Dirk Nowitzki unexpectedly admits crushing mistake from end of his career

Dirk Nowitzki is widely known as the greatest Dallas Mavericks player of all time.

Nowitzki played for the Mavs from 1998 until 2019 and helped bring the Mavs their only NBA Championship in 2011. He is beloved throughout Dallas for his loyalty, humbleness, and craft, and there will never be another Maverick like him.

The Mavs were blessed with the perfect successor to follow in Nowitzki's footsteps as Luka Doncic was a rookie during Nowitzki's last year. These two Mavs legends share a special bond even after playing just one year together, and Nowitzki recently made an honest admission about the end of his career that includes the one season he played with Doncic.

Dirk Nowitzki says he should have retired earlier

Anyone who watched Nowitzki towards the end of the career could tell that he wasn't himself and that his time in the NBA would be over soon, and Nowitzki admitted that last week. Nowitzki said he missed the perfect time to retire, and thinks he should have retired two years earlier.

"I think I missed the right time if you watched my last two years," Nowitzki said. "It’s always hard to find the right moment for a competitor. The decision was kind of made for me. I think mentally I could have done one more year to see Luka grow and help him out. But physically I couldn’t keep it up."

Nowitzki just couldn't move like he could back in the day during the last couple of years of his career, and he was nowhere near the same player that he once was physically. His minutes steadily decreased over the last four seasons of his career until he was playing under 16 minutes per game in his final season.

His body wasn't going to be able to hold up for much longer in the NBA, and although retirement wasn't something he was looking forward to, he seems to be enjoying his time away from the game. Nowitzki can still be spotted at Mavs games occasionally and seems to cherish the time that he gets to spend with his family.

Nowitzki is now an advisor for the Mavs, and although he admitted that he should have retired two years before, he has still been involved with the game ever since he retired. He admitted that he's not "advising that much," as the advisor, but he still maintains a great relationship with everyone in the organization and talks hoops with Jason Kidd "all the time."

While everyone knows Nowitzki and Doncic as friends, an under-the-radar friendship that was revealed last season was the one between Kyrie Irving and Nowitzki. Irving called himself a "little brother" to Nowitzki, and said that he is someone he "can always go to if (he) need(s) some resources and advice."

Nowitzki's value to the Mavs is priceless, and his time with the team will never be forgotten.