Basketball star Dirk Nowitzki became NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 and also won a medal at the World and European Championships with Germany. Now FIBA is honoring him.
Dallas – The man who always wore the number 41 on his back during his NBA career – and always the 14 for Germany – had numerous nicknames as a basketball player: “Dirkules”, “Dunking Deutschman” and “Seven Foot Schnitzel” – and in a few months you will soon be able to call the “Tall Baller from the G” a double Basketball Hall of Famer.
The Würzburg native, who not only played in the best basketball league in the world for 20 years but also dominated there for a long time, was inducted into the NBA’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 for his achievements on the court. And now the now 47-year-old former power forward will be inducted into the hall of fame of the world basketball association FIBA on April 21, 2026 in Berlin.
On the trail of Detlef Schrempf
The 2.13 meter tall former athlete, who scored 31,560 points in his NBA career – the sixth most ever – becomes the second Germanwho will become part of the FIBA Hall of Fame: The first was Detlef Schrempf, who once played for the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Seattle Supersonics and the Portland Trail Blazers and was twice voted NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1991 and 1992).
The FIBA not only recognizes Nowitzki’s achievements in the NBA, but also his services to the NBA German national team: The “German Wunderkind” played 153 international matches for the German Basketball Association and scored 3,045 points for the reigning world and European champions. He led Germany to bronze at the 2002 World Cup in Indianapolis and silver at the 2005 European Championships in Belgrade. In both tournaments, the Mavericks star was named the tournament’s most valuable player (MVP).
The 14-time NBA All-Star was voted NBA MVP in 2007 and was Finals MVP in 2011 when Nowitzki and Dallas beat the Miami Heat for superstars LeBron JamesDwyane Wade and Chris Bosh 4-2 in the final series. It is not for nothing that Dennis Schröder, who currently plays for the Sacramento Kings and was captain of Germany’s European Championship (2025) and World Cup (2023) titles, said about Nowitzki after he won European Championship gold in Riga: “He is definitely the GOAT!” So the greatest of all time in German basketball.
Turkish basketball legend Hedo Türkoğlu will also become a Hall of Famer
Sue Bird is also often referred to as the “GOAT”: The 1.75 meter tall point guard directed the US women’s national team for years – and, like Nowitzki, is also part of the “Class of 2026”, the group of basketball players who will make it into the FIBA Hall of Fame next April.
The others are: Céline Dumerc (France), Hedo Türkoğlu (Turkey), Clarisse Machanguana (Mozambique), Wang Zhizhi (China), Ismenia Pauchard (Chile) and former coach Ludwik Miętta-Mikołajewicz (Poland). The ceremonial induction of the “Class of 2026” will take place on April 21st: the same day as the draw for the 2026 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in Berlin next year. (padi)
