Germany’s nationwide staff retired Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 14 jersey on Thursday. The ceremony came about at Cologne Area, earlier than Germany’s recreation towards France at EuroBasket 2022.
Nowitzki first performed at EuroBasket in 1999. He was 21 years outdated, coming off his first season within the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks. He retired from the nationwide staff after representing Germany at EuroBasket 2015. In between, he spent parts of virtually each offseason taking part in for Germany. He led the staff to a bronze medal on the 2002 FIBA World Championship, at EuroBasket 2005 and a berth on the 2008 Olympic Video games, its first since 1992. At these Olympics, Nowitzki was Germany’s flag bearer on the opening ceremony.
Nowitzki’s jersey went as much as the rafters shortly after Slovenia defeated Lithuania, which meant that Luka Doncic, the inheritor to Nowitzki’s throne in Dallas, might watch from a courtside seat. Doncic sat with Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban, president Nico Harrison, vp Michael Finley and coach Jason Kidd.
Throughout his speech, Nowitzki thanked Cuban for having “at all times supported me in taking part in each summer time,” by way of Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning Information:
Cuban himself recorded the jersey being raised:
In associated information, on Wednesday the Cologne Chocolate Museum honored Nowitzki with a bust made out of chocolate, by way of Marc Stein:
After the ceremony, Germany’s nationwide staff, that includes Franz Wagner, Dennis Schroder and Daniel Theis, earned a 76-63 win towards France.
