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The Most Famous

BASKETBALL PLAYERS from Germany

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This page contains a list of the greatest German Basketball Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,268 Basketball Players, 18 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 12th most number of Basketball Players behind Slovenia and Greece.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary German Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous German Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of German Basketball Players.

Photo of Dirk Nowitzki

1. Dirk Nowitzki (1978 - )

With an HPI of 53.58, Dirk Nowitzki is the most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 56 different languages on wikipedia.

Dirk Werner Nowitzki (German pronunciation: [ˈdɪʁk noˈvɪtski], ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time and is considered by many to be the greatest European player of all time. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In 2023, Nowitzki was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.An alumnus of the DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was chosen as the ninth pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played his entire 21-year NBA career. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 15 NBA playoff appearances (2001–2012; 2014–2016), including the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance in 2006 and its only NBA championship in 2011. Known for his scoring ability, versatility, accurate outside shooting, and trademark fadeaway jump shot, Nowitzki won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2007 and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2011. Nowitzki is the only player ever to play for a single NBA franchise for 21 seasons. He is a 14-time All-Star, a 12-time All-NBA Team member, the first European player to start in an All-Star Game, and the first European player to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Nowitzki is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history. He is the first Maverick voted onto an All-NBA Team and holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records. On December 10, 2012, he became the first non-American player to receive the Naismith Legacy Award. Following his retirement, Nowitzki stood sixth on the NBA all-time scoring list.In international play, Nowitzki led the Germany national team to a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and silver in EuroBasket 2005, and was the leading scorer and MVP in both tournaments. He is also the first German men's player to have his number retired, receiving this honor in September 2022.

Photo of Detlef Schrempf

2. Detlef Schrempf (1963 - )

With an HPI of 43.92, Detlef Schrempf is the 2nd most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Detlef Schrempf (born January 21, 1963) is a German-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies from 1981 to 1985, and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft, with the eighth overall pick. He was an All-NBA Third Team member in 1995, a three-time NBA All-Star, the first European player ever to achieve this award, and the NBA Sixth Man of the Year twice. Schrempf played in the NBA for 16 seasons, including stints with the Indiana Pacers, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1996, he reached the NBA Finals with the SuperSonics. He played for the West German, and later German, national team in the 1984 and 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1983 and 1985 EuroBasket championships. Schrempf was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2021.

Photo of Shawn Bradley

3. Shawn Bradley (1972 - )

With an HPI of 42.38, Shawn Bradley is the 3rd most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Stormin' Mormon", Bradley is one of the tallest players in NBA history at 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m). Bradley was born in Landstuhl, West Germany, as his family was stationed at the U.S. military base medical facility, and grew up in Castle Dale, Utah. He holds citizenship in both the United States and Germany.

Photo of Dennis Schröder

4. Dennis Schröder (1993 - )

With an HPI of 35.91, Dennis Schröder is the 4th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Dennis Mike Schröder (German pronunciation: [ˈʃʀøːdɐ]; born 15 September 1993) is a German professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for SG Braunschweig and Phantoms Braunschweig in Germany, before spending his first five seasons in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks and two years with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is the sole owner of his German hometown team, Basketball Loewen Braunschweig of the Basketball Bundesliga, and had been the majority shareholder of the team since 2018.In 2023, he led the German national team to their first World Cup title at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup while being named the FIBA World Cup MVP.

Photo of Carlos Boozer

5. Carlos Boozer (1981 - )

With an HPI of 33.99, Carlos Boozer is the 5th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last season playing overseas with the Guangdong Southern Tigers. As a member of Team USA, Boozer won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Tibor Pleiß

6. Tibor Pleiß (1989 - )

With an HPI of 33.77, Tibor Pleiß is the 6th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Tibor Pleiß (, alternative spelling Pleiss; born 2 November 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super League and the EuroLeague. Standing 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m), he plays the center position. He is also a member of the German national team.

Photo of Kiki VanDeWeghe

7. Kiki VanDeWeghe (1958 - )

With an HPI of 32.48, Kiki VanDeWeghe is the 7th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ernest Maurice "Kiki" VanDeWeghe III (born August 1, 1958) is a German-born American-Canadian former professional basketball player, coach and executive who is an advisor for the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star.

Photo of Dalibor Bagarić

8. Dalibor Bagarić (1980 - )

With an HPI of 31.28, Dalibor Bagarić is the 8th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Dalibor Bagarić (born 7 February 1980) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He had a stint with the NBA's Chicago Bulls from 2000 to 2003.

Photo of Anthony Randolph

9. Anthony Randolph (1989 - )

With an HPI of 31.02, Anthony Randolph is the 9th most famous German Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Anthony Erwin Randolph Jr. (born July 15, 1989) is a German-born American and naturalized Slovenian former professional basketball player who last played for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He also represented the senior Slovenian national basketball team, winning the 2017 EuroBasket with them. Born in Germany, to two American parents who served in the US military there, Randolph's family eventually relocated to the United States, where he grew up in Pasadena, California. The family later moved to Dallas, Texas, where Randolph soon became a standout at Woodrow Wilson High School, eventually being recruited by the Louisiana State Tigers. After one year, Randolph left college, and entered the 2008 NBA draft, where he was chosen as the fourteenth pick overall by the Golden State Warriors. In 2016, he earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection.

Photo of Robin Benzing

10. Robin Benzing (1989 - )

With an HPI of 29.20, Robin Benzing is the 10th most famous German Basketball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Robin Clemens Benzing (born 25 January 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Giessen 46ers of the Basketball Bundesliga. He is also a member of the Germany national basketball team. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), he plays at the small forward position.

Pantheon has 18 people classified as basketball players born between 1958 and 1997. Of these 18, 18 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living basketball players include Dirk Nowitzki, Detlef Schrempf, and Shawn Bradley. As of April 2022, 4 new basketball players have been added to Pantheon including Kiki VanDeWeghe, Johannes Voigtmann, and Moritz Wagner.

Living Basketball Players

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Newly Added Basketball Players (2022)

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