Basketball Hall of Fame
Nowitzki receives great honor as the first German
04/01/2023, 10:00 p.m
In 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki has become a legend. Four years after the end of his career, he is now being presented with an extraordinary honor: induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. So far, no German has been represented there.
Dirk Nowitzki receives a special honor. The 44-year-old legend will be the first German to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame at the earliest possible date. This was announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Nowitzki will receive the traditional jacket and ring on August 11 and will be inducted in Springfield the following day.
As the custodians of the Hall of Fame announced, the Würzburg native is one of six former professionals and coaches to receive this award this year.
Nowitzki played 21 seasons in the North American professional league with the Dallas Mavericks, retiring from playing in 2019. He is the sixth-best points-scorer in league history (31,560) and the highest-grossing scorer born outside of the United States.
Nowitzki is humble
With the Mavericks, who took his shirt number 41 under the hall ceiling in January 2022, the “German prodigy” Nowitzki became the 2011 NBA champion and most valuable player in the finals. In 2007, he was voted Most Valuable Player of the regular season, earning a total of 14 Allstar awards. A Nowitzki statue has since been unveiled in front of the arena in Dallas.
Other former NBA pros inducting into the Hall of Fame are Pau Gasol of Spain, France’s Tony Parker and Dwyane Wade in their first year of election. In addition, successful coach Gregg Popovich and Becky Hammon, who as his assistant was the first woman to coach an NBA team at a game, are also recognized as other legends.
“I think there were a couple of guys who paved the way for us a bit,” Nowitzki said, referring to his European colleagues and co-starters Parker and Gasol: “If we help make the game truly global and helping some kids along the way makes us very humbled, of course.”