Mark Cuban thinks Dirk Nowitzki could play beyond this season

Many believe that the 2018-19 season will be the last of Dirk Nowitzki’s famed NBA career, but Mark Cuban thinks it’s possible The Big German goes further.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, the Dallas Mavericks owner talked Nowitzki and when retirement might or might not be coming for him.

“Dirk knows how to take care of his body,” said Cuban. “He is so precise and so meticulous about his diet and his exercise and his routine. And he’s not going to lose his shot. So, depending on what happens to our squad, he might play beyond this year.

“I’d say it’s under 50 percent right now,” Cuban added when asked how much of a possibility he thought there was that Nowitzki would play longer. “But if he’s playing 77 games and we’re getting better and we’re starting to win games? You know what a competitor he is — he’s going to want to come back.”

As Cuban hinted at, Nowitzki played in a remarkable 77 games last season. He also had one of the best three-point shooting years of his entire career (40.9 percent) and now has a reloaded roster to play with. This summer saw the Mavs add DeAndre Jordan and rookie Luka Doncic to an already intriguing young core with under-27 talents Dennis Smith Jr and Harrison Barnes.

Still though, Nowitzki is, of course, 40 years old and is about to enter his 21st year in the NBA. The 13-time All-Star’s mobility is pretty much entirely gone at this point too, and the comments that he made about his health in recent months were not too encouraging either. As such, Nowitzki’s pure physical condition will probably dictate his future plans more so than anything else.

H/T SportsDay