Dirk Nowitzki out for season

by
Michael Lark
April 5, 2018

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13-time NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki is done for the season.

On Thursday morning, Nowitzki underwent surgical debridement of his left ankle. The surgery was performed by Dr. Eugene Curry and Dr. Daniel Worrel at the Carrell Clinic in Dallas the team announced.

“The surgery is considered relatively minor and is not expected to affect his decision on whether to return for a 21st season,” reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.

Nowitkzki expressed his desire to play in 2019, according the Marc Stein of the New York Times.

“As of now, I’m planning to come back,” he told Stein.

Nowitzki sat out the Mavs 105-100 loss to Orlando on Wednesday night. The Mavs now own the fourth-worst record in the NBA and a 11.9 percent chance of landing the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

In 77 games, Nowitzki has averaged 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the Mavs this season.

The Wurzburg, Germany, native was the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He will be in the final year of a two-year, $10 million deal to begin the 2018-19 season.

Dallas will be without Dirk Nowitzki, JJ Barea, Wes Matthews, Nerlens Noel and Seth Curry for the last 3 games of the year… The rest of the roster COMBINED has 18 years of experience under their belt (one less than Dirk alone), and four rookies active.

— All Things Mavs (@All_Things_Mavs) April 5, 2018