After starting during his first 20 seasons, Dirk Nowitzki ‘will likely come off’ of the Dallas Mavericks’ bench.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle revealed during the team’s media day that the future Hall of Famer will come off of the bench this season. Carlisle also revealed Nowitzki will be limited in training camp after surgery on his ankle.
Carlisle explains rationale for @swish41 not starting. In part, “It’s about our franchise moving forward.” pic.twitter.com/pZtbwasc7X
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) September 21, 2018
“At this point, and Dirk knows this, we talked about it, we have to move the franchise forward the right way,” Carlisle said.
Nowitzki believes its the right thing to do during his final season in the NBA.
Dirk Nowitzki on likely coming off the bench: "It's all about winning at the end of the day. Whatever puts us in the best position to win is the way we're going to go. … If I'm coming off the bench, we better keep a bike ready and a few massage therapists in the back, and…
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 21, 2018
“It’s all about winning at the end of the day,” Nowitzki said. “Whatever puts us in the best position to win is the way we’re going to go. … If I’m coming off the bench, we better keep a bike ready and a few massage therapists in the back.”
The 40-year-old forward averaged 12.0 points (on 40.9 percent shooting from 3-point), 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists during 77 games this season — his 20th in the NBA. The 12-time All-Star sits 232 points behind Wilt Chamberlain for No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Nowitzki is set to become the first player in NBA history to play 21 consecutive seasons for the same franchise. The 7-foot German is one of six players overall, and the only international player, with more than 30,000 career points.
