Dirk Nowitzki's season debut is finally here.
As the 15-11 Dallas Mavericks prepare to take on the Suns in Phoenix on Thursday night (10:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), they'll receive a little bit of a morale boost with the season debut of their veteran star, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
"Dirk Nowitzki is finally ready to begin his record-breaking 21st season with the Mavericks," sources told ESPN.
The sources said Nowitzki is finally ready for game action after a longer-than-anticipated recovery from spring surgery on his left ankle.
Nowitzki's long-awaited debut took a setback in September when his left foot flared up in pickup games. The tendon in his foot flared up due to increased flexibility as a result of the removal of bone spurs that had built up over the years.
Although the best player in franchise history has been sidelined for the first few months of the season, the Mavericks are rolling behind their newest European import, Luka Doncic. Entering Thursday's game against the Suns, the Mavericks rank seventh in the Western Conference to go along with the best home record at 13-2. Doncic has established himself as the clear Rookie of the Year favorite, posting averages of 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game on 36.9 percent shooting from three-point range.
Because of the Mavericks' sensational start and Nowitzki's advanced age (40), the former MVP will take things slowly and admitted that it will take awhile before he's back to full speed.
"Rhythm will be tough," Nowitzki said recently. "The last game I played was the end of March. Nobody just takes seven months, eight months off and comes out balling. It's going to be a process for me playing against NBA players, [especially] the speed of the game these days. It will take me probably a couple of games to get used to it, but we'll see how it goes.
Nowitzki, who hasn't averaged 30 minutes per game since the 2015-16 campaign, stressed that he won't be playing that much anymore.
"I'm not going to play 30 minutes anymore. Maybe get a couple of stints here and there and see how it goes."
When the German big man takes the court on Thursday, it will mark his 21st season in the NBA and with the Mavericks franchise. It will not only tie him with five other players for the most seasons played in pro basketball history, it will set a mark for most seasons played with one franchise, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who played 20 seasons in the purple and gold.
While the topic on Thursday will be celebrating one of the greatest players ever making NBA history, the real issue at hand will be integrating Nowitzki into a lineup that has excelled without him.
