2015 Year in Review: Dirk Nowitzki

Where do you start with a guy like Dirk Nowitzki? Where can you? He had another All-Star season, his 15th career 1,000-point season, and he climbed into the No. 7 spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, setting himself up to pass Shaquille O’Neal for No. 6 early next season.

Even at age 36, in his 17th season, he was still doing things no one else could do. He was one of five qualified players in the NBA to hit at least 45 percent of his attempts overall and 38 percent of his three-point attempts while scoring at least 17 points per game, per Basketball-Reference, and he’s the oldest player ever to do. He reached the same plateau last season, at age 35 — the second-oldest player ever to do so. Third on that list, by the way, is Larry Bird, who recorded those numbers at age 34 in 1990-91.

Numbers can describe Nowitzki’s career on the whole, but it’s almost selling him short to characterize just how effectively he’s aged. His role on offense is steadily being reduced — there’s no doubt about it — but he’ll be the last person to complain about it, and he’s performed in his role as efficiently as we’ve come to expect, despite all the mileage on his legs and wear and tear on his body.

SEASON STATS

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Nowitzki was green all over the shot chart. Business as usual. He was especially efficient at home this season, shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 44.5 percent on three-pointers.

The month-to-month story of Dirk’s season is a strange one, however. For example, he shot 40.7 percent on threes in January, then his three-point percentage sank to 28.6 percent in February. In March it rebounded to a blistering 52.2 percent, but his field goal percentage dropped to 41.7 percent. The NBA season is a grind, to be sure, but that was even an understatement for this season’s Mavs team, which battled all sorts of injuries to its top players from the Rajon Rondo trade in December and beyond.

That said, Dirk was still a mid-range ace, finishing tied for 10th in field goals made per game from 16-24 feet, per SportVU, and tying for the third-highest field goal percentage from that region among players who made at least one such shot per game. It was particularly important this season that Nowitzki shoot it efficiently from deep, as his average shot distance rose to 16.9 feet, the highest of his career according to Basketball-Reference. That number has increased for five consecutive campaigns.

One thing is for sure about the Big German after all these years: He’ll be able to catch it and shoot it for as long as he can lift his arms above his head. But as the transition to the next era of Mavs basketball continues, it will be important to find younger players like Parsons who can carry more of the offensive load than we’re used to seeing from other players and put Dirk in a position to be successful. Parsons and Monta Ellis have done just that for the past couple seasons, while the Rondo trade was a transparent attempt at adding another talented player who could do the same. The search will continue not only for a future centerpiece, but also for talented playmakers — like Parsons — and “other guys” — think Al-Farouq Aminu, for example — who can round out the roster.

STANDOUT SHOWING

Although it came in a tough two-point loss, Nowitzki’s performance in Game 3 of the Mavs/Rockets series stands out as one of his best in the playoffs in recent memory. He scored 34 points — the fourth-oldest since at least 1964 to do so, per Basketball-Reference — on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 from the free throw line. This included a 16-point performance in the fourth quarter alone, including three clutch free throws with 33 seconds left that brought the Mavs to within one point.

Everything you could ever want from Nowitzki was in that game: He hit fadeaways, three 3s, all of his free throws, and added eight rebounds and four assists. It’s the type of performance you’d expect from a 26-year-old, not a 36-year-old. Anyone who doubts there’s much left in Dirk’s tank can check out his highlights from Game 3 and they’ll soon think otherwise.

CONTRACT STATUS

Nowitzki has one guaranteed season left on his contract and a player option for another. He said on The Ticket earlier this offseason that he plans to play at least two more seasons, meaning he’ll likely fulfill both seasons remaining on this current deal before deciding what to do next in his career.

The team-friendly deal he inked last summer made the Chandler Parsons signing possible, and it has also made most of the Mavericks’ plans possible this summer as well. Dirk has voiced over and over again for years now that all he wants is to be on a successful playoff team, and the personal and professional sacrifices he’s made — like perhaps even coming off the bench next season in the right situation — have made that goal much more feasible. He’s a one-of-a-kind superstar.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

Today is Dirk’s 37th birthday and he’s about to enter his 18th season in the NBA, but he’s still playing at a level most pros will never reach. With that said, Nowitzki himself has acknowledged he won’t play forever — likely just another two seasons, and then possibly one more afterward (it would be his 20th).

As tough a pill that is to swallow, especially for fans and admirers who have watched him on a nightly basis for most of the past two decades, the Mavs are working to put themselves in position to function when Dirk finally does hang ’em up. The Parsons signing last summer, and perhaps another big free agency splash this July, are the types of moves teams “in transition” must make. Nowitzki wasn’t the go-to guy for the Mavericks last season, and he might never be again. Therefore, it’s important to surround him with as much talent as possible, and it’s a project Dallas is tackling one day at a time.