German-born Dirk Nowitzki's journey to become the NBA's highest scoring non-American player was anything but traditional but the Dallas Mavericks forward still calls it an "amazing ride."
Nowitzki surpassed Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon and moved into ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list on Tuesday when he drained a mid-range jumper during the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind win over visiting Sacramento.
"It was a really special moment to do it at home in front of the fans who have been with me through my 16-17 years here and they gave me a great standing ovation Wholesale Washington Nationals Jerseys ," the 36-year-old said.
"At the next timeout they showed a video with moments from my career - that was really special and definitely I had some goose bumps.
"I was just thinking what an amazing ride it has been and how lucky I have been to really come here with an open mind and have people be great to me."
Nowitzki was selected with the ninth pick of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and then was promptly traded to Dallas later that day.
The shaggy-haired forward averaged 8.2 points during his rookie campaign, and even though he had 17.5 points per game in his second season, it was not immediately clear that Nowitzki would blossom into a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
Nowitzki entered Tuesday's game needing 17 points to pass Olajuwon, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 26,946 points from a career spent with Houston and Toronto.
"If you had told me 17 years ago that one day I would pass Hakeem Olajuwon's record Wholesale Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys , I would have said you are absolutely crazy," said -Nowitzki.
"I was lucky that Mark Cuban bought the team in my second year to really turn the -franchise around. It was more a losing franchise in the 1990's and then he bought it ... everything changed and all of [a] sudden the Mavericks were relevant again."
Nowitzki said the video tribute featuring his milestone shots allowed him a brief moment during the game to reflect on a career that includes 11 All-Star nods, a league Most Valuable Player award, an NBA title and being named MVP of the Finals.
"What comes to mind is all the hard work you put in every (off--season) trying to get better, that you have been lucky to stay somewhat injury-free and be able to play at a high level Wholesale Texas Rangers Jerseys ," said Nowitzki.
"It made me proud of what I have accomplished so far. Hopefully I can stay injury-free in the next three years and still play at a high level and then it will be time slowly to let the younger guys take over."
GUANGZHOU, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- After taking over German robotics firm Kuka, Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group is turning the European company into a global service provider for smart manufacturing.
At the 2017 China (Guangdong)--Europe Investment and Innovation Cooperation Conference held in Foshan City this week, Gu Yanmin, vice president of Midea Wholesale Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys , said more advanced mobile robots were being developed so Kuka's industrial robots could be applied in more complicated production scenarios.
"More Chinese technologies have been introduced to the European market. The two-way technology exchange is replacing the previous one-way technology imports from Europe to China," Gu said.
Midea has nine research and development centers in China, and the number of such centers overseas has topped 11. The latest is located in Graz, Austria, and aims to provide technology for home appliance development to the European market.
Jonathan Schoo Wholesale St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys , China director at Germany Trade and Invest and a conference attendee, said more Chinese companies have invested in the high-tech field in Germany, while German companies have reinforced their investment in China.
"Joint R&D projects in the high-tech field benefit both sides, and we welcome such cooperation," he said Wholesale Seattle Mariners Jerseys , citing a recent partnership between Guangdong Biolight Meditech Company with its German counterpart in establishing an R&D center in northern Germany.
"From Germany's traditional dominant fields such as automobiles, engineering, machinery and transportation, to emerging areas including environmental protection and new energy, cooperation between the two countries is increasing Wholesale San Francisco Giants Jerseys ," he said.
Chinese companies have been pouring resources into research and innovation over the years and led the world in certain fields, which is the primary cause of the technical exchange reverse, said Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
"European companies used to invest in China for its cheap labor force, but now they come to acquire new technologies Wholesale San Diego Padres Jerseys ," he said.
Official data showed that in Guangdong Province, China's manufacturing hub, R&D investment accounted for 2.58 percent of the total output value in 2016, which was close to the level of developed countries. The southern province has nurtured world-class factories in some emerging industries such as drones, intelligent robots and OLED.
Thomas Schmitz Wholesale Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys , president of Andritz (China) Ltd., said his company has built a close relationship with local scientific research institutions and invested 3 percent of its revenue in R&D.
Andritz has over 200 employees in China engaged in research and new products design. They completed 155 research projects and obtained 34 patents over the past three years. The company co-developed a new system for garbage disposal and recycling with a local Guangdong company.
"Guangdong is no longer a place for low-end trade or a world factory for cheap digital products," he said.
Exchange of scientific research staff has also become more frequent. China has signed many cooperative agreements with universities and research institutions in Germany, France, Britain and other European countries.