Basketball-Nowitzki's No. 14 jersey retired by German national team

Basketball - EuroBasket Championship - Group B - France v Germany - Cologne Arena, Cologne, Germany - September 1, 2022 General view as a Dirk Nowitzki jersey is seen during his retirement of the jersey ceremony before the match REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

(Reuters) - Dirk Nowitzki, widely considered one of the best foreign-born NBA players of all-time, had his No. 14 international jersey retired on Thursday by the German Basketball Federation ahead of the opening day of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 in Cologne.

The towering power forward got his first taste of success at international level when he won a bronze medal with Germany at the 2002 World Cup and silver at the 2005 European Championship, taking home Most Valuable Player trophies from both events.