Two factors lead to Dirk’s maturation as a shooter. First, he was encouraged to shoot from the outside, both as a boy growing up and then as a Maverick. Second, he practiced his tail off. When Avery Johnson was coach of the Mavs, he became so concerned with Nowitzki’s obsessive practice habits that he started fining his star if he found him in the gym on an off day. Nowitzki’s solution? “He would sneak off to a high school gym,” says Del Harris, an assistant at the time. “He and Jason Terry and whoever else they could drag with them. They’d find ways to get into a gym or a high school, or a health club and go shoot at night.”
