Basketball EM: Germany against France in the live ticker – Emotional Nowitzki moment before the start of the game

Created: 09/01/2022, 17:54

By: Christoph Klaucke

Dirk Nowitzki is honored before the game between Germany and France at the European Basketball Championship.

© Armin Weigel/dpa

At the start of the European Basketball Championship, Germany meets France.

Dirk Nowitzki is honored before the game.

The EM start of the DBB team in the live ticker.

• Basketball European Championship: Germany versus France, Thursday, 8:30 p.m

• DBB team challenged at the start: Co-favorite France is waiting

• Dirk Nowitzki honored: Special jersey promotion before the game

• This live ticker is constantly updated

Cologne – In the next few weeks, the basket hunters will take the big stage.

The European Basketball Championship will take place from September 1st to 18th.

The four preliminary round groups will be held in Cologne, Milan, Prague and Tbilisi.

The destination is Berlin, where the final round will be played from the round of 16.

Germany caught a "group of death" at the home EM.

Co-favorite France, who should be physically superior to the DBB team, is waiting for the start.

The other opponents in Cologne are the Slovenians with NBA star Luka Doncic, the strong Lithuanians as well as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary before the final round goes to Berlin.

Things get very emotional before the game, because Germany's best basketball player of all time is given a special honor for his services to the national team.

Basketball EM: Dirk Nowitzki is honored by Germany

Dirk Nowitzki will fight back tears again, but he knows it.

When the big ceremony is here, things get emotional, that's for sure, and a lot of memories will probably come up again.

Shortly before the start of the European Championship, Nowitzki's shirt number 14 will be "retired" in Cologne, i.e. it will no longer be assigned in the future.

A novelty, German basketball bows to its greatest.

It's a "huge honor", said the 153-time national player.

And it was a "nice surprise" when he found out about the idea of ​​the German Basketball Federation (DBB) - but the 44-year-old knows what to expect.

At the beginning of the year, the Dallas Mavericks had already pulled his 41 out of circulation and under the ceiling of the hall, in 2011 the Würzburg player led the Texans to the NBA title.

20 years after World Cup bronze in Indianapolis, Nowitzki is ennobled again, who also won European Championship silver in 2005.

Basketball EM: Nowitzki jersey never awarded again – Federal President Steinmeier honors DBB legend

After "41 Forever", motto of the ceremony in Dallas, it is now "14 Forever".

The DBB pays homage to the idol, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has accepted the association's invitation and will pay tribute to Nowitzki in the Lanxess Arena in front of more than 15,000 fans.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, should also come.

Of course, Nowitzki brings his wife Jessica and their three children with him.

“We are happy for Dirk.

He deserves it so much.

It will motivate us that he is there," said DBB captain Dennis Schröder, who played alongside Nowitzki at the 2015 European Championships with a preliminary round in Berlin.

"He's always been a really big role model for me," said Orlando Magic NBA pro Franz Wagner.

It is remarkable “how he got there, how crass he played, how down-to-earth he remained.

Things like that impressed me growing up.”

Basketball EM: Germany against France in the live ticker – DBB team wants a medal

After the jersey ceremony, it is up to the German basketball players to concentrate on their first opponent, France.

After a bumpy preparation with many cancellations and injuries, the German team seems to be getting going in time for the start of the European Championship.

The team of national coach Gordon Herbert surprisingly beat European champions Slovenia around NBA superstar Luka Doncic last Sunday at the EM dress rehearsal.

The fact that center Daniel Theis got fit for the European Championships in time gives the German basketball players an additional boost.

The momentum could turn in favor of the German team in the hunt for precious metal if the French were also defeated.

"The anticipation is of course huge," said Captain Schröder happily before the first hurdle in "death group" B. While co-captain Johannes Voigtmann stated that the aim was to "ignite euphoria", shooting star Franz Wagner emphasized again that the team had " aiming for a medal".