Nowitzki to 'take it year by year' in effort to finish career strong

Dirk Nowitzki inked a deal with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason that could see him play his 19th and 20th seasons with the only franchise he's known.

The 38-year-old isn't sure if he'll play out the duration of the contract, which he will leave it up to his body to decide.

"I always said I wanted to kind of take it year by year," Nowitzki told ESPN's Tim MacMahon on Thursday. "But signing a two-year deal doesn't mean I necessarily have to play those two years. I think we'll see how next year goes, how the body responds, and then we'll make that decision again next year.

"But obviously, I would love to play the next two years and then just see how it goes. By that point I'm turning 40, and that's already up there in age for the NBA, so we'll just have to wait and see how the body responds next two years."

The 7-foot German has 1,485 games and over 53,000 minutes on his odometer between the regular season and playoffs - all for the organization that traded for him on draft night in 1998.

Nowitzki, the NBA's active points leader, and sixth all time, with 29,491, has been loyal to Dallas, giving the club a hometown discount on his last pact. After opting out of the third year this summer - which would've seen him earn about $8.7 million - the future Hall of Famer was rewarded handsomely.

The former league MVP reportedly agreed to a two-year, $40-million deal before team owner Mark Cuban upped it to $50 million over the same span. As MacMahon notes, however, only $5 million for the 2017-18 campaign is guaranteed.

Related: Cuban says Mavericks paid Dirk more than he asked for

Nowitzki, who led the Mavs to the 2011 championship, is appreciative of Cuban and looks forward to ending his career where it started.

"(Cuban has) been incredibly loyal to me, and I've shown obviously that I've wanted to be here last couple years," Nowitzki said. "And I think he wanted to reward me in a way. It makes me obviously feel great and feel wanted. I'm happy that I can finish my career here in Dallas, where I always wanted to be, and hopefully finish strong the last couple of years."

Despite his age, Nowitzki has proven he can still produce. Though it's evident he's lost a step, he still put up 18.3 points, 6.5 boards, and 1.8 assists while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from long range in 31.5 minutes over 75 contests in 2015-16.