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It's Nowitzki's season to power forward

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Dirk Nowitzki is not a basketball star. Not in his mind, anyway.

He does not self-promote. He doesn't shill for corporations that no doubt would love to have his endorsement. He doesn't flutter like a moth to the limelight.

"I'm not in this to be on a billboard," the big German says. "I could have done a lot of that stuff the last few years. But that's just not me."

The Mavericks open their 25th season, and Nowitzki's seventh, tonight. Hard to believe at 26 years old he's already in the top 10 of nearly every career statistical category for the franchise.

And yet, he's nowhere to be found in the national popularity ratings. Or among those whose jerseys are the hottest sellers at the NBA stores. Good looks, untold wealth, flowing blond hair and serious talent could have made him a media darling worldwide.

Nowitzki arrives at a crossroads this season. The 7-footer is not mentioned in the same sentence with Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, who are franchise icons in San Antonio and Minnesota. Has the time come for Nowitzki to join them?

The answer will not come on a TV commercial or in a marketing campaign.

"To me, that's not the important part of it," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says. "He needs to be the face of the franchise when he walks on the court. Is Dirk going to all of the sudden want to show up on Leno and Letterman? No. To Dirk's credit, he'd rather be in the gym shooting jumpers.

"We don't need an icon to market or a face of the franchise."

On that point, Cuban is right. What the Mavericks need – and what every franchise craves – is a superstar. In the last two decades, a person with one finger could count the teams that have won NBA championships without a legitimate superstar. Aside from the Detroit Pistons, it just doesn't happen.

By all rights, joining exalted status should be the next generation for Nowitzki. But he is not there yet. For all his wonderful talents – the silky jump shot, running the court like a racehorse, a conviction that's tougher than meets the eye – he is not in the same category with Garnett and Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd.

The difference between him and those franchise players is that their teams' offenses funnel through them. That has not always been the case for Nowitzki.

"Tim Duncan is the playmaker of the Spurs, not Tony Parker," says Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki's German coach who works with him during the summer. "The whole team falls almost apart without him. So if the Mavericks can establish something like that, that will help."

But the reality may be that Nowitzki simply is closer to Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'Neal and Elton Brand than the superstars. Granted, that's not bad company. Being among the top dozen players in the league is a great compliment.

But is that all there is for Nowitzki? Avery Johnson, the assistant coach who saw Duncan and David Robinson grow into quiet superstars in San Antonio, said Nowitzki's legacy will be written in the next five to seven years. This is his prime. And though he has been a reliable regular-season player, that won't get it done if Nowitzki plans on joining the elite of the game.

"If you have his skill level, what you're going to be judged on happens from April 16 to June 19," Johnson says, referring to the playoffs. "What people say about Dirk in six or eight years will be based on that."

Another test to pass

So what has to happen for Nowitzki to gain entry into the top shelf of NBA superstardom? Primarily, he must learn to initiate the offense, and that doesn't always mean scoring.

Garnett and Duncan have the ball in their hands on most every possession. Both are good passers, and giving up the ball leads to easy baskets for teammates.

Nowitzki has made defense and passing his priorities.

"To be a great all-around player, you have to be a better passer," coach Don Nelson says. "He has the ball in his hands a lot now, and it's not always to shoot. He'll be our best player. I can't make anything else happen."

Outsiders wonder whether Nowitzki is ready to be the leader of a franchise.

"He's got to be willing to want to do that," says Milwaukee coach Terry Porter, who saw Clyde Drexler accept the "franchise" role in Portland. "The problem you have sometimes is the franchise may give that title to somebody who's not ready for it yet."

One thing that won't work against Nowitzki is the fact that he's not an American. These days, the NBA is so multicultural that international lines have been blurred. You have Germans, Spaniards and Serbians who are team leaders. And remember, Duncan was born in the Virgin Islands.

As far as the Mavericks are concerned, there is no doubt that Nowitzki is capable of putting a franchise on his shoulders, even if he doesn't know it yet.

"If Dirk was in an individual sport, you might see some different characteristics," says Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations.

Next step up to him

Timing is an issue. Leaders know when the time is right to pat somebody on the back or kick them in the pants. Nowitzki has been hesitant to do either. That's been Michael Finley's job. But with Steve Nash moving to Phoenix in the off-season, now may be the time for Nowitzki to stand on his own.

"That's part of it," Cuban says. "He doesn't need any other player to be a crutch. He doesn't need a sidekick."

And Nowitzki has motivation on his side. Last season was the first time in his career that his production fell off, although it was not completely his fault. The Mavericks were a dysfunctional unit that never clicked, and Nowitzki played out of position much of the time.

This season, with the addition of center Erick Dampier, Nowitzki figures to be back at power forward exclusively. That will help him in his mission to take the next step.

"We'll see, won't we?" Nowitzki says. "If my number is called, I'm here. But we still have a lot of options on this team. We don't just have one or two guys. I don't think my style will change at all. I'm not going to be the locker room rah-rah guy.

"It's great if we're winning and I'm in the background, helping us win games. I'm not a front-runner."

Therein lies the problem. Nowitzki knows it all too well. An NBA player can't become truly great without being comfortable on the firing line. They need an edge, a willingness to lead and, maybe, just a little bit of nastiness.

"Whatever I need to do, I'm willing to do it," he says. "If I have to be a little more emotional, that's fine. I'll try. I'm not great at that. But I'll give it my best.

"Potentially, there is another level for me. But I don't see myself as a complete player yet. I'm still a student. I'm still learning."

Which is good. But the time has come for those lessons to translate into a word that so far has been foreign to Nowitzki: superstardom.