Dirk Nowitzki spent all 21 years of his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Obviously he became a franchise legend as he led the Dallas Mavericks to the sole NBA championship in 2011.
Dirk Nowitzki played until he was 40, but it was clear that he wasn’t the best in the final year of his NBA career.
Nowitzki, who appeared on the Einfach Mal Luppen Podcast (H/T BasketNews) in 2022, discussed his NBA career. At the time, Dark had already retired for three years.
Nowitzki looked back on his career and admitted that he should have retired from the NBA two years before he actually does in 2019.
“The last two years in the NBA have been thinking about whether it’s really worth it. Of course, there were highlights, but it didn’t work out on the court.
“If I left two years ago, I probably would have moved better than I did today and sometimes I could play soccer with my kids. I can’t do it at all now,” Nowitzki said.
Over the last two years of his career, Dirk averaged 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for Mavs. However, the franchise legend claimed that he expanded his career because of the incentives he played.
“It’s always hard to find the right time when you stop. You’re still having fun, your body is still working along the way, and your motivation is still there,” Dark added.
Nowitzki also shared his opinion on basketball games and how great it is to play at least until the players can move properly.
“It’s a really great sport and it’s really fun. But when you can’t move properly anymore, it’s tough. We still play a few times a week and we can’t move much anymore,” he said.
Dark had doubts about expanding his career, but he also had a silver lining. Yes, by retiring after the 2018-19 NBA season, Nowitzki was able to share the court with Luka Doncic.
Nowitzki has always shared a big bond with Doncic. It was clear from his cleavage of MAV following their decision to trade Slovenian superstars.
However, Dark still rings in the stands to support Don Sic, despite him being a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.