For Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, the career of Dirk Nowitzki has carved out an entirely unique path, one which can't easily be compared to others.

Like all of us, Carlisle has no clue whether this season will be the final playing year for the 40-year-old German, but he's quite sure the 14-time All-Star's career is different from most players of his caliber. Maybe this is true because of what he did for the franchise. Per Callie Caplan of SportsDay:

“Again, we don't know that it's the end,” Carlisle said. “But this has a different feel to it for me because of the special relationship that he has … with [owner] Mark [Cuban], the sacrifices that he's made for the franchise to make moves to keep the team not only competitive, but highly competitive.”

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It has been well documented that Nowitzki — in the latter part of his career — opted to take hefty salary cuts in his contract. Given his stature as one of NBA's greats, his move raised eyebrows all over the league. Thanks to him, the Mavericks had the cap space to remain competitive in the tough Western Conference.

Now, the rest of the NBA is seeing the fruits of Nowitzki's sacrifices. The Mavericks have Luka Doncic, who is poised to be the next big thing and will likely receive a lucrative long-term deal from the team. Not only that, the Mavs also have Kristaps Porzingis, whom they can sign to a multi-year contract. Thanks to Nowitzki, the Mavericks' future is bright.