On Wednesday, Dirk Nowitzki was spotted bringing a plate of leftovers wrapped up in tin foil into the Dallas Mavericks arena with him, very much like the one your parents might send you home with after you finally come over for dinner. People noticed!

It turns out he does this a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

Here he is in December 2013:

And in January 2014:

January 2014, again:

Still January 2014:

November 2014:

Later in November 2014:

December 2014:

January 2015:

But there's a simple explanation for this: Dirk Nowitzki is a picky eater, okay?

SB Nation reached out to the Mavericks about the go plate. Mavs PR explained:

Yes, in Dirk's old age he has gotten very particular about his diet. So, that said, he brings his own food to eat after the game. The plate that he always walks around with is his to-go plate that he brings his food on every game. He is a creature of habit, for sure.

That's right. 37-year-old Dirk doesn't need your crap in his golden years. He doesn't want to eat your food, and he doesn't need to. He's earned the right to microwave whatever day- or days-old food he likes before he's set adrift on an ice floe to bob slowly into the horizon, his elbow creaking ever so quietly as he ladles himself reheated mac and cheese.

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