Dirk Nowitzki can’t recall exactly when it hit him, that his greatest moments of glory—of 50-win seasons and thrilling playoff runs and championship chases—were over. Only that it did hit him. Hard.
It might have been late in 2011, as he watched key teammates depart, just months after the Mavericks won the title. Or maybe it was the following spring, when the Mavs got swept in the first round. Or the next year, when they missed the playoffs entirely.
But Nowitzki knew, as an NBA star in his mid-30s, that time was running out.
