Hoops Habit
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Ranking the 50 greatest NBA players of all time

By Gerald Bourguet

The Last Dance, Michael Jordan, LeBron James (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
The Last Dance, Michael Jordan, LeBron James (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images /

23. Dirk Nowitzki

  • Resume: 21 seasons, 1 NBA championship, 1 NBA Finals MVP Award, 1 regular season MVP Award, 12-time All-NBA selection, 14-time NBA All-Star, 1-time 50-40-90 club member, Dallas Mavericks’ all-time leading scorer
  • Stats: 20.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, .471/.380/.879 shooting splits, 22.4 career PER, 206.3 win shares

There was a time when people questioned whether Dirk Diggler was really that good. Sure, he put up numbers and sure, he won a regular season MVP Award in 2007…but he was “soft,” he had never won anything and the year he earned that MVP, his top-seeded Dallas Mavericks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the “We Believe” Warriors.

Since that major upset was coming off the heels of a complete collapse in the 2006 NBA Finals the year before, it became easy to say Dirk wasn’t clutch despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. It wasn’t until the 2011 NBA Finals that Nowitzki was able to rewrite his chapter in the history books, gaining revenge on the Miami Heat despite an upgraded roster that included LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

After adding a title on his resume, he was vindicated from the struggles and criticism that used to haunt his standing among the all-time greats. Make no mistake, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best shooters and most unstoppable offensive players the league has ever seen.

He’s one of only six players in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points, fifth in career games played, third in minutes played and sixth on the all-time scoring list. Playing 21 seasons with the same team is a record that may never be broken. It also doesn’t hurt that his eye test consisted of more “How the hell did he get that off and how the hell did it go in??” shots than anyone other than MJ and Kobe.

His final home game was just the icing on the cake, as he became the oldest player in NBA history to score 30 points in a game, surpassing Michael Jordan.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1115816682742743040?s=20

With Dirk, we’re talking about a seven-footer who could score from anywhere and knock down unstoppable one-footed fade-aways that were impossible to block. Combine that with his longevity, his clutch shot-making, his infallibility from the free-throw line and his White Goodman-esque hair (“It’s gotta be the hair, Cotton! Feathered and lethal, you just don’t see it nowadays!”), and you’ve got an unquestionable legend.