The Dallas Mavericks are in the middle of a rebuild right now that is coinciding with the near-end of star Dirk Nowitzki's career. The 20-year veteran has played all of his seasons with the Mavs, and on Tuesday night, he confirmed that he plans to return for the 2018-19 season.
It's official. Dirk Nowitzki says he will return for year 21.
— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) April 10, 2018
Dirk isn’t ruling out playing beyond next season. “Hopefully I can play some decent basketball next season. If not, it’s time to go.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 10, 2018
Nowitzki appeared in 77 games for the Mavs this season, his highest total since the 2014-15, the last time he was an NBA All-Star. Last week, the German forward underwent ankle surgery that effectively ended his 2017-18 campaign, but he confirmed that he had the surgery in order to be prepared for the start of the 2018-19 season.
It's been a long season for Nowitzki, who had to play for the worst Mavs team, record-wise, he's ever had to in his career. Dallas compiled a 19-31 in his rookie season, but that came in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. Their winning percentage that season was at .380, way higher than their .296 percentage this season. On top of that, the Mavericks organization has been through a number of controversial stories over the last few months, including sexual misconduct allegations from a high-ranking official.
In his 20th season with the Mavs, Nowitzki finished averaging 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.8 three-pointers per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. At this point in his career, Nowitzki likely won't be anything more than a role player who can give the Mavs 15-22 minutes a night.
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