At the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit in San Antonio's Alamo Stadium, Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. That was the first time NBA scouts and general managers had really seen Nowitzki play against future NBA stars.

The rest is history. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Dirk with the ninth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft and then traded him to the Mavs on draft night. Nowitzki has had a legendary playing career with the Mavs and is going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day.

Part of the reason Nowitzki is such an amazing shooter is because of his longtime trainer, Holger Geschwindner. Geschwindner is also the one who convinced Nowitzki to sneak out of Germany to play in the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN:

Article Continues Below
More Dallas Mavericks News
Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell (1) drives to the basket past Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) during the second half at the American Airlines Center.
Mavericks rumors: Dallas the ‘overwhelming favorite’ to sign D’Angelo RussellPreston Byers ·
mavericks, mavericks free agency, dennis schroder
1 sneaky good player Dallas Mavericks must sign in 2025 NBA free agencyGarrett Kerman ·
NBA great Kevin Garnett is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Kevin Garnett’s hyped reaction to looming Bronny James-Cooper Flagg showdownAbdullah Imran ·
Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles the ball against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Lenovo Center.
Will Cooper Flagg be Mavericks’ point guard until Kyrie Irving returns from injury?Joey Mistretta ·
Mavericks Luka Doncic on left, Mavericks Cooper Flagg on right, stop light in the middle on red.
Why the Cooper Flagg-Luka Doncic comparisons must come to an endJoey Mistretta ·
mavericks, dallas mavericks, d'angelo russell
The player Dallas Mavericks must avoid in 2025 NBA free agencyGarrett Kerman ·

Nowitzki: So we had to ask permission from the Army, because I was still in the Army, and I don't think you can travel out of the country unless you ask and it's for a big tournament or something. We had permission to go. Then we kind of had to ask the team. But Holger was kind of like, “Ahhh, we'll just sneak out.” So I played the game Sunday night, and I think Monday morning we flew out of Frankfurt without really telling anyone. Holger might have talked to a manager or something, but I didn't say anything. So we snuck out.

It's a good thing Dirk Nowitzki listened to Holger.

If Dirk didn't play in the Hoop Summit, there's a chance he wouldn't have had the storied NBA career he has had with the Mavs.