Dirk Nowitzki to become the first basketball player ever to have jersey retired by Germany

Dirk Nowitzki discusses book about his life and career

Free 4 All's Mike Doocy and Sam Gannon got the chance to talk to a local icon who spent his entire career in Dallas -- The Great Nowitzki. A book with that title is now out in the U.S.

DALLAS, Texas - Germany plans to honor Mavs legend Dirk Nowitizki by retiring his number 14 jersey at the FIBA EuroBasket tournament this September.

Nowitzki, who wore the number 41 for the Dallas Mavericks, wore the number 14 in international competition.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY: Basketball player of the American NBA, German Dirk Nowitzki(R) saves the ball beside his Hungarian opponent Marton Bader(L) in the local 'Circle Sport Hall' of Budapest 22 September 2004 during a qualification basketball match for

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The Wurzburg-born power forward will be the first German basketball player to have his jersey retired.

The ceremony will be held on the opening day of the tournament in Cologne when Germany takes on France on September 1.

"I felt honored when the German Basketball Federation presented this idea to me. That was a nice surprise, and I'm excited to see what awaits me in Cologne," said Nowitzki.

Nowitzki played for the German international team from 1999 until his international retirement in 2016.

BEIJING - AUGUST 08: Basketball player Dirk Nowitzki of Germany carries his country's flag during the Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Image

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Dirk played 153 games for the German senior team, scoring 3,045 points. He also helped Germany qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where he was the country's flag carrier at the games' opening ceremony.

Dallas Mavericks retire Dirk Nowitzki's #41 jersey in special tribute

It was a special night at the American Airlines Center as the Dallas Mavericks retired Dirk Nowitzki's #41 jersey.

Nowitzki continued to play for the Mavericks until the end of the 2018-19 season.

The Mavericks retired Nowitzki's number 41 at a ceremony in January.