Report: Nowitzki undergoes season-ending ankle surgery

Dirk Nowitzki's 20th NBA season has come to an end.

The Dallas Mavericks big man underwent surgery on his left ankle Thursday morning, and will miss the final three games of the 2017-18 campaign, sources told ESPN's Tim MacMahon.

The surgery was considered minor, and won't impact Nowitzki's decision regarding his return next season, according to MacMahon. In fact, sources told Marc Stein of the New York Times that Nowitzki elected to have the surgery now in order to improve his chances of playing in 2018-19.

Nowitzki has a year left on his contract with Dallas and has said he plans to play it out. Longtime Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has similarly expressed optimism that Nowitzki will return to play one more season.

Incredibly, the 39-year-old suited up for 77 games this season, playing through what the team has reportedly called a left ankle impingement. He averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game, with a classic Nowitzkian .456/.409/.898 shooting line.