Dirk Nowitzki might not be done with basketball after he completes his 20th season in the league at the end of 2017-18. The German international is planning to return for one brand-spanking new campaign in 2018-19.
Nowitzki is still playing 25 minutes per game and aging like fine wine. The soon-to-be 40-year-old is still an elite shooter, putting up a strong 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game — averages that trump most of his colleagues near his age.
“As of now, the plan is to play next year,” Nowitzki said, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I would love to play next year again. But we’ll kind of see how the rest of the season plays out and how I feel in the summer. But as of now, I want to play again next year. I feel OK. I only missed one game. So the body is holding up OK.”
The 7-footer hasn't faltered in what has proven to be his calling in this league — shooting the basketball — doing so efficiently with 46.3 percent from the floor, 43.2 percent from deep, and the usual 90.1 percent clip from the foul line.
Nowitzki might not be terrorizing defenses for 20 a game, but he's still a reliable scoring option, despite taking a whisker shy of 10 shot attempts per game.
Counting out an injury-riddled 2016-17 season, the big man has held up well health-wise and could make a run for his 21st season in the league if his body stays with him, playing out the entirety of his two-year contract with the franchise.
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