Why the Dallas Mavericks Will Never Win a Title with Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki is a great player.  He is an amazing offensive player, possibly a pure shooter.

But he'll never win a title.

The closest he came was in '06.  The Mavs had the best record in the league.  They won a close series against San Antonio to get to the finals (the Spurs would have won a title that year, too, if Manu hadn't fouled Dirk at the rim.  One of the worst fouls in NBA playoff history). They had a comfortable lead in the finals.

Then the Heat bullied their way to winning the title.

Sorry, but that's as close as he's gonna get.

Since he's tall and white and so gifted offensively, people have loved to compare him to Larry Bird.

Again, Nowitzki is a great player, but he's no Larry Bird.  Not even close.

Dirk flops with the best of them.  He screams and cries at officials like a baby.  He's a defensive liability.  He's not an especially good rebounder or passer.  He does not have the skills to make his whole team better, to lead by example and will them all to play like a champion.

We could all list the names of players that are, by their very nature, champions.  Russel, Abdul-Jabar, Magic, Thomas, Jordan, Pippen, Olajuwan, Duncan, Kobe, Shaq, even Pierce, Billups, Wade, Ginobli and Parker.

Oh, and Larry Bird.

Maybe one day soon we'll add LeBron to that list, but not Nowitzki.  There are a lot of gifted offensive players in the NBA, but few champions.  Dirk is in the former group.  And champions leave a host of gifted offensive players in their wake.  See above list.

Dirk could win a championship if he was willing to come off the bench or play second fiddle to a real champion.  The problem is that his greatest asset is his offense, and that means he ends up being "the man."  And there's no real champion on the rest of the Mavs team (Kidd could be...but he is too past his prime to seriously will a whole team).

The perfect role for Dirk is a Toni Kukoc type role: a gifted offensive player off the bench that creates instant matchup problems.

Only, to be honest, Kukoc was a better all-around player.  On a lesser, but very good, team, Kukoc would have been "the man."  Like on the Mavs.

In the meantime, or until Dirk finds that role before he's too old, we'll enjoy a fun Mavs team that always wins but never transcends.

Peace.