At the time, Nowitzki was an impressionable 19-year old man who the Dallas Mavericks had pegged as the franchise’s next up-and-coming star. Well today, 13 trips to the NBA All-Star game and one league Most Valuable Player award and numerous other accolades later, Nowitzki is now a 40-year old man.
Indeed, Dirk Werner Nowitzki will celebrate his 40th birthday on June 19. And in typical Nowitzki fashion, he downplayed the milestone Monday during an exclusive interview with Mavs.com.
“Forty is a big step, but you can mentally prepare for it,” Nowitzki said. “It’s been creeping up for a lot of years now.