Former Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki donates $100,000 to coronavirus relief efforts

The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, founded and managed by the former Dallas Mavericks superstar of the same name, donated $100,000 to the North Texas Food Bank. It will be used to purchase 14,000 food boxes that will go to people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Nowitzki is also cooking up other efforts with former teammates and Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank star, Mark Cuban, to help people affected by the coronavirus and the NBA suspension. Mark Cuban is also the first team owner who agreed to pay the salaries of arena workers indefinitely in the wake of the suspension.

Nowitzki retired from the NBA last season, after spending 21 years in the league. He started as a rookie in the 1996-1997 season, the year his replacement Luka Doncic was born. Nowitzki spent all 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. The German-born player regards Dallas as his new home, and is active in the community.

According to Clutchpoints.com, Nowitzki is the Mavericks' best player in history, at least for now. He has one regular season MVP award in 2007, a finals MVP in 2011, and is a 14-time All-Star. He led the Mavericks to its first-ever championship against the LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat. That championship also gave one of the most prolific NBA players, Jason Kidd, a well-deserved ring.

In his career as a player, he averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He will always be remembered as a 7'0" player that can consistently shoot 3-pointers. In his last year as an NBA player, Nowitzki was able to play with the future of the Mavs, Slovenian rookie Luka Doncic. This season, Doncic is averaging 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists. That is better than Nowitzki's 2007 MVP averages of 24.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and their 2011 championship year averages of 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.

Nowitzki also led the German national basketball team to a bronze medal in 2002 and a silver medal in Eurobasket 2005. He was the MVP in both tournaments and regarded as the best European basketball player of all time, at least for now.

His donation comes at a crucial point where coronavirus cases in the United States are quickly rising. The pandemic has caused widespread financial strain in the country and the rest of the world.