Old Geezer Dirk Nowitzki Dunked Himself Onto The Injured List

Old, old man Dirk Nowitzki had himself a bit of a throwback game against the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night. In 24 minutes of action—just about all his body can handle, at this point—Nowitzki knocked home eight of 11 shot attempts, including all four of his looks from beyond the arc, to score 22 points and lead the Mavericks to victory.

Dirk has now made 257 baskets on the season, but perhaps none of them were more bitchin’ than this one, which came at the 7:40 mark of the second quarter:

A dunk! Notable, in this case, because it was the very first dunk of the season for the big 7-footer, who, at 39 years old, has all the ups of a lump of petrified wood. This was indeed a moment:

Mavs rookie Dennis Smith Jr. joked after the game that Dirk might need to take his spot in the upcoming Dunk Contest. That would be a hoot! It would also be a terrible idea, not least because the “Tall Baller from the G” can barely throw it down—apparently there are significant consequences for lifting a gigantic 39-year-old body three or more inches off the ground, and then landing on something other than a pile of goose feathers:

“Ankle effusion” is a fancy way of saying “my old as joints swelled up because I subjected them to several whole inches of airtime.” First dunk of the season, first missed game of the season. Never dunk again, Dirk!