Dirk Nowitzki’s Personal Memorabilia On Display During Dallas Mavericks’ Jersey Retirement Ceremony

The Dallas Mavericks forever immortalized Dirk Nowitzki Wednesday night. In an elaborate and emotional ceremony, the organization retired his jersey–just the fourth time it has done so–raising his iconic No. 41 into the rafters of the American Airlines Center. 

There was little doubt the Mavericks would retire Nowitzki’s number even before he stepped away from the game in 2019. He holds numerous franchise records and led the team to its first and only NBA Championship in 2011. As part of the celebration, scads of memorabilia from Nowitzki’s own collection lined the arena concourse, chronicling his career. 

“We were thinking about how this night could also be special obviously for the fans,” Nowitzki said during a press conference Tuesday. “The Mavs came up with the idea that if I have some stuff laying around at the house, that would be interesting. That’s how that idea started. I said, ‘Sure, let’s try it.’”

The number of items on display was impressive. A total of 45 items, marking various career milestones, ringed the arena. They included signed basketballs, game-worn shoes, game-worn jerseys, All-Star rings, his championship ring, MVP trophy, Finals MVP trophy and the Larry O’Brien trophy. 

“I have all the All-Star rings over the 14 years, some of the jerseys,” Nowitzki said. “A few things have gotten lost over the years, especially early on. I’m not sure where that stuff went. Obviously, the trophies are cool to see, the [championship] ring usually people don’t see much.”

Nowtizki played 21 seasons with the Mavericks. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted him with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and immediately traded him to Dallas. He is the only player in NBA history to spend 21 seasons with one organization. 

During his career, Nowitzki amassed countless awards and records. He leads the Mavericks in games played (1,552), points scored (31,560), rebounds (11,489) and free throws (7,240), among other categories. He currently sits in sixth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. 

He was also named to the All-NBA First Team four times, All-NBA Second Team five times and All-NBA Third Team three times. Nowtizki also played in 14 All-Star Games and won the 2006 NBA All-Star Three-Point Contest.   

Fans in attendance Wednesday night got to see a sampling of the hardware he accumulated, thanks to Nowitzki wanting to do something special for them. It was an impressive collection–and gesture–from the best player to lace up a pair of high-tops in Mavericks’ history. 

“It started with trying to think of what would be cool for the fans to see,” Nowitzki said.