Nowitzki responds to Cuban: 'I'll never stand for losing on purpose'
They say organizations tank, but players don't.
That rings true in the case of the Dallas Mavericks, whose owner, Mark Cuban, recently said "losing is our best option" and was subsequently fined $600,000 by the NBA on Wednesday.
Dirk Nowitzki, who's in his 20th season with the Mavericks, responded to those remarks by saying it's not in his DNA to stop trying to win.
"Players never play to lose. It might happen, but you don't play for it," Nowitzki told Dallas News' Eddie Sefko. "I still love to compete, that's one big reason why I'm still out there. I'll never stand for losing on purpose. It's just not who I am."
At 39 years old, the legendary power forward is averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 25.1 minutes per contest in what could be his final season. He's earning $5 million this year and has a team option for $5 million in 2018-19.
With Nowitzki leading the way, the Mavericks captured their first-ever championship in 2011. They haven't been able to replicate that success due to struggles assembling a strong supporting cast around the German power forward. And even before Cuban admitted to it, the club - which has the third-worst record in the league - had clearly been rebuilding.
Head coach Rick Carlisle said he talked to Cuban about his pro-tanking comments in great detail and that the billionaire businessman was embarrassed and apologized profusely.
Related - Nowitzki, Carlisle speak out on Mavericks turmoil: 'It's heartbreaking'
The backlash from the comments could be the least of Cuban's problems, though, as his organization has been at the center of a Sports Illustrated investigation that claimed the Mavericks mishandled years of sexual harassment complaints against their former CEO and overlooked domestic violence charges against a Mavs.com writer who's since been canned.