Kareem doesn't care for Dirk

[Andrew]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Took Another Shot At Dirk Nowitzki, Calling Him ‘A One-Trick Pony’

You might recall that, back in September, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer dismissed Dirk as little more than a “volume or streak shooter.” Well, the Lakers legend doubled down on his tepid appraisal of the Big German in an otherwise wide-ranging conversation on social issues with Tyler Cowen of the Mercatus Center:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Has there been an unstoppable move in the NBA since the skyhook? And I bring up Dirk’s fadeaway.

ABDUL-JABBAR: You asked about Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk Nowitzki’s shot is very hard to block, but I don’t think that he was able to have a dominant career because he couldn’t do other things. If he could have shot like that and rebounded and played defense and blocked shots, then he would have been all-around, and he would have gotten more credit. He was like a one-trick pony.

You want guys that can shoot like that on your team. I’m not saying that he lacked value, but he would have been considered at a higher level if he had done more on the court other than just shoot the ball.

I'd say he's selling Dirk a bit short there.

[Bruce]

Based on the all-time greats Kareem played against, I think there is some point to Kareems indifference for Dirk. A lot of the so called superstars today have holes to their games. However, I think the way Kareem expresses this point has cost him a head coaching gig in the NBA. Part of being an NBA head coach these days calls for a coach to be able to handle superstar egos and cover up the shortcomings of their stars.

[Andrew]

The same could be said for a lot of great players through history though, including some of Kareem's contemporaries. It's not exactly a recent trend.

Kareem's churlishness is well-documented, and it's often been cited as a factor in why he's had trouble finding a place in the coaching ranks. I think that, and perhaps a few preconceived notions are clouding his view of Dirk, to be honest. In his prime, Dirk was getting a respectable amount of rebounds, usually with a block and steal thrown in. He wasn't an extraordinary lockdown defender or anything, but he was competent at that end, and more than solid on the boards. In addition to his fadeaway, he was a pretty versatile scorer, and a capable passer.

Allan Houston is more the kind of player that I'd describe as a one-trick pony, and even he had a couple of offensive weapons to work with, at least earlier on his career before age and injuries took away some of his athleticism.

[NovU]

Dirk's game was a revolt. He is ultimate epitome of stretch 4 which suits perfectly to modern era basketball. In many senses, he's played a role of Shaq-MJ caliber game changer in this league. In transition to 4+1 era of ballgame, Dirk's skillset has been astonishingly invaluable as it easily comforts 5's game. Chandler and Pachulia's resurrection wasn't just a fluke, but they were beneficiaries of Dirk's game. One trick pony? That's disrespectful and ignorant.

[Stress Fracture]

What is Kareem bitching about? I don't get it.

[NovU]

Name one team that doesn't have a stretch 4 in today's league. None.



Next question: Who is the best stretch four in history?
Dirk.

He was in the center of evolution era to 4+1. People first doubted but came to realize his true impact to the game. Kinda why I have him above KG in my all time list.

[air gordon]

Dirk's the best shooting big man to play

KG wasn't part of the stretch 4 era. KG had a huge impact on the game, some not per say basketball reasons: first high schooler drafted to the pros in 2 decades and the big ticket contract he received, KG is easily the better all around player- besting dirk easily in rebounding and defense. his combination of career points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks is unparalleled

not to take anything from the Dirk....

[Andrew]

Yeah, there were a few years were KG was going back and forth with Duncan as to who was the best power forward in the league. I'd rank him above Dirk, but Dirk's still right up there.

[NovU]

http://uproxx.com/dimemag/whos-better-c ... garnett/2/

I see good arguments for KG but at the end of the day, I will go with Dirk.




BTW I remember having a discussion on Dirk a loooong time ago in our forum. Back then we had quite a few active Dirk fans here. There was one guy from Germany, too bad I can't recall his name. But I argued how it is tough to win with Dirk because of his uniqueness and nontraditional PF likeness. Boy was I ever wrong.

[Andrew]

It's kind of easy to overlook the career he's had, even with the championship in 2011. Like I said, with all due respect to Kareem, I think he's got him pegged wrong.

[Bruce]

This got me curious. I did some checking, and here are some players who have won the MVP trophy without ever getting selected in any of the All-defensive teams since the inception of the all-defensive team award in 1968:
1969 Wes Unseld
1975 Bob McAdoo
3X Magic Johnson
2001 Allen Iverson
2x Steve Nash
2007 Dirk Nowitzki
2011 Derrick Rose
2014 Kevin Durant
2015 Stephen Curry

Other MVP winners never to get an all-defensive team selection, but won an MVP award prior:
Bob Cousy and Bob Petit retired before 1968. Oscar Robertson retired in 1971.

I am not so sure about the accuracy of my list. But more or less it gives me an idea which players are not considered elite at both ends of the court.

[NovU]

Usually tho offense is what wins MVP a MVP. Even KG's offense was top notch in his only MVP season. Funnily his team defensive rating was out of top 5 that season. But in Dirk's MVP season his team was top 5.

phpBB [video]

Quite impressive for an athletically limited PF.

[Sauru]

honestly kareem comes off in 1 of 2 ways here. either A. he just does not like dirk personally so he discredits what he has accomplished (like isiah does with pippen) or B. he is showing himself to have a very limited knowledge of the current game of basketball. i believe its A. personally. either way this is a stupid comment. you can make a list of the best players of all time, both those above and below dirk, and you can find something wrong with almost everyone

[hedop]

I'm German and yes, we are very, very, very, very proud of Dirk. We are, we love him and we cherish him and if he would want to play the Olympics at 65 we would let him do that too. Why? Because apart from being a great player, he is a great human being. He is low key, humble, he is loved all over Texas and of course especially in Dallas because of his demeanor. He is valued my Rick Carlisle (one of the all time great coaches in my book), Donnie Nelson and Marc Cuban for his Basketball IQ, loyalty, work ethic, personality and willingness to sacrifice personal financial gain to play on a winning team. You will not hear a single bad word from any NBA player said about Dirk Nowitzki.

Like many said before Dirk revolutionized the NBA in terms of stretch 4's. Furthermore, what many forget, while his first 2-3 seasons he struggled on defense he actually improved dramatically there and became, percentage wise, a very good defensive rebounder, good mobile defender and had decent blocks and steals numbers for most of his career and during the playoffs. True he was never elite, he was never a guy who got 2 or more steals or blocks but that is of how the system was usually set up. Dallas would play with a dominant rim protector who was usually offensively limited and quick and tough perimeter defenders on the 1 2 and 3.

I also think Kareem underestimates the work of being and staying a brilliant shooter from all angles, not surprising given that he was never a jump shooter himself. Dirk has been working tirelessly with Holger Geschwindtner for every season he has been a part of the NBA to improve his agility, range, shooting, release point and overall conditioning. Even Kobe said that the only player who worked as hard as him in the offseason and who he would enjoy having a workout with would be Dirk Nowitzki.

It's a shame that former greats are so petty that they often can not appreciate greatness in others, whether it is Michael Jordan, Shaq, Kareem, Charles, The Big O. Whereas others are far more willing to accept others great achievements as well: Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Dr. J.