Kobe Bryant vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Could NBA History View Dirk as a Better Player?

When Dirk Nowitzki ran off the court in Miami in the waning moments of Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals, he seemed to be shedding the final vestiges of a postseason past that has haunted him and his Dallas Mavericks since their only other NBA Finals appearance in 2006.

That season, Dirk played an instrumental role in staking the Mavericks a 2-0 lead against this same Miami Heat team, but he also played a big part in the Mavericks Game 3 collapse in 2006 by missing some critical free throws in the contest's closing minutes.

Dirk and the Mavericks never recovered from that colossal failure in 2006 and each season after that one became an exercise in futility, as Dallas began to earn the reputation as a postseason pretender as the upsets mounted.

Sure, Dallas was great in the regular season, and their record of 10-plus seasons with at least 50 wins is a testament to that.

And even though Dirk's career postseason averages of 26 points, 10.4 rebounds and 47-percent shooting from the field suggests he has performed at a high level, it has never equaled much success for his team.

At least until this season.

Dirk's triumphant march off the court in Miami completed a postseason march that saw the Mavericks impressively dispose of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in four games and then defeat the aura and the talent of the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade-led Heat.

In the immediate aftermath of the Mavericks NBA Finals victory, there were some analysts who placed Dirk in the pantheon of the NBA's top 15 players of all time, while there were others who said that he was firmly in the top 20.

And there were even some who said Nowitzki had thrust himself into the argument as one of the 10 greatest players of all time.

A friend of mine even voiced the opinion that Dirk had a good chance of passing Lakers guard Kobe Bryant on the all-time player list once the dust had finally settled on their respective careers.

I must give Dirk his due as he is without doubt one of the most unique players in the history of the game, and he is also the most talented seven-foot jump shooter to ever grace an NBA court.

Nowitzki displayed plenty of heart in the NBA Finals this season, and even though he seemed emotionless, you could see the level of intensity and focus he played with in his eyes.

Dirk was already a true NBA superstar, and his NBA Finals MVP performance only cemented that. I could even see how an argument could be made that he is a top-20 player, but you would be hard pressed to convince me he deserves a place in the top 10.

I do understand that there are areas of the game where Dirk holds advantages over Bryant, such as higher career rebounding numbers and field-goal percentage, but that's about it.

Kobe has competed in five more NBA Finals series than Nowitzki, earned four more titles, one more NBA Finals MVP trophy and has competed in 208 career postseason games, compared to Dirk's 124.

Bryant does have the advantage of two more seasons played than Dirk, but you must consider that Nowitzki started 24 games in his rookie season, which is more than Bryant started in the first two seasons of his career combined.

Throw in the fact that Bryant has amassed 27,868 points in his career, which stands as the fourth-highest total in NBA history, and the argument that Dirk could ever surpass Bryant in a historical context grows even weaker.

Dirk has scored more than 22,000 points of his own, but unless Bryant suddenly decides to retire in the offseason, the 5,000-point margin between the players will not dwindle much.

I must give credit where it is due, and Dirk certainly deserves his fair share for answering the questions about his heart and his passion, and for leading his team to a place that few would have predicted when the 2011 postseason began.

I'm not saying that Dirk over-taking Bryant in the annals of NBA history is an impossible task, but Kobe has an awfully large head start.