Nowitzki Staying With Mavericks For Record 21st Season
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Mavericks announced Monday that they have re-signed Dirk Nowitzki. While he was technically a free agent during this offseason, there was never any doubt that the big German superstar would come back to the only team that he has ever called home.
In fact, this year will mark the 21st season that Nowitzki has been with the Mavericks, setting a new NBA record for a player to be with a single franchise. The previous bar was set by Kobe Bryant, who spent his 20 seasons in the league all with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The terms of Nowitzki's deal with the Mavericks were not disclosed, per team policy.
Nowitzki is the most decorated player in Mavericks history. He is a 13-time NBA All-Star and earned All-NBA Team honors over 12 consecutive years, from 2000 to 2012. He was named NBA MVP for the 2006-07 season, and was the MVP of the 2011 NBA Finals, when the Mavericks won the franchise's first championship, defeating the Miami Heat.
The legendary Mavs star averages 21.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 34.4 minutes per game, across an astounding 1,471 games. He holds franchise records in points, rebounds, field goals, three-pointers, free throws, blocks, games, starts and minutes. His numbers in the NBA Playoffs are even better.
And this only scratches the surface of what Nowitzki has been able to accomplish in his time with the Mavericks.
Nowitzki became the sixth player in NBA history to hit 30,000 career points, in March 2017, and the first international player to reach that milestone. He is currently in sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, sixth place in free throws, fifth place in games, third places in minutes and eighth place in field goals.
The German was picked ninth overall in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, but then obtained by Dallas through a draft day trade. He re-resigned with the Mavs in 2001, signed a contract extension in 2006, then re-signed again in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
