Dirk Nowitzki made his season debut for the Mavericks in Phoenix on Thursday night.  The 40-year-old made history doing so.

No it wasn’t his two points in six minutes of play that was historic.  Stepping on the floor made it officially his 21st season in the NBA with the same team.

The future hall of famer’s only bucket of the night had owner Mark Cuban excited.  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to help the Mavs win the game and they ended up losing 99-88.

The end of an athlete’s career can be hard to watch.  Especially when they were once one of the best in their sport.