Heading into the 2017-18 NBA season, Dirk Nowitzki is set to tie Tim Duncan and John Stockton for the second-most seasons (19) with one team, trailing just Kobe Bryant (20). It is an extremely rare feat in all of sports, especially in today's NBA.

During Nowitzki's future Hall of Fame career, he has been a part of 20 and 60 win teams while recently taking pay cuts in hopes of helping sign All-Star caliber players to Dallas. The 39-year-old compared the league when he first started to now according to Sirius XM NBA:

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There will certainly be debates regarding Nowitzki's comments about loyalty. While most were critical of Kevin Durant signing with the Golden State Warriors in free agency, the Boston Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas despite everything he did for the franchise. Ultimately, the league is a business and the 13-time All-Star is one of the rare players who has been fortunate enough to play for one team.

With training camp nearing, it will be interesting to see if Nowitzki holds up at this stage of his career. Last season, the one-time Most Valuable Player only appeared in 54 games with a strained left Achilles tendon. While there is plenty of excitement surrounding Dennis Smith Jr., the Mavericks are still in their rebuilding process.