Dallas Mavericks: Charles Barkley Reveals How He Tried To Pay Dirk Nowitzki To Play for Auburn

It would take several years before the Mavericks star improved enough to attract more attention in the NBA. During the 2006-07 season, Nowitzki reached a high-point in his career when he won MVP that year. In the 78 games he played during his MVP campaign, the German forward tallied 24.6 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on a nightly basis.

But for all of his accomplishments, a ring eluded Nowitzki for most of his career. That all changed in 2011 when he led an aging Dallas Mavericks team to defeat a Miami Heat squad with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in it to win the championship. This would serve as the All-Star forward’s peak until he retired years later in 2019.

Charles Barkley Reveals Attempt To Get Dallas Mavericks Star Dirk Nowitzki to Play For Auburn Before His NBA Career

Just recently, Charles Barkley revealed that he tried to get Nowitzki to play for Auburn before turning pro. In an article Matt Connolly wrote for on3.com:

“I met Dirk Nowitzki and tried to pay him to come to Auburn. We played an exhibition in Germany, and I’ve got Scottie Pippen, who is a great defender, I’ve got Horace Grant. A couple of other NBA players, and we played this German team,” Charles Barkley told The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. “Dirk’s got like 35 at halftime. And at this time Scottie was considered a great defender. This dude finished with like 52 points,” Connolly wrote.

“I said, ‘Yo man, who are you?’ He said, ‘My name is Dirk Nowitzki.’ I said, ‘Do you wanna go to Auburn? I’ll take care of that,’” Barkley recalled. “He says, ‘I gotta go in the Army.’ I said, ‘Dude, you’re 7 feet tall. You’re not going in the damn Army.’”

It’s not hard to see why Barkley attempted to get Nowitzki to play for his alma mater. His size and innate ability to get buckets against talented defenders were elements of his game that could have worked well for Auburn.

The trajectory of Nowitzki’s career could have changed if he accepted Barkley’s offer. In any case, things worked out pretty well for the Mavericks All-Star, especially after becoming a champion in 2011.