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Dirk Nowitzki tweaking jumper, works on speeding up his release

Soobum Im / USA Today Sports

Dirk Nowitzki is 36-years-old and has already completed 16 seasons of a Hall of Fame career, but the Mavericks legend still finds ways to tweak and improve his game.

This summer, Nowitzki worked to speed up the release on his vaunted jumper.

"I don't think, to the naked eye, you would see it," Nowitzki told ESPN.com's Marc Stein. "I don't know if the (average) fan will see the difference. But I'm always trying to get better, and this is just a little tool for me to shoot a little quicker. We'll see how it works during the season."

If the tweak does improve Nowitzki's game at all, opposing big men should be terrified. Last season, Dirk averaged 21.7 points on 49.7 percent shooting, 39.8 percent three-point shooting and 89.9 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Though the big man just missed his second career 50-40-90 season, he did record only the 25th 49-39-89 shooting season in NBA history.

Still, Nowitzki sees room for improvement.

Via ESPN.com:

Even now, I'm 36, but I don't see myself as a complete basketball player. It's always about getting better and adding stuff in the summer. That's something I wanted to look at and see how it goes, so I'll try it.

What else can I do at 36 when the feet slow down a little bit? Try to be even quicker with the shot, because once you get older, you don't jump as high and the first step is slower. Shooting quicker should help my game for the back end of my career. And if it doesn't work (out well), I'll just go back to the old way.

Nowitzki worked on his shooting mechanics with his longtime "shot doctor," Holger Geschwindner.

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