No. 20 - Dirk Nowitzki

We start the top 20 with the best European to ever play.

Dirk Nowitzki was the first European player to start in an All-Star game. He was the first European to win an NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP. His 2010-2011 Mavericks were the first NBA team to win an NBA title with a European as the lead scorer.

Playing in an era of outstanding power forwards, including for most of the years, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, Nowitzki has never led the league in anything. Instead, his outstanding, almost unblockable jump shot turned him into a model of consistency. Beginning in 2000-2001, Nowitzki scored 21.0 points per game or more in 13 out of 14 seasons. Not an especially ferocious rebounder, he did average more than 8.0 rebounds per game nine straight seasons and more than 1.0 blocks per game seven times.

His advanced stats are just as consistent and slightly better than his traditional per game stats. He topped 22.0 in PER in 13 out of 14 seasons, including leading the NBA in 2005-2006 with a 28.1, topping LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett. He twice led the league in win shares (2005-2006 and 2006-2007) and topped 10.0 in a season 12 times.

Nowitzki turns 40 this year and plans to play another season. He’s no longer the star he once was, but he still averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in almost 25 minutes last season. He’s aged about as well as anyone in NBA history except perhaps Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. His longevity has driven him up the list.

What kept him from finishing even higher is the inconsistent playoff play of his Mavericks. Dallas has made the playoffs 15 times with Nowitzki and were playoff duds many of those years. Dallas has made only three sustained runs in the Nowitzki era.

·         In 2002-2003, the Mavericks knocked off the Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings in seven games each. Against the Kings, he scored 30 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in game seven. Unfortunately, in the conference finals against the Spurs, Nowitzki was knocked out of the series in game three with a knee injury and the Spurs won in six.

·         In 2005-2006, the Mavericks had their best team. They won 60 games and knocked off Memphis in four, San Antonio in seven (with Nowitzki scoring 37 in the final game) and the Phoenix Suns in six. Dallas was favored to beat the Miami Heat in the Finals and easily won the first two and built a 15-point second-half lead in game three. The Heat rallied to win game three and the next three because the Mavs couldn’t contain Wade.

·         In 2010-2011, the Mavericks won 57 games, earning the third seed. Dallas knocked off Portland in six and then swept the Kobe Bryant Lakers in four in Phil Jackson’s final appearance as a coach. The Mavs then knocked off the Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant Thunder in five games to earn a rematch with Miami. This Heat team though was led by Wade and LeBron James and were heavily favored. Miami won two of the first three and Nowitzki injured his ring finger. Nowitzki, though, hit the game-winning shot in game four to tie the series and the Mavericks rode the momentum to two more wins. Nowitzki was at his best that postseason, averaging 27.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 21 games.

For years, Nowitzki was knocked for not having a particularly strong post-up game. Instead, the game has evolved to fit his skills with centers and power forwards working more on their three-point shooting than their drop steps. Nowitzki was a unicorn when he entered the league. Now, there are lots of Nowitzki clones. None so far are as good as the original.

Dirk Nowitzki bio info
Career	1998-2018
Games	1,471
Points	21.2
Rebounds	7.7
Assists	2.5
FG Pct.	47.2%
All-Star games	13
NBA MVPs	1
NBA titles	1
Playoff seasons	15
Playoff games	145
Points	25.3
Rebounds	10.0
Assists	2.5
FG Pct.	46.2%
Hall of Fame

Top 100 rankings
	Points	Top 100 ranking
1-year	363.77	33rd
5-year	1,642.45	26th
10-year	2,979.64	21st
Career	4,350.95	15th

               

Dirk Nowitzki at his peak
2005-2006	Nowitzki	Top 5	Points
PER	28.1	27.71
Win Shares	17.7	15.93
Box +/-	5.7	7.48
VORP	6.0	7.37
Total Advanced Stats	57.5	58.48	98.32
Playoff PER	26.8	27.86
Win Shares	5.4	3.64
Box +/-	7.9	8.28
VORP	2.4	1.81
Total Advanced Stats	42.5	41.58	102.21
Reg. Season Win %	74.07		74.07
Playoff Win %	56.52		56.52
MVP Voting (75 points)	544/1,250		32.64
Playoff MVP (25 points)	0		0
Total Score			363.77

               

Nowitzki’s 10 greatest seasons
2005-2006	363.77
2010-2011	350.06
2006-2007	346.36
2002-2003	291.26
2001-2002	291.01
2004-2005	290.83
2000-2001	268.62
2009-2010	268.37
2003-2004	256.82
2007-2008	252.54

Career winning percentage
	W	L	Pct.
Regular Season	899	571	61.16%
Playoffs	68	77	46.90%