The season debut of Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki marks his 21st season with the Mavs, giving the future Hall of Famer the record the most seasons for one team in NBA history.

The record was previously held by the great Kobe Bryant, a sensational shooting guard who played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 seasons. The 40-year-old Nowitzki broke the record when he checked into the game at the 3:27 mark of the first quarter of the Mavs' matchup against the Phoenix Suns.

To make the moment even better, in his first shot for the season, he banked a 15-footer ā€” a shot that he's made numerous times in his stellar career.

Nowitzki missed the first 26 games of the season as he recovered from a surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle last April. Though the rehabilitation process wasn't expected to take this long as it's a relatively minor procedure, come training camp, he suffered tendon soreness which forced him toĀ continue rehabbing.

Before the game, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle broke the news that veteran will suit up for the team and will play limited minutes. Per Eddie Sefko of SportsDayā€˜s Eddie Sefko, Carlisle reiterated Nowitzki's importance to the franchise:

ā€œHaving him in uniform with everything heā€™s done for this franchise and meant to this franchise is important to us,ā€ Rick Carlisle said.

Nowitzki was the ninth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks back in 1998. On draft day, he was involved in a three-team trade which sent him to the Dallas Mavericks.

He had his struggles at first. But as soon as he got used to the NBA style of play, Nowitzki quickly evolved into one of the top scorers in the league.

Nowitzki was also a key figure in revolutionizing the game. The reason why so many big men are adding the 3-point shot to their arsenal was that the 7-foot Nowitzki utilized both his length and shooting touch to easily score over opponents.