Debate Time: Larry Bird Vs. Dirk Nowitzki, When Dirk Retires Who Will Be Better?

Last night, as I was watching The Social Network (best movie in 2010) and decided to check my Facebook on my iphone (oh the irony) to see what was going on in the land of stalking, my good friend Eric posted something that caught my eye. "Dirk passes Larry on all time scoring list, does this make Dirk the best white player ever?" My response to that was, "Great debate, let's do this!" But is it really a great debate?

If we were to ask ESPN writer and NY Times best author Bill Simmons, I think we would all know the answer to this question. My first instinct is to say Larry Bird is far better than Dirk Nowitzki as well, but what is a debate without research and some stats?

Let the debating begin...

The Hick From French Lick (13 seasons: 1979 - 92) 897 Games Played

21,791 points, 8,974 rebounds, 5,695 assists, 1,556 steals, 755 blocks, 49.6 FG%, 88.6 FT%, 3 Rings

Ze German (13 seasons: 1998 - present) 948 Games Played

21,798 points, 8,016 rebounds, 2,532 assists, 866 steals, 959 blocks, 47.5 FG%, 87.6 FT%, 0 Rings

The best part about this debate is the fact that they have both played 13 seasons right when Dirk passes Bird in scoring, so there is no speculation that needs to happen. But, right off the bat, the first thing I notice is that Larry Legend has three rings to Dirk's zero. It took 897 games for Bird to finish with 21,791 points, whereas it took Dirk 948 games to pass Bird in scoring. 

Bird was constantly plagued by back injuries at the end of his career (In the 1988-89 season Bird played in just six games and retired at the age of 35). Even though Bird retired at the age of 35, he was still scoring 20 points per game. Dirk has never scored more than 26.6 points per game, whereas Bird finished with an average of 28+ points three times in his hall-of-fame career. 

Last, The Hick From French Lick finished his career averaging a double-double (24.3 points and 10 rebounds). I might be the most anti-Celtics fan of all time, but you have to give it to Bird; he is by far the best white dude to ever play the game of basketball. Sorry Dirk, love your name and your game, but you finish a distant second. 

GO KNICKS!