Dirk Nowitzki, the former NBA player who played for the Dallas Mavericks, revealed why he wore jersey number 41 throughout his career.
Dirk Nowitzki’s NBA career is synonymous with his number 41 jersey for the Dallas Mavericks. He has now disclosed why he chose such a specific number.
Prior to the second-round NBA playoff game between the Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the German Hall of Famer visited the Inside the NBA show on TNT, where he elaborated on the reasons behind his choice.
It turns out it was closely connected to Charles Barkley, who works on the show.
“I started playing basketball with the number 11 because my dad had number 11 when he played handball. Then Charles wore number 14 at the Olympics in Barcelona, and I loved Charles. Honestly, who didn’t love Charles at that time? I switched to number 14. Then I stuck with it at the national level, playing with number 14,” Nowitzki said about the German national team.
“When I came to Dallas, I wanted number 14, but it was Robert Pack’s. He said, ‘Hell no, rookie, you’re not getting my number.’ He didn’t even want to negotiate or anything. So in the end, I just flipped the numbers from 14 to 41.”
When Nowitzki entered the NBA in 1998, Robert Pack was already in his eighth season in the league, averaging 20+ minutes per game. Pack played six more seasons in the NBA after Nowitzki joined the Dallas Mavericks. Later, he won a championship title, and his number 41 jersey was retired.