LOS ANGELES -- Dirk Nowitzki and his wife, Jessica, attended Sunday’s Mavericks-Lakers game, where Nowitzki was surprised with a first-half video tribute and standing ovation.

We caught up with Nowitzki at halftime and, as usual, he provided thoughtful responses to subjects ranging from the video tribute to whether he would consider coming out of retirement to, naturally, Luka Doncic.

On that latter topic, Nowitzki laughed and admitted, “I thought he was going to have a little tougher transition in year two. ... So, I was wrong there.”

The conversation with the Mavericks’ great follows:

Q: What did you think about the Lakers’ video tribute to you and the fan response?

Nowitzki: “I didn’t know this was coming. I’m sort of speechless, it’s sort of surreal. All the outpour of love I’ve been getting after April, after I announced, being honored everywhere ... charity events. It’s been an amazing six, seven, eight months and I’m really enjoying it, but of course now that the season’s started I miss it more; I miss it more. I miss being there. I miss being with the guys. But it’s been an intense seven months.”

Q: What do you think about how the Mavericks are playing?

Nowitzki: “It’s been a fun year. Luka’s playing out of this world. Everybody else is defending, shooting, rebounding and I still think they have room to improve. Obviously, [Kristaps Prozingis] is slowly finding his rhythm, so I really like what I see. They’re quick, they’re long, they’re good defensively when they want to be, and they’ve got playmakers and shot makers. I feel like it’s a very deep team. Any night, it might be Seth [Curry] coming in; it might be Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] coming in; [Justin] Jackson today is making shots. So, I feel like any given night somebody else could step up and make big plays. Hopefully the playoffs are in the Mavs’ future this year.”

Q: And Luka’s play specifically?

Nowitzki: “I’ve got to be honest. I thought he was going to have a little tougher transition in year two, just because he was so phenomenal last year with all the triple-doubles. I thought people were just going to really hone in on him, but he’s even gotten better.

“His shot looks better. His free throw looks better. His decision making off the pick-and-rolls when they trap him, he makes the right play almost every time. He seems to get to the basket at will at times.

“So, I was wrong there. I was wrong. Even the experts, I guess, can be wrong. He’s looking really fantastic. To average a triple-double over a whole month is unbelievable – and that at 20, so the sky’s the limit for this team.”

Q: Jason Witten sat out for a year and came back? Are you coming back next year?

Nowitzki: "Oh, man. I wish, I wish. But my foot is not great, so my health is just not there any more, where it needs to be to compete and go up and down every day. So, from that standpoint last year was really tough.

"It took some of the fun away that I was having. Just kind of not being able to do the moves I want to make. So, last year was tough. Even some of the good games. I mentioned it right after the season, I wasn’t having that much fun. My best game of the year was probably in Golden State, and even that game I shot a fadeaway in the second half and was kind of limping back, so I knew that that was going to be the end of the road. But I’m thankful that for 21 years I was super-fortunate. I only had a few minor surgeries, so I can’t complain and hopefully the foot will get better as the years go on and I can still be able to play tennis and chase the kids and enjoy life.”

Q: When did you find out about the video tribute?

Nowitzki: "Really right before the game. I came out here because my tennis fundraiser in September, one of the auction items was coming to the Lakers game with us (Dirk and his wife, Jessica). So, we got here and we did a tour of Jimmy Goldstein’s house this morning, which was part of the package and really amazing. Jimmy showed us around. Super-cool house. So, that was a super experience for them and for us, too.

“I didn’t know the Lakers were going to do that. Super-honored and super-humbled, for sure.”

Q: If the injuries weren’t a factor, do you think you would have played even more?

Nowitzki: "It was a tough year for me. I tried the surgery. I hoped it was going to give me even more mobility, flexibility in the foot so I could play a little better. But it ended up actually being worse. No more movement in the foot; I feel like I had even more pain at times. I missed the first 30 games with the tendon injury that wasn’t planned. Last year was tough. It took some of the fun, unfortunately, from me playing this game. That’s how I knew it was time to step away.

"But my goal was always these last few years to get the Mavs through the tough times. The last few years weren’t easy, after the championship, so it’s been some tough years, but to see the core in place with K.P. and Luka and some of the role players, hopefully we’re going to be set up to be good for a long, long time.

“We had a stretch there when we won over 10 years, 50-plus games. I kind of see that going now with Luka and K.P. and hopefully they’re going to keep adding to the team and they’re going to be a fun team to watch for a long, long time.”