting younger before our very eyes. Ten of their 15 players are under 27-years-old.
With a nucleus of Harrison Barnes (24), Seth Curry (26) and Nerlens Noel (22), fans of the franchise are suddenly optimistic that the team is headed in the right direction.
Not to be lost in the growing excitement of young talent is an achievement by the man responsible for turning this franchise's fortunes around.
On a Tuesday night in March, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki could join Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlin as the only players to ever score 30,000 points. The 39-year-old can also become only the second player to score that many points with just one franchise. The other... is Bryant, of course.
The former regular season and finals MVP sits just 20 points shy of 30K, meaning that he could easily reach the feat against the Los Angles Lakers at the American Airlines Center tonight.
The good thing for Nowitzki is that he'll be under no pressure to reach the mark in front of the home crowd since the Mavericks play their next three games in Dallas.
The Mavs are already preparing for Nowitzki's historic accomplishment as they are handing out 30K t-shirts to the fans attending tonight's game. Owner Mark Cuban even says that the team is making more tickets available for purchase for tonight and Friday's game against Brooklyn.
So as the excitement continues over the younger players and the future of the franchise, here's to tonight... all of our eyes will once again be on you #41.