Charles Barkley was admired so much during his basketball career that an NBA legend picked a jersey number as a result of his admiration for the former Auburn star.

Dirk Nowitzki, who was a fan of Barkley as a child, told the “Inside the NBA” crew, including Barkley, wanted the same number.

“I played with number 14 in Germany,” Nowitzki said. “When I actually started playing basketball, I had 11. Then I saw Charles Barkley wear number 14 in the Olympics, in 1992 in Barcelona. And I loved Charles at the time as well, so I switched to 14.

“I wanted to take 14 in Dallas, Robert Pack at that time had got 14, and he did not want to give the number up to a rookie. So, I ended up flipping the number and picking the number 41.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Barkley and Nowitzki have an interesting relationship. Barkley just recently explained how he tried to pay the German-born player to play for Auburn.

“I met Dirk Nowitzki and tried to pay him to come to Auburn,” Barkley said last month. “It was illegal, but I didn’t give a damn. Not gonna lie.

“We played in Germany, and I got Scottie Pippen, who is a great defender. I got Horace Grant (and) a couple of other NBA players, and we played this German team.

“Dirk’s got like 35 at half. And at this time Scottie was considered a great defender. This dude finished with like 52 points.”

Check out Barkley’s reaction here.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.