Dallas Basketball

Legendary Mavericks coach wanted to draft someone else over Dirk Nowitzki

Paul Pierce would've been a Maverick if Don Nelson had his way.

Austin Veazey

Apr 9, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) waits for play to resume against the Phoenix Suns during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Apr 9, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) waits for play to resume against the Phoenix Suns during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Dirk Nowitzki is without a doubt the greatest Dallas Maverick of all time. He spent 21 years with the franchise, has the only MVP in franchise history, and led them to their first and only championship in 2011 in a legendary playoff run. Dirk is as synonymous with Dallas as Kobe Bryant is with Los Angeles or Stephen Curry is with Golden State.

However, if Don Nelson had his way, there's a world where Nowitzki wouldn't have been a Maverick.

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Don Nelson
Jun 8, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; former general manager Don Nelson speaks to the media before game two between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Don Nelson was the head coach and general manager at the time Dirk Nowitzki was drafted. And after a legendary coaching career, Nelson was given the Chuck Daly Lifetime Award at Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. He talked about Nowitzki during the press conference, but said he wanted to draft Paul Pierce.

"Dirk was the most talented big I'd ever seen. He was seven feet tall and he played like a small forward. Donnie [Don's son] found a way to isolate him from most of the NBA scouts. He played in the world games, it was European against our American players down in San Antonio, but Donnie got him to train in Dallas... I begged them not to go down to San Antonio, I didn't want anybody to see him because I liked him that much. He went down and ended up scoring like 35 and 15 rebounds...

"We took a gamble on him, but I have to say, in that draft, Paul Pierce was my favorite player. We had Paul Pierce going top three, so we didn't even consider that he would be there. Wouldn't you believe it, when number nine came up, Paul Pierce was there and Dirk Nowitzki. I looked at Donnie and I said, 'Oh, sh--. Paul Pierce is my favorite player. He's going to be a star.' And Donnie says, 'Come on, Dad. You know what we've been doing for the last month.'...

"I said, 'You know what, you're right. We made a commitment and we'll stand on it.' And we took Dirk. It was tough for a while in Dallas, people thought I was a mad scientist. They may have been right... We stuck with him and got [Steve] Nash in a trade, and history can answer the rest of it."

It would've been hard to go wrong with either selection. Paul Pierce is pretty universally seen as a top 50 or 60 player all-time, but Nowitzki is a top 20 player all-time. Both were great players in their own right, but Nowitzki being Dallas' just makes sense, and it's hard to imagine a reality where that wasn't the case.

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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG

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