Season I
2012-13
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Dirk misses the first two months after knee surgery. The Mavericks grow beards until they reach .500, then miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
The history
How a kid from Würzburg became the most loyal star in NBA history, and how a league took his name.
Twenty-one seasons, one jersey, and a jumper nobody could block.
1978 to 1998
1978
Dirk Werner Nowitzki is born on June 19 in Würzburg, West Germany, into a family of athletes.
1994
Holger Geschwindner, a former West German national team captain, starts coaching him. The unorthodox partnership lasts his entire career. Dirk also joins the senior team at DJK Würzburg.
1998
Puts up 33 points and 14 rebounds against America's best high schoolers at the Nike Hoop Summit. NBA scouts take notice.
1998 to 2011
1998
Taken ninth overall by Milwaukee and traded to Dallas the same night. He never plays for another NBA team.
2002
Wins bronze and tournament MVP at the FIBA World Championship. A EuroBasket silver and another MVP follow in 2005.
2006
Wins the Three-Point Contest, then leads Dallas to its first NBA Finals. Miami comes back from 0-2 to win in six.
2007
Named NBA MVP after a 67-win season, the first European to win the award.
2008
Carries Germany's flag into the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
2011
Dallas beats the Heat in six. Dirk plays through a torn tendon in his finger and a fever, and he is named Finals MVP.
2012 to 2023
2012
One year after the title, a fantasy basketball league is founded in his name and holds its first draft.
The founding2017
Becomes the sixth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, and the first born outside the United States.
2019
Scores 30 in his final home game, then retires after 21 seasons in Dallas, the most any player has spent with one franchise.
2022
Dallas retires No. 41 in January. On Christmas Day, a statue of the one-legged fadeaway goes up outside American Airlines Center.
2023
Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Dirk Academy was founded in 2012, one year after the Mavericks won the title. Every league needs a patron saint. Ours won an MVP, a championship and a Finals MVP without ever changing jerseys.
Fourteen seasons later, the league still plays his way: stay loyal, win the margins and never fear a superteam.
Einbeinig. Unaufhaltsam. One-legged. Unstoppable.
Every Academy season, with its champion and what was happening in Dallas at the time.
2012 to 2019
Season I
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Dirk misses the first two months after knee surgery. The Mavericks grow beards until they reach .500, then miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
Season II
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Monta Ellis arrives, and the eighth-seeded Mavericks push the eventual champion Spurs to seven games in the first round.
Season III
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Dirk passes Hakeem Olajuwon for the most points ever scored by a player born outside the United States.
Season IV
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Dirk climbs past Shaquille O'Neal into sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
Season V
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: On March 7, 2017, Dirk becomes the sixth player ever to reach 30,000 points.
Season VI
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Season 20 with the Mavericks ties Kobe Bryant's record for the most seasons with one franchise.
Season VII
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: A record 21st season. Luka Dončić wins Rookie of the Year, and Dirk scores 30 in his final home game.
2019 to 2025
Season VIII
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: The first season without Dirk. The NBA pauses on March 11 and finishes in the Orlando bubble, and Luka makes All-NBA First Team.
Season IX
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: A 72-game season. The Mavericks take the Clippers to seven games in the first round.
Season X
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: No. 41 goes to the rafters on January 5. Dirk makes the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, and Dallas reaches the conference finals.
Season XI
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: A statue of the one-legged fadeaway is unveiled on Christmas Day. In April, the Hall of Fame calls.
Season XII
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Dirk is enshrined in Springfield in August. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving lead the Mavericks to the NBA Finals.
Season XIII
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Luka is traded to the Lakers in February. In May, the Mavericks win the draft lottery with 1.8% odds.
Since 2025
Season XIV
ChampionTBD
In Dallas: Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick, begins his career with the Mavericks.
Season XV
ChampionTo be decided
Next up: Tip-off is coming. The rafters have room for one more banner.
One banner for every Academy champion. Season XV is still unclaimed.
Names are stitched in as the commissioner confirms each champion.