Dirk Nowitzki plans to return to the Mavericks for one more season

Dirk Nowitzki has elected to forego retirement to plat at least one more season with the franchise. Next season will be Nowitzki’s 21st with the team.

Long-term careers with a single team are few and far in-between. A change of management, coaching and a player growing to a different space can prohibit a long-term stay with a franchise. Dirk Nowitzki is proving to be one of the few anomalies in sports — in a few weeks he will wrap up his 20th year with the Dallas Mavericks. While retirement should appear on the horizon, Nowitzki has expressed intent to The New York Times in at least coming back one more year.

"“As of now, I’m planning to come back,” Nowitzki said in an interview with The New York Times this week. “I feel great. I’ve only missed one game all season. I signed a two-year contract because I wanted to play two more years. And here we are.”An official decision on whether to invoke the 2018-19 player option on the two-year, $10 million contract he signed in July 2017 will not be made until the off-season."

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For Nowitzki, to paraphrase the great Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, the allure of the game, keeps calling his name. Obviously, old age has shown in Nowitzki’s game. He’s averaged the lowest point total in his career this season (12.1.) But for some, and most-likely Nowitzki, basketball isn’t just a game, it’s a way of life. Perhaps, Nowitzki will take the continuing rebuild of the Mavericks, for the opportunity to lace up his shoes for one more season. Because the reality is, once you’re done, you’re done. There is no coming back. Old age makes us wiser, but our bodies will continue to decline. So it’s noble for Nowitzki to witness the opportunity to continue to play, and grasp it.