Maxi Kleber

Maximilian "Maxi" Kleber was born in Wurzburg, Germany in 1992. He is from the same hometown as former Mavericks great (and former teammate) Dirk Nowitzki. Kleber played youth basketball with TG Veitshochheim, SC Heuchelhof and TG Wurzburg before turning pro during the 2011-12 season. Kleber was the Mavericks' nominee for the February 2020 NBA Cares Community Assist Award for "his continuous charitable and philanthropic efforts to empower children and families throughout the year." Among his community contributions, Kleber has served holiday meals, broken in new basketball courts and visited children in hospitals after games. He has also provided community tickets to HopeKids, an organization that provides ongoing events, activities and a powerful support community for families who have a child with cancer or some other life-threatening medical conditions, in Dallas. Learn more about Kleber by following him on Twitter (@MaxiKleber) and Instagram (@maximilian.kleber). As a teenager, Kleber made his way through German leagues before coming to the NBA. He made his professional debut in 2011-12 for s.Oliver Baskets in his hometown of Wurzberg as part of the Basketball Budesliga. He was a bench player in his first season and played 7.0 minutes per game, but he played significant minutes in his second season, where he averaged 9.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. After the season, he declared for the NBA Draft, but he subsequently withdrew his name. Kleber moved to Spain for the 2014-15 season and provided 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds for Obradoiro CAB. After a year away from his home country, the 6-foot-10 center signed with Bayern Munich. In his first season, Kleber averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and followed that up in his last year with Bayern with 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Kleber has also played for the German National Team and appeared in the 2014 EuroBasket qualification rounds. He signed with the Dallas Mavericks in July 2017.