DALLAS -- When the Rockets played in Dallas in the preseason, second-year forward Sam Dekker matched up with Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki and could not help but share a thought with the 38-year old legend.
"I was guarding him and I said, 'You've been in the league almost as long as I've been alive,' " Dekker said. "It's pretty cool. He's a guy I looked up to forever. Now, he's another guy on the other side I have to compete with and try to outwork."
Dekker, 22, has been around a bit longer than Nowitzki, beginning his 19th season, has been in the NBA.