Mavs great Dirk Nowitzki set to make 21st season debut vs Suns

Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks warms up on the sidelines during the first half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 13, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP

PHOENIX — Dirk Nowitzki was active for Dallas’ game against Phoenix on Thursday night, prepared to belatedly begin his record-setting 21st season with the Mavericks.

No other NBA player has played that many seasons with the same team.

The 40-year-old had been tied at 20 seasons with Kobe Bryant, who retired from the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2015-16 season.

Nowitzki had surgery to remove bone spurs from his left ankle last April, and the timing was to make sure he would be ready at the start of his record-setting season. But the 7-foot German had a setback before training camp, with tendon soreness forcing him to continue rehabbing the injury and missing the first 26 games.