Dirk Nowitzki played 21 NBA seasons, which means that for the past 21 years he’s had to focus on keeping his body in professional athlete shape. Now that he’s retired, Nowitzki is celebrating the best way an athlete can: By eating daily helpings of ice cream to make up for lost time.

“I’ve had ice cream almost every day, I’ve tried some suits on and they don’t fit. I’m probably about 15 plus,” Nowitzki said on a radio interview with 105.3 The Fan’s “Ben and Skin” show.

Nowitzki deserves every helping. He’s sixth all-time in scoring, just one spot behind Michael Jordan. Also, imagine playing in Dallas for 21 years and NOT being able to eat what you want when you want. It sounds awful. Those 21 years happen to be the longest with one team in NBA history.

“This season was tough on me, I think a lot of people didn’t notice it that much,” he added.  “I was struggling at times, I was in pain a lot during games. It was just not as much fun as it once was.”

Suffice it to say Nowitzki doesn’t have plans on joining the BIG3 anytime soon. Or, if he does, he’s going to have a lot of work to do to get back into playing shape, even if it is only halfcourt. Playing basketball on a stomach full of ice cream is no mean feat.