Why Dirk Nowitzki’s 20th season is quietly amazing

At first glance, Dirk Nowitzki’s 20th season in the NBA would appear to a tad underwhelming. His Dallas Mavericks are among the worst teams in the league, and his points and minutes per game are the lowest they’ve been since his rookie season.

Hey, we all get old at some point, right?

But here’s the thing: If you scratch beneath the surface, Dirk’s 2017-18 is far more impressive than it would appear it first glance, if only for the simple reason that he’s playing better than anyone else has at this point in their career.

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First off, there’s the shooting. Many of us have looked at Dirk’s signature stepback and thought “are we sure he can’t do that until he’s 45?” Well, he’s 39 now, and so far, so good. Dirk’s splits for the season are 47-42-90, which is actually a touch above his career line of 47-38-88. Dirk can’t be the anchor of a team anymore, but he’s still shooting the ball just as well as he did in his prime. When we consider the minutes he’s logged both in the regular season and the playoffs, this is nothing short of marvelous.

How does Dirk compare with other players in their 20th season? That’s where it really gets interesting. Two years ago, in his final campaign for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant played more minutes and scored more points than Dirk is now, but he did so at the massive cost of his efficiency, as he forced up shots and converted 35.8 percent of his attempts from the field. Dirk has decreased his usage rate, and it’s helped him remain efficient.

How about Vince Carter, the only other 20-year vet in the league? He can still dunk (and probably will be able to when he’s 60), but he’s down to four points a game and 37.1 shooting. Finally, there’s Kevin Garnett, who ultimately played 21 years. In his 20th season, he averaged 6.9 points a game, and while he shot 46.7 from the field, he lacked Dirk’s 3-ball, making him a less efficient scorer. Of the stars from Dirk’s generation who made it through two decades, Dirk’s game has easily held up the best.

We can go a step further: no one has been this effective after playing 20 years in the NBA. Even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in his 20th and final season, was averaging fewer points and fewer rebounds than Dirk is now. What we’re seeing from Dirk is unprecedented.

So, why isn’t it a bigger deal? A lot of might have to do with the poor performance of the Mavericks. They’re a rudderless team trying to develop a core, and they’re off to a slow start. When Dennis Smith, Jr. and whoever the Mavs might draft in 2018 reach their full potential, Dirk will probably be gone. In an alternate universe, late-period Dirk could have thrived as a role player on a Mavs team that still contended, or at least made the playoffs, but the timing just wasn’t right.

Ironically, a lot of this has to do with the teams the Mavericks were trying to build five years ago. After winning their lone title in 2011, the Mavs tried as hard as they could to stay relevant. Every year, there were new free agents and trade acquisitions that were meant to keep them in the conversation as contenders. Vince Carter, O.J. Mayo, Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis and, of course, the disastrous Rajon Rondo trade all come to mind. What happened was that these teams were usually good enough to make the playoffs, but not much more. The Mavs swung and missed at big time free agents like Dwight Howard (though to be fair, they might have dodged a bullet there) and didn’t get Deron Williams to come to town until well after his prime was over.

The result was Mavs teams that could compete, but not contend. Then, they ran out of steam, and they now find themselves trapped in lottery land. As this is happening, Dirk is in the awkward position of playing quietly effective basketball on a team that is in no position to properly utilize his skill set.

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We’ll likely never see Dirk play for another team, and after all he’s meant for basketball in Dallas, it’s hard to know what type of basketball fan would want him to. That being said, it’s a bit of a bummer that a still-valuable Dirk is stuck on a lottery team rather than in a situation where he could play a more meaningful role. However,  Dirk’s unfortunate surroundings don’t make what he’s doing this year any less impressive. He’s displaying more longevity than any NBA player we’ve ever seen, and managing to build on what was already an incredible legacy.