The German national team lost on Thursday to Spain in Eurobasket, which eliminated it from contention to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. This was likely Dirk Nowitzki's last shot to play in the Olympics for his national team, but it ended in disappointment. After the game, Nowitzki was showered with cheers from the hometown crowd - the games were played in Berlin - as most people assumed that this would be his last game for Germany, but that many not be the case. It is being reported now that Nowitzki may have one more tournament left playing for his country, according to Stathis Trapezanlidis of Eurohoops.net.
Germany will not be in the Olympics, that much is known, but there is a chance they could get a wildcard into the pre-Olympics tournament, which Nowitzki said he would consider playing in.
"I thought this was going to be my last appearance. But I was told that there is a chance we might get a wildcard for the pre-Olympics tournament. We have to wait and see if we get together as a national team once again next summer," said Nowitzki.
Nowitzki treated this game as if it was his last, as he got very emotional when the crowd embraced him. He has been playing for the German national team since 1997 and has put up great numbers for the team. This qualifying tournament didn't go so great for him though as he averaged only 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting just 36 percent from the field in five games. He said that if this tournament wasn't in Berlin he likely wouldn't have played so that might be an indication that his international career is indeed over despite him leaving it open.
As for Nowitzki's NBA career, he signed a three-year $25 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks last summer and still has two years left on that at more than $8 million a season. Nowitzki will play this season at age 37 and then has a player option for the 2016-17 season. He was still productive a season ago in reduced minutes, so he likely has a few more seasons of playing in him. Nowitzki might decide to call it quits after picking up his player option and this contract runs out.
Skip to 1:10 in the video below to see the ovation for Nowitzki.
