Wade, Nowitzki added to ASG rosters by Silver
Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki will each get one last moment of All-Star Game glory as commissioner Adam Silver on Friday announced each will be a special roster addition.
The two will be chosen in a special third round of the All-Star draft, which will be held next Thursday. Captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will pick from the pool of All-Star starters in the first round, All-Star reserves in the second round and then Wade and Nowitzki in the third round.
“As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs,” Silver said in a statement.
Wade, a Miami Heat mainstay, has said this will be his final season, calling this year “one last dance.”
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Rudy Gobert also will miss out on a $1 million bonus for not being selected to the All-Star Game. He will not receive the bonus if selected as a replacement player.
Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets, Ben Simmons of the 76ers, Nikola Vucevic of the Magic and Khris Middleton of the Bucks were chosen for their first All-Star Games.
The NBA’s All-Star draft will be Feb. 7, and broadcast on TNT.
Nowitzki, the leading scorer in NBA history among all foreign-born players, has suited up this year for a record 21st season with one franchise, the Dallas Mavericks. Unlike Wade, Nowitzki has not publicly stated whether this is his final season.
The 40-year-old German now comes off the bench for the Mavs and is averaging career lows of 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game.
Wade, 37, is averaging 13.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as he continues to contribute for the Heat as a reserve.
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game will be played Sunday, Feb. 17, in Charlotte, North Carolina.