Dirk Nowitzki Thinks He Would Have Enjoyed Staying With The Milwaukee Bucks

Dirk Nowitzki spoke in a recent interview with Thanasis Antetokounmpo for his podcast. Nowitzki noted that the Bucks drafted him with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, but traded him on draft day to the Dallas Mavericks . While he has no regrets, Nowitzki feels he would have liked playing in Milwaukee, citing their rich German culture and heritage as one of the reasons.

"They [Bucks] drafted me at number nine. They wanted Tractor Traylor, a really good college player at Michigan at the time. And so, they did a swap on draft day, but I didn't go to the draft because I didn't know whether I was going to get drafted or not...  I was in Germany."

"I wasn't sure, (I thought) maybe I'll play in Europe more, I never committed to going to the NBA. It was a very high risk for teams to take me at a lottery pick, and then I say 'Oh, I'm going to Barcelona' or whatever... I get a call that night saying 'Milwaukee drafted you and traded you to Dallas'..."

"One or two days, Don Nelson was the coach at the time, and he showed up in my hometown... Flew me back to Dallas, and I met Steve Nash, Michael Finley, and some of the guys that were there. I loved it, and I said 'I'm going to do it'."

"It was dicey there for a second, but I think Milwaukee would have been great... Lot of bratwurst, it would have been fun. Being in Dallas, I enjoyed my time. It’s my new home. I still live there. It ended up working out for me. But I think Milwaukee would have been fun."

(17:26 onward)

While Dirk never ended up playing for the Bucks, it would have been interesting to see him with the franchise. Pairing Dirk with Ray Allen, whom the franchise had drafted just two years prior, would have given them one of the better young pairings in an Eastern Conference that had been blown wide open after the dismantling of the Chicago Bulls in 1998.

Dirk Nowitzki: Mavericks Almost Drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo

In the same interview, Dirk Nowitzki told the story of how he was in the draft room with the Mavericks during the 2013 NBA Draft. The Mavericks had the 13th pick in the draft that year, and one of the GMs recommended drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo . At the time, Dirk didn't understand why, pointing out Giannis' slender frame.

"It's actually a funny story. I was in the draft room when Giannis was in the draft. So, we had a pretty high pick because we didn't have a great season, and one of our GMs is like, 'We need to draft Giannis.'"

"He puts on the video, and it was this grainy footage from the second division in Greece. I'm like, 'What? This kid is this skinny.' I'm like, 'That is hilarious'. That just shows how far the game has come and the scouts seeing everybody now, and so, yeah, he's been an incredible talent in our league."

(30:25 onward)

While the Bucks may have regretted giving up Dirk Nowitzki, they will be glad that in a way, that move led them to drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo about 15 years later. Giannis has established himself as one of the greatest players in Bucks history, bringing the franchise a championship for the first time since 1971.

Giannis is far from done, as he and the Milwaukee Bucks look to run it back next season with him and Damian Lillard. The Eastern Conference is more stacked than ever, and the Bucks will have to contend against the reigning champion Celtics, the Knicks, and the 76ers.

Related: Dirk Nowitzki Names Michael Jordan, LeBron James, And Kevin Durant On His Dream 3x3 Lineup

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