At this point, it doesn’t sound like Dirk Nowitzki is ever going to retire. The latest indication of this came on Thursday night, when Nowitzki revealed that he is leaning towards returning to the Dallas Mavericks for the 2018-19 season. This is despite the fact that the greatest non-American basketball player ever turns 40 in June.
Nowitzki spoke to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News about what he’s thinking regarding his future. While he admits he has not made up his mind yet, as of now, Nowitzki is leaning towards coming back for his 21st NBA season.
“I’m not going to say 100 percent I’ll be back — but it’s looking like it,” Nowitzki said after the Mavericks had a morning walk-through at the Olympic Club in downtown San Francisco. “I feel fine so far. I’ve played every game. I’d love to play all 82. That would be amazing at [age] 39. We’ll see how the body feels. But so far, it’s been fine.”
Nowitzki admits that much of this has to do with his health over the next few months, and he did indicate that as long as there are “no setbacks like last year when I missed two months,” he plans on honoring the final year of his contract. He is currently signed through next season and is in line to make $5 million.
Despite the fact that he is in line to play the fewest minutes per game since his rookie campaign, Nowitzki has started every game for the Mavericks this season. He is averaging 11.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
