Dirk Nowitzki having a nice career and becoming a legend in Spain?

Don’t laugh. It wasn’t as farfetched as it sounds.

Dirk Nowitzki

Back in the mid- to late-‘90s, when Nowitzki was just rising to prominence with his Wurzburg, Germany, club team, he was wined and dined by the FC Barcelona club that he will play against Tuesday.

“I was probably 17 or 18 and looking to come here maybe to develop and play here and make this a new home,’’ Nowitzki said Monday. “I decided to go toward the NBA instead.

“But I had a great time here. They showed me around the city and it was great.’’

– Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News