The Dallas Mavericks are planning to honor Dirk Nowitzki and retire his number at the American Airlines Center and it's now been revealed when that will be. Per Marc Stein, the Mavs will raise his iconic no. 41 into the rafters on January 5th before they take on the Golden State Warriors:

Dirk is arguably the best player to ever suit up for the Mavs franchise, making 14 All-Star teams, winning MVP in 2007, and capturing an NBA title in 2011 with Dallas. He was also recently named to the NBA 75 Anniversary Team, which is a massive testament to just how special he was.

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Nowitzki played his entire 21-year career with the Mavs, leading them to 15 playoff appearances in the process. Dallas acquired the German in a draft-night trade with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1998 and well, the rest is history.

To this day, Dirk remains a part of the Mavs organization as well. He is currently a special advisor and has formed quite a friendship with franchise superstar Luka Doncic, who has already broken various different records previously set by Nowitzki.

Although now when you think of the Mavs, the first name that comes to mind is Luka. But without a doubt, Dirk Nowitzki is the one who laid the groundwork for what this organization is today. January 5th can't come soon enough.