DALLAS (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki cried near midcourt when the second quarter was about to resume.
The Dallas Mavericks star nearly jumped for joy with a huge smile on his face after a rare dunk prompted thunderous applause from a crowd celebrating the final home game of his record 21st season with the same franchise.
And then after Larry Bird joked during a postgame ceremony that he was “15 when Dirk came into the league and now I’m 62,” Nowitzki let fly with a realization the 40-year-old said he reached in recent days.
It’s time for the most accomplished European player in NBA history to retire after scoring a season-high 30 points in a 120-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.