Dirk Nowitzki: The Forgotten About Superstar
Last night against the Lakers, Dirk Nowitzki became just the 6th player in NBA history to join the 30,000-point club, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain. Dirk accomplished this feat playing his entire career on just one team, the Mavericks. Dirk has already stated he plans to come back for one more season to play his 20th year with the Mavs, but it is unlikely he climbs any more spots in the scoring list. That said, let’s take a look back at the remarkable career of Dirk.
Dirk had one of the more remarkable careers of any player in the history of basketball, so why is he not commonly looked upon as a true all-time great? One of the top 15-20 players to have ever played? Why do we sometimes forget he is even still in the league? Probably because he played in the shadow of Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan in the Western Conference for his entire career, who were two of the very few who were actually better than Dirk.
Dirk was a rookie in the 1998-1999 season, which is when Kobe and Duncan’s run of dominance began. Duncan’s Spurs won the NBA finals in 1999, which was the first of 10 championships that would be won by Kobe or Duncan over a span of 16 years. In that time, Kobe and Duncan combined for 3 finals losses, meaning the Spurs and Lakers combined for 13 finals appearances in 16 seasons, effectively not giving anyone else in the West any hope. The 3 years Kobe or Duncan didn’t represent the rest? Dirk was there two of the three, winning one championship of his own.
Dirk took his game to an all-star level for the first time in 2001-2002, which would start a run of 11 straight all-star seasons and 13 out of 14 seasons. In 2000-2001 Dirk was named All-NBA 3rd team, marking the first time he made an All-NBA team. This would mark the first of 12 consecutive seasons he was named to one of the three All-NBA teams. Perhaps he reached the height of his career in 2006-2007 when he won the NBA MVP behind 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
Just how did Dirk reach 30,000 points? Starting in 1999-2000 through 2015-2016, Dirk averaged 17 point per game or more every season. He topped 20 or more points per game from 2000-2001 through 2011-2012, and one last time in 2013-2014. He also topped 25 points per game 5 times in that stretch. The remarkable consistency of Dirk for 17 straight seasons of 17 points per game or more is what makes him one of the career leaders in scoring.
Dirk was a truly transcendent player, more so than guys like Kobe and Duncan. Kobe was one of the most gifted guards to ever play, but played an identical style to what we saw in Jordan. Duncan was the next in line of the great big men who have played the game, and was truly dominant, but not in a way that we haven’t seen before. Dirk played ahead of his time. A 7-footer who can knock down 3 pointers at a high clip was unheard of 20 years ago when Dirk was entering the league. Big men couldn’t shoot. Now? Every team is looking for their Dirk. Every team is looking for their “stretch 4” or “stretch 5”, a big man who can play inside and out to open the floor for the guards. Dirk paved the way for the way many bigs play the game today. He also paved the way for an influx of European players entering the NBA, as he was hands down the most successful European born NBA player of all time.
Who will be the next to 30,000 points? Some hack named LeBron James is almost certain to reach the milestone next year. After him? Carmelo Anthony is about 3 fully healthy seasons of sustaining about 23-24 points per game away. And after him? Kevin Durant is a pretty good bet, but he is still probably 6 seasons away from reaching the milestone if he can stay mostly healthy. Simply put, 30,000 is a tough number to get to. There’s a reason only 5 guys have done it before Dirk. Dirk deserves the respect of an all-time great, but he is often the forgotten about superstar. Today, we want to give him some credit for his greatness.
Where do you think Dirk falls when discussing all-time greats? Where does he rank among power forwards all time? Comment and let us know! Stay tuned for more current sports stories. Don't forget to follow us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram @beyondthemetrics, and Twitter @byondthemetrics
