Dirk Nowitzki: Is Mavericks Forward a Better Pure Shooter Than Larry Bird?

With the Dallas Mavericks in the midst of battling the Oklahoma City Thunder for a chance to head to the NBA Finals, there has been talk about Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki’s place in history.

People have been claiming that Nowitzki is in the top 10 when it comes to the best players in NBA history, but I just can’t get behind that.

I believe that he is a top 25 player of all time and that a championship this season would cement him as one of the greatest of all time.

At least with those arguments, I can see both sides. Unfortunately, today I heard a comparison that didn’t sit so well.

The new talk around the proverbial water cooler has been of who is the better shooter: Dirk Nowitzki or Larry Bird?

As soon as I heard the idea, I instantly grew angry at the notion that the two should be compared, but as I took a step back, I found one way that they are very comparable.

Let me preface this by saying that Larry Bird is a top 10 player of all time and his three NBA Finals wins and Finals MVP Awards make him better than Nowitzki ever could be. Bird also plays defense like none other with his offensive talent.

With that said, judging both players on a pure shooting level, they are very similar.

While the NBA has never seen a player of Nowitzki’s size (7’0”) who can shoot the ball the way he does, Larry Bird (6’9”) was no mighty mite.

Nowitzki may have the advantage in size, but from there, the duo's stats are remarkably similar.

As of this season, they both played 13 seasons in the NBA and while Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star, Nowitzki is a 10-time All-Star.

If you don’t think these gentlemen were at least close with shooting, look at their percentages: Bird is a career 49.6 percent on field goals while Dirk is 47.6 percent—and the comparisons don’t end there.

Dirk actually has the edge over Bird when it comes to three-point percentage, edging Bird by .5 percentage points (38.1 percent for Nowitzki and 37.6 percent for Bird).

Over the first 13 years of Nowitzki’s career, he has averaged 23 points per game. Larry Bird averaged 24.3 points per game over his career, further cementing the argument that Bird was a better shooter.

While I don’t think anyone will argue who was a better defender, rebounder or court general, the argument over pure shooter could be a legitimate one.

Bird is by far the better of the players, but Nowitzki’s size and shooting abilities will make him be remembered as one of the better players of all time.

Way behind Larry Legend.