Dirk Nowitzki is set to enter his 20th year in the league all spent with the Dallas Mavericks with plenty of questions still surrounding his NBA future beyond this upcoming season.

With that in mind, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban voiced optimism that he believes Nowitzki is motivated to play at least another campaign after this year for one unique reason, according to Tim McMahon of ESPN.

Mark Cuban on Dirk Nowitzki: “Maybe this year will be his last year. I tend to think he wants to beat Kobe and be that guy.” Nowitzki is joining Kobe Bryant as the only players in NBA history to play 20 seasons with only one team.

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Throughout the entire process, Nowitzki has left the door open about his NBA future with the possibility of playing a few more seasons with the Mavericks. He still has the desire to play the game despite turning 39 years old this past summer as long as his body will comply with him.

Nowitzki is coming off a productive campaign where he averaged 14.2 points on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc with 6.5 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per contest in 54 games played. It included becoming the first international player to break 30,000 career points while recording eight double-doubles and 11 games with 20 or more points.

This will likely remain an underlying topic of discussion surrounding Nowitzki throughout the upcoming season regardless of how it plays out.