NEW YORK - In one of the worst-kept secrets in NBA history, Dirk Nowitzki will be named Most Valuable Player.

The league will announce the winner of its most prestigious individual award Tuesday, and according to several reports, Nowitzki is the choice.

The superstar forward of the Dallas Mavericks will become the first European-born player to win the award, ending the two-year reign of former teammate and good friend Steve Nash.

A native of Germany, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to a franchise-best 67-15 record this season, matching the fourth-best total in NBA history.  However, Dallas suffered a stunning loss to Golden State in the first round of the playoffs.

Nowitzki will be the first MVP to fail to advance past the opening round since Moses Malone with Houston in 1982.

Much of that failure was blamed on Nowitzki, who averaged just 19.7 points on 38 percent shooting against Golden State and failed to take charge as Dallas lost in six games in one of the biggest upsets in postseason history.

“It’s so disappointing,” Nowitzki said upon elimination.  “We won 67 games and now it means nothing.”

However, voting by writers and broadcasters across North America was tabulated after the regular season and did not factor in playoff performances.  In that regard, it would be hard to argue against Nowitzki.

In his ninth season, Nowitzki averaged 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and a career-high 3.4 assists.  He was the only NBA player to shoot at least 50 percent from the field (.502), 40 percent from the arc (.416) and 90 percent from the line (.904).

Nowitzki finished 10th in scoring, 12th in rebounding, 13th in field-goal percentage and second in free-throw percentage.  More important, his team matched the most wins by any club since the dynastic Chicago Bulls went 69-13 in the 1996-97 campaign.

As the season wound down, the MVP became a two-horse race between Nowitzki and Nash, the point guard of the Phoenix Suns who was denied his third straight MVP award, a feat achieved only by Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird.

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In his third season in Phoenix since leaving Dallas as a free agent, Nash averaged 18.6 points, a career-high 11.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds, leading the Suns to a 61-21 mark.  He also shot 53 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from the arc and just under 90 percent from the line.

Nash led the NBA in assists and was 14th in field-goal percentage, second in 3-point percentage and fifth in free-throw percentage.  He also had 53 double-doubles - 12 more than Nowitzki and 21 more than any other guard.

Nowitzki will join Canada native Nash, Tim Duncan of the Virgin Islands (2002, 2003) and Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria (1994) as the only foreign-born players to win MVP.

Others expected to do well in the voting are scoring champion Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, guard Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards and Duncan, the power forward of the San Antonio Spurs.

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