Dirk Nowitzki Is Far More Than Just the Best European NBA Player Ever

Kareem. The Mailman. Kobe. MJ. Wilt. Shaq.

Dirk.

Maybe that's not the most thorough way to make the case that Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki should be regarded as one of the game's all-time greats, but the fact that you only need one name to identify him—just like the six players ahead of him on the league's scoring list—says a lot.

Nowitzki topped 28,000 points on April 1 in a shootout victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sometime next season, he'll pass Shaquille O'Neal for sixth place on that hallowed list.

Player	Points
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	38,387
Karl Malone	36,928
Kobe Bryant	32,482
Michael Jordan	32,292
Wilt Chamberlain	31,419
Shaquille O'Neal	28,596
Dirk Nowitzki	28,004
Moses Malone	27,409
Elvin Hayes	27,313
Hakeem Olajuwon	26,946

You're not likely to hear much vouching for Nowitzki's defensive chops. He's mainly a scorer—always has been—but the way he's gone about getting his points marks him as unique. And it's not just because he's the only player in league history with 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 1,000 made threes and 1,000 blocks, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

His coach, Rick Carlisle, has no qualms about including Nowitzki on the game's shortlist of greats, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

"

I think there's a certain criteria where you can say pretty much for certain that he's one of the top 12 all time. And that is, there's only been 12 guys that have been 10-time All-Stars, [NBA] Finals MVP and league MVP. So I think that firmly puts him in the top 12. And then getting into the top 10 in all-time scoring validates that even more.

"

Clearly, Nowitzki is much more than merely the best European player in NBA history.

He's been a transformative figure in the league, especially for a Mavs team that was about as inept as franchises get before he showed up.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News broke down just how profound Nowitzki's impact on winning has been: "He’s led the Mavericks to their only championship. He’s obliterated most of the career records, including points, rebounds, three-pointers and free throws. He’s played on 14 of Dallas’ 19 playoff teams—and in 135 (72.5 percent) of its playoff games."

The full breakdown: With Nowitzki playing, Dallas has gone 877-517. Without him, including games before he arrived and those he missed because of injury, Townsend calculated that the Mavericks are 648-959.

It's not fair to attribute Dallas' success to Nowitzki alone; it takes more than one guy to resurrect a franchise. But it's hard to ignore his status as the only real constant in the organization—aside from owner Mark Cuban, who should be credited with viewing Dirk for what he was from the start: a truly elite cornerstone, even if Nowitzki's game didn't fit the conventional superstar mold.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

"And I was fortunate because you never know what could have happened after my first year, when Cuban bought [the team]," Nowitzki told Townsend. "If he wasn't a fan of mine or didn't like the way I played, I could have been shipped out of here after my rookie year."

Nowitzki's rookie year was a mess. He played in just 24 games, shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 20.6 percent from long range. It would have been easy for a new owner to decide it was time to cut bait on a project with no real precedent for success.

Nowitzki stuck around, and he went on to carry a Mavericks organization that never managed to be a model of stability during the Diggler's career.

There was the Steve Nash-Don Nelson era, the MVP peak under Avery Johnson and then the breakthrough title season with Carlisle, Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler.

NBA Photos/Getty Images

Nowitzki helped make all of those iterations look good because he offered something great offenses needed long before most NBA teams realized how valuable stretch bigs were.

Even though Nowitzki was never an especially high-volume three-point shooter (he never averaged more than five long-range tries per game in a season, despite a career accuracy rate of 38.3 percent that would have excused more liberal gunning), he always spaced the floor with his deadly mid-range and high-post game.

That made offense easier for everyone—post-up bigs, three-point shooting guards and attack-mode ball-handlers alike. Space is the ultimate offensive commodity in the NBA, and much of Nowitzki's greatness has stemmed from his ability to provide it.

No wonder then, despite multiple changes in personnel and coaching styles, Dallas has ranked in the top 10 in offensive efficiency in 14 of Nowitzki's 17 seasons.

Season	Offensive Rating	NBA Rank
1998-99	99.3	15
1999-00	103.8	7
2000-01	104.5	4
2001-02	109.5	1
2002-03	108.2	1
2003-04	109.6	1
2004-05	107.5	5
2005-06	108.7	2
2006-07	108.5	2
2007-08	108.6	7
2008-09	108.1	5
2009-10	107.1	10
2010-11	107.6	8
2011-12	101.0	21
2012-13	103.6	11
2013-14	109.0	3
2014-15	107.1	5

There have been rough patches, such as when a 67-win MVP season ended with a first-round upset in 2007. But even that failure spawned success, prompting Nowitzki to develop an unstoppable attack plan at the elbow—which relied heavily on a novel one-legged flamingo fadeaway.

A shot, by the way, which has since been copied by next-generation greats like Kevin Durant.

A shot that also had plenty to do with Dirk's eventual championship in 2011.

And even now, at age 36 and featuring the mobility of a Maytag, Nowitzki's creativity and skill make him someone you can't single-cover (especially with a weak defender), as Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman observed:

The numbers show Nowitzki has been historically great. But it's the other things that make him so endearing: the willingness to take less money, the sometimes awkward style and the constant self-deprecation.

"He's done it with class," San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told Townsend. "He's showed up every minute that he's available, plays hard all the time, great teammate. He's somebody special."

We might see another 7-foot shooter like Nowitzki. We might even see a guy stay with a team for nearly two decades. And maybe we'll see a player score another 25,000 points, grab another 10,000 rebounds and hit another 1,000 threes.

But we won't see one guy do all those things. And we certainly won't see one do them all while being as humble, innovative and doggedly devoted to winning as Nowitzki was and is.

We won't ever see another Dirk.

Take us out, big fella.

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