On This Day (Feb. 5)

Notable events from NBA history that occurred on February 5.

Nowitzki’s NBA Debut

On this day in 1999, Dirk Nowitzki made his NBA debut with the Dallas Mavericks, scoring two points in a loss to the Seattle SuperSonics. Nowitzki would go on to spend his entire 21-season career with the Mavericks, the longest tenure with a single franchise in NBA history.

Nowitzki is the Mavericks’ career leader in almost every statistical category:

• GP — 1,522

• GS — 1,460

• MIN — 51,368

• FGM — 11,169

• FGA — 23,734

• 3PM — 1,982

• 3PA — 5,210

• FTM — 7,240

• FTA — 8,239

• OREB — 1,468

• DREB — 10,021

• REB — 11,489

• BLK — 1,281

• TOV — 2,494

• PF — 3,601

• PTS — 31,560

• DD2 — 411

His career point total ranks sixth in NBA history. He’s one of only five players in NBA history to record at least 1,000 3-pointers made, 1,000 steals, and 1,000 blocks. The other players to reach those marks are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Rasheed Wallace, and Clifford Robinson.