DALLAS _ In the summer of 2011, a wide-eyed, tall, lanky German kid stood amongst several thousand of his countrymen and celebrated the Dallas Mavericks NBA title as hometown hero Dirk Nowitzki sang from the balcony of the Wurzburg Residence Palace.
"I get goosebumps thinking about it right now," Maxi Kleber said. "What are the chances?"
From a victory parade in the town square to now residing five lockers over from Nowitzki as a rotating starter for the Mavericks, the probability was and is astronomical.
Kleber, a 6-foot-11 forward from Wurzburg, Germany, has defied all the odds and according to the hometown hero, it isn't by accident.
"He's earned that spot in the rotation," Nowitzki said. "I think he didn't really know what to expect from the league, from the NBA and living over here.
"Early in the season, he didn't play much. But he didn't put his head down, he kept working, kept showing up early and taking extra shots."
With Dallas starting the season 2-13 and floundering in the frontcourt, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle inserted Kleber into the starting lineup last November with the idea of taking the perimeter workload off of Nowitzki and playing him at center.
Eventually, the idea paid off in numerous ways. But the bottom line is that Kleber has started 34 games this season and a future in some capacity with the team looks probable.
.png?w=600)
