Nowitzki returns to Dallas for record 20th NBA season

MANILA, Philippines – Dirk Nowitzki is not about ready to hang it up.

 The German living legend has signed a one-year, $5 million deal back with the Dallas Mavericks and will play in a record 20th straight NBA season.

Unless Nowitzki is traded midway through next season, which is highly unlikely, the 40-year-old power forward will tie the record set by Los Angeles icon Kobe Bryant, who played 20 full seasons exclusively with the Lakers from 1996 to 2016.

Although he has avoided any major injury throughout his career, Nowitzki is clearly on his last legs, having averaged only 12 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.7 minutes a game last year. All these numbers are the lowest the 7-footer has normed since his rookie season.

Nevertheless, he remains an integral piece in a rebuilding squad that posted a dismal 24-58 record last season. This resulted in the Mavs getting the 2018 5th overall pick and trading for Slovenian sensation and reigning EuroLeague MVP Luka Doncic, who was drafted 3rd by the Atlanta Hawks.

With a core of Nowitzki, Doncic, athletic point guard Dennis Smith Jr, volume scorer Harrison Barnes and All-Star center DeAndre Jordan, the Mavericks are now looking to get back in the Western Conference playoff hunt for the first time in 3 years, especially since they dealt away their 2019 first-round pick in the Doncic trade.

Nowitzki won his first and only NBA championship so far with the Mavericks back in 2011, when he led Dallas to a 6-game series victory against LeBron James and the heavily favored Miami Heat. – Rappler.com