Dirk is now the 6th NBA All-Time Leading Scorer!

[deihatein]

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[Andrew]

No mean feat, a testament to his scoring abilities and his longevity. Glancing at the all-time leaders, I notice he's one of nine active players in the top 50 for career points. This past generation has surpassed quite a few big names from the 80s, 90s, and earlier...though it's worth noting that many of them have stuck around longer, which helps boost their totals.

In any event, hats off to Dirk!

[[Q]]

Also, I bet all of those 3s helped them get the edge

[NovU]

I used to think Dirk was overrated for being a jump shooting big man. But now I think he's top 5 all time power forward.

He's probably the best shooting big man ever. He had zero athleticism and it goes to show how incredible his skills were. He had unstoppable release and moves for a 7 footer. I still remember how the Thunder just couldn't handle him in the PO. Even 7 foot KD was no match. Too skillful for PFs, too lengthy for SFs. Pure match up nightmare.

[deihatein]

He had zero athleticism

I disagree, I mean you don't get to the NBA without being atheltic in one way or another. Does Yao have zero athleticism? Dirk is KD before KD. It wasn't before that GSW first round defeat and probably Carlisle that he decided to slow down and post-up(don't have the stats to back it up but eye-test based on watching him)

Case in point:

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[iamSamke]

What an amazing time to live in!

[benji]

Avery Johnson slowed the Mavs to a crawl, it was Carlisle who loosened things back up.

Carlisle's always been a smart offensive coach masquerading as a tough slow it down defensive type.

[air gordon]

He had zero athleticism

I disagree, I mean you don't get to the NBA without being atheltic in one way or another. Does Yao have zero athleticism? Dirk is KD before KD.

Dirk may the most athletic non jump/dunk player in history. mastering the one leg fadeaway takes a tremendous amount of athleticism and skill

[benji]

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[NovU]

Don't fool yourselves boys. Calling Dirk athletic basketball player is a huge stretch in anyone's standard just as Pau Gasol is a finesse player athletic second and third.

Athletic players are Thabeet, Drummond, and Stromile. How you not see the difference here. Dirk's skill level is what separated himself from these goons. Without it, he'd be nothing in this league let alone Chinese. Perhaps try Japan, Korea league with that kind of athleticism, good luck.

[air gordon]

in conclusion, boyz
you are only athletic if you jump high and dunk a basksetball

skill has nothing to do with athleticism

[benji]

Of course an athletic player who is also skilled is better than an unskilled athletic player.

[NovU]

You guys are confusing me. Dirk minus the skills is a Korean player. Dirk minus the athleticism is still the NBA player. Andre Drummond minus skills is still the NBA top player. Andre Drummond minus athleticism is no different from me and you, just taller. That's my take on this issue.

[Andrew]

Dirk was never a freakish athlete, but probably average at least for a seven footer, with great coordination.

[benji]

Maybe an "average" seven foot basketball player. But I would rank him quite a bit higher than that.

[Andrew]

That's why I said "at least". I mean, when we talk about NBA players who aren't or weren't athletic, I think of Stacey King and Oliver Miller being at that end of the scale.

[NovU]

Let's not undermine Dirk's skill level. What makes his game great is not anything athleticism. Coordination and balance is closer to skills. Jason Smith, Shareef are in Dirk's group of athletics.

If his game was reliant on athleticism, I don't think he'd be playing at current level.

[Andrew]

He certainly is highly skilled, and doesn't rely on athleticism. But I wouldn't say he has zero athleticism either; if the scale runs from Oliver Miller/Stacey King up to Michael Jordan/LeBron James, I think he's closer to the middle than he is to Miller and King.

[NovU]

In literal sense, there's no way we could measure his exact athleticism. But here's how I see it.

His lack of athleticism was displayed on defensive end throughout his career. That's where he gets points off when we talk alltime greats because they'd argue he was worse than average PF on one end of the floor in terms of defense and rebounding. But he compensated it by playing smart and sticking to team concept on that end. Where he really shined was with his skillset, some moves just impossible to stop. He's unique. He's just different from his peers.

[benji]

Let's not undermine Dirk's skill level. What makes his game great is not anything athleticism. Coordination and balance is closer to skills. Jason Smith, Shareef are in Dirk's group of athletics.

If his game was reliant on athleticism, I don't think he'd be playing at current level.

Nobody said anything like this, they disputed your claim of Dirk having zero athleticism.

[NovU]

Because he is, in terms of what makes his game alltime great.

Lighten up, it's christmas and happy new year time. Here...

[benji]

Problem is, I don't see how Dirk can't be considered a great athlete for a seven footer. He moves around the floor like he's almost six inches shorter.

[NovU]

Now you go onto claim he's a great athlete. Moving well and positioning himself well have more to do with his basketball IQ and coordination.

[benji]

Yeah, seven footers with Dirk's athleticism show up every day, you can barely get through them all headed to the NBA at the airport.

[NovU]

Shall we agree Jason Smith and Sacre are great athletes then?