\Dirk Nowitzki’s Loyalty Is Truly Unique

After years of taking less in hopes of attracting superstars, Dirk Nowitzki is set to get paid by the Dallas Mavericks.

It seems like the modern-day NBA features players that tend to shy away from loyalty. LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, LaMarcus Aldridge left the Portland Trail Blazers in 2015 and Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.

But the Dallas Mavericks are fortunate enough to still have Dirk Nowitzki 18 years after they traded for him on draft night.

Nowitzki is part of small class of this generation’s superstars that have stayed with one team for their entire career.

Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (and requested a trade at one point in time) while Tim Duncan has played 19 seasons and counting with the San Antonio Spurs.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Dallas Mavericks

Nowitzki is truly a part of an elite classes of players, with worthy actions both on and off the court.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

But he hasn’t had to sacrifice his entire career. When it became obvious that he was set to become a superstar, his salary jumped from $2 million to $10 million between the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

From there on out, he worked his way up to a salary of roughly $22 million in the 2013-14 season. Then, his drive to compete for championships moved him to take a major pay cut. During the summer of 2014, Nowitzki accepted a new three-year deal, worth just $25 million.

That set him up for salaries around $8 million a year for 2014-15 and 2015-16 as the Mavs made runs at Carmelo Anthony and DeAndre Jordan.

Then in late June, Nowitzki opted out of that deal to become a free agent.

The Mavs ultimately missed out on Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside, their top two targets, and ended up agreeing on a new two-year, $40 million deal with Nowitzki–a nice raise in what’s likely the final deal of his career.

His loyalty over the course of his career has been one of the defining features of his legacy. He’s had opportunities to leave before, whether it be during his prime in the mid-2000s or as recently as this summer, when he remained committed to the Mavs despite their free agency failures.

He had this to say about the rumors linking him to the Golden State Warriors (via Yahoo! Sports):

"“But some GM of the Warriors said that they will be very aggressive in the free-agent market. That’s where my name dropped somewhere. It was not like I said, ‘I want to be with the Golden State Warriors.’ … I always said that I want to end my career with Dallas. I (will) play my 18th season there and it would be great if I could reach 20.”"

It took Nowitzki 13 seasons to win a title, when players like LeBron James left their original team after just seven.

At one point in NBA history, it was a rarity to see superstars switch teams and they simply didn’t do it as freely as they do in the current state of the league.

Take the current free agency period, for instance. We’ve already seen Kevin Durant leave when it seemed like it was certain he would stay in Oklahoma City. Then, another big shocker came when Dwyane Wade–considered a “Heat Lifer” at one point–decided to go home to Chicago.

The man who has won three championships with his franchise was looking for a near-max deal while the man with just one, who had been riding along with average teams over the past five seasons, was willing to take a major pay cut to help his team succeed.

At the end of 2013-14 season, Nowitzki could’ve demanded a max contract–and he would’ve gotten it–but instead, he chose to give the team a chance at getting better instead of tying up cap space. In the process, he left millions of dollars on the table.

As Nowitzki is set to reach even more milestones, including a potential move into the top-five on the all-time scoring list, you have to think that his accomplishments mean a little more given the situation he’s in and how he’s responded to adversity throughout portions of his career.

must read: Seth Curry Could Turn Out To Be A Steal For The Mavs

As we continue to follow a league where loyalty seems to be fading more and more each offseason, it’s important for the fans in Dallas to realize just how rare it is to see a player stick around through the good and bad.

Amid the heartbreak of failed seasons and free agency periods, the Dallas Mavericks have one steady piece in place: Dirk Nowitzki.