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Most folks remember the disturbing cereal-bowl haircut that Dirk Nowitzki showed up with.

And who could forget how defensively challenged the 7-footer was. He practically needed a legal name change from Irk – no D.

But perhaps the most memorable thing from Nowitzki's formative years in the NBA was that ridiculously unfair comparison to Larry Bird. Linking a lanky, unknown German to Larry Legend? It was pure folly at the time.

All these years later, as Nowitzki enters his second decade with the Dallas Mavericks, even Bird remembers those who used the term "Bird-like skills" to describe Dirk.

"Anytime you have the height and you're able to shoot the ball, there will always be comparisons," Bird says. "I remember when I first came in, there was always Rick Barry. I always thought that was pretty cool because I like Rick Barry.

"With Dirk, he's 7-foot and he can shoot the ball like I did. You don't see guys his size doing that. It's like Magic Johnson at 6-9 playing point guard. It's just something you don't really believe. I mean, Dirk's taller than I am. And to be able to handle it and shoot it like he does is pretty spectacular."

If that sounds like Bird is saying those comparisons about Nowitzki weren't so outrageous, you're catching the right drift.

OK, there's that little detail about championships, which Bird and Magic had in bulk. But Nowitzki has become one of the NBA's greatest players, deserving of inclusion with some of those other greats. Nowitzki has even become a one-name wonder. If you say Dirk, everybody knows who you're talking about.

"They used to say that Dirk might be the next Larry Bird, and everybody laughed," says Del Harris, who was a Mavericks' assistant coach for virtually all of Nowitzki's first 10 seasons. "Well, he's not. He's different than Larry Bird. But I put him in the same classification as Moses [Malone], Magic and Kobe and Shaq and these other great players I coached, so I think those people comparing him to Bird weren't that far off.

"But [Bird] having Kevin McHale, Chief [Robert Parish] and Dennis Johnson didn't hurt, either."

Nowitzki had that sort of Hall of Fame helper on his side a few years ago. His name was Steve Nash.

Now, the 7-footer has a new sidekick at point guard, one with whom he's had sufficient time to mesh. Jason Kidd is the new-age Nash.
Journey to the top

Nowitzki has come a long way since the start. His haircut thankfully changed many times since that regrettable look he had as a teenager. He also learned to play a little defense along the way.

One thing he never lost or changed, however, was that sweet shooting stroke.

And he has worked his ever-loving tail off ever since he got here.

"I had a lot of doubters at the beginning coming from Germany – a 7-foot jump shooter, basically," Nowitzki says. "Nobody really thought I could do it. So the last 10 years were an amazing ride – the Finals, I won the MVP, which to me is still really unbelievable. It's been great.

"But to compare it to Larry? That's tough. ... The game he had, the skills he had, were unbelievable."

Nowitzki remains one of the few players that Donnie Nelson ever took the ultimate risk for. When the time came to draft in 1998, Nelson assured ownership at the time that Nowitzki was a can't-miss prospect.

And fortune shined on the Mavericks. The team Nowitzki was on for the Nike Hoop Summit in San Antonio used Dallas as a training site for a week. Nelson was an assistant coach for the team.

"When we saw him at the time, we thought the very low end would be that he'd have a solid, 10-year pro career, maybe like a better Keith Van Horn," Nelson said. "But on the high side, we thought he could put a truly unique stamp on that position, really change the way power forwards were viewed."
Putting in the work

Nowitzki has evolved through the years. And there was plenty of room for improvement. He shot 40 percent his rookie year and barely 20 percent from 3-point range. He even had to change his name, remember? He was a European player in a made-in-America kind of market. The only thing Dallas loves more than American heroes are Texas heroes.

Beyond the comparisons to Bird, Harris believes another one might be just as valid with regard to Nowitzki.

"Everybody had heard about him or seen him, but he was just a skinny kid with a jump shot," says Harris. "But he had a great work ethic. His growth was similar to what I saw when I was in Milwaukee and watched No. 23 develop south of us in Chicago, because while [Michael] Jordan was much more heralded and was much more advanced, nonetheless, he had holes in his game as a young player. You could take advantage of some of those weaknesses he had. But each year as he went forward, those weaknesses disappeared and ultimately some of those became strengths of his.

"To a certain extent, this is what happened with Dirk. He was called Irk Nowitzki because there was no D, yet he developed into one of our top three defenders. He's an excellent team defender. He's no longer just a tall guy with a jumper. He can beat you every way there is to beat you – inside, outside, driving, passing, posting."

That doesn't mean Harris is putting Nowitzki in Jordan's class. It only means that he's followed in the path of players such as Jordan and other greats. They each had holes in their games early in their careers. Systematically, they erased those holes.

Nowitzki and Kidd will be asked to lead these Mavericks wherever it is that they are to go. If they are championship contenders, it will be because of this pair. They'll need help, of course. Josh Howard, Jason Terry and others will have to be good.

But Nowitzki has to be great. As does Kidd.

Nowitzki has no problem with that. In fact, he believes he's learned from so many experiences in his career, even those comparisons to Bird.

"I thought it was a little unfair at the beginning to be compared to one of the top three legends of the game," he says. "I always thought you don't want to be compared. You want to go your own way and build your own reputation.

"And I still think my best years are in front of me."

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