4 of Dirk Nowitzki's Best Basketball Cards
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The Dunking Deutschman. The 7 foot Schnitzel. The list actually goes on and on, but these nicknames give an idea of just how popular and beloved Dirk Nowitzki became in the USA. When he came to the Mavericks in 1998 from Germany, nobody knew who he was and most assumed he would amount to nothing. How wrong they were!
Nowitzki laid the groundwork for the "European Invasion" we've seen in the NBA in recent years. His selfless play and desire to compete led to an MVP in 2007 and a championship in 2011. As could be expected, his basketball cards are treasured by many collectors and some are tough to find. Let's take a look at four of his coolest cards.
UPPER DECK 1998 SP AUTHENTIC DIRK NOWITZKI
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You have to love the obvious photo-shoot shots that get included in sports cards. This rookie card of Nowitzki is numbered to 3,500, which was a tough find back in 1998 but seems like a high number these days. It's a nice looking card and the serial number aspect keeps it near the top of the Nowitzki's most desired rookie cards.
UPPER DECK 1999 SP AUTHENTIC SIGN OF THE TIMES DIRK NOWITZKI
Nowitzki's 1999 Sign of the Times autograph card was his first pack pulled auto and therefore is still prized by collectors. Be on the lookout for copies of this card with Nowitzki's signature signed horizontally across the card instead of vertically as shown here - a couple are out there and were the speculation is that he signed them this way before being told the "correct" way to sign them.
There is a gold parallel numbered to just 25 copies for those with a higher budget and who are lucky enough to find one.
UPPER DECK 2009 GAME USED EDITION LOGO MEN DIRK NOWITZKI
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Collectors today know how valuable and almost impossible to obtain the 1/1 "Logo Man" inserts are. Back in 2009, things were a little different. Upper Deck was about to lose their NBA license and apparently had some left-over inventory that they needed to release. Many players, including Nowitzki, had varying numbers of game-used Logo Man patches released in the "Logo Men" insert of 2009 SP Game Used Edition. Nowitzki's card is limited to 14 copies.
UPPER DECK 1998 SPx FINITE DIRK NOWITZKI
What jumps out at you when you look at this card? Besides the great haircut? The foil on the card may look nice, but it's caused headaches for many collectors when sending in this Nowitzki rookie card to be graded. So far there is only one in gem-mint condition. This card is limited to just 2,500 copies - 1,000 less than the more highly regarded SP Authentic rookie.
Brian Hough became a fan of the hobby by opening packs of 1986 Donruss and 1987 Topps baseball with his dad and little brother. He has been writing about the collectibles industry for years, initially as a price guide editor for Tuff Stuff Magazine, which was a monthly sports magazine focused on sports cards and collectibles, particularly known for its price guides and checklists, that initially launched in April 1984.