Dallas Basketball

Mavericks Veteran Will No Longer Play for National Team

After not playing in the Olympics this summer, it looks like we've seen the last of this veteran in international play

Austin Veazey

Feb 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) and guard Luka Doncic (77) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Feb 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) and guard Luka Doncic (77) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Dallas Mavericks have always had a roster filled with international talent, being one of the first teams to embrace European players because of their success with Dirk Nowitzki. Their newest player from Wurzburg, Germany, seems to be done with his international playing career, though.

Maxi Kleber, who is from the same hometown as Nowitzki, told EuroHoops.net that his time playing for the German national team is over after some uncomfortable situations over the last few years.

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"The situation was what it was. That’s why I had to come to terms with it,” Kleber told EuroHoops.net about watching Germany in last summer’s Olympic Games, “I watched the games as a fan, of course, because it is always positive for German basketball when the national team is successful. It’s ultimately about basketball continuing to grow in Germany. And the Olympic Games that everyone can watch on television is a great platform. I know a lot of guys on the team very well or are my friends, it was also great to watch them... I know [the new national team coach Alex Mumbru], but I haven’t spoken to him yet. The national team is definitely over for me. So, there will be no return."

This all stems from an incident from 2022 when Dennis Schroder called out Kleber for opting out of the 2022 FIBA World Cup, with Schroder basically saying Kleber would never be allowed to play for the team, saying if you can't commit to playing once, you may as well never do it again.

Kleber played on Germany's national team for the 2014 EuroBasket and the 2019 FIBA World Cup but has been absent from the Olympics and the most recent World Cup.

Germany finished fourth in the 2024 Olympics after losing to Serbia in the bronze medal match 93-83.

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Austin Veazey
AUSTIN VEAZEY

Austin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024. Veazey was a Florida State Men’s Basketball Manager from 2016-2019. Follow Austin on Twitter at @EasyVeazeyNG