Nearing the end of his 20th season in the NBA, future Hall-of-Fame power forward Dirk Nowitzki plans to return to the Dallas Mavericks – the only franchise he’s ever been a part of – for another season in the league, according to the NY Times’ Mark Stein:
“As of now, I’m planning to come back. I feel great. I’ve only missed one game all season. I signed a two-year contract because I wanted to play two more years. Here we are.”
Nowitzki, who is nearing Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place on the all-time scoring list, is easily the best player in Dallas Mavericks history, leading the team to 15 playoff appearances, two NBA finals berths, and one NBA championship in 2011 in which he led the Mavs to a victory over the newly-formed Miami Heat “Big Three”.
Now nearing his age-40 season, the 13-time All-Star has admittedly slowed down but has managed to keep his starting spot in the Mavs’ starting lineup over the past couple seasons, even as Father Time starts to catch up to Nowitzki’s seemingly ageless game.
This season, the German forward has managed to stay productive while also being able to stay on the court, missing just one game this season en route to his 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over nearly 25 minutes a game; and at 39, playing meaningful minutes while also steering clear of injuries is nothing short of impressive.
The Dallas Mavericks are nothing more than bottomfeeders in the Western Conference at the moment, with point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and the team’s presumedly top-five draft pick leading the way in the future, but we have to appreciate every time Dirk is able to compete at the NBA-level, and it looks like Dirk will continue to with the second year of the two-year deal he signed in 2017.
