A tribute to my favorite basketball player #41
who is always underestimated
PROFILE
Born: June 19, 1978
Würzburg, Germany
Nationality: German
Height: 7'0'' (2.13m)
Weight: 245 lb (111kg)
Salary: $19,795,714
Drafted: 9th Overall,
Milwaukee Bucks
Team: Dallas Mavericks - No.41
Awards:
8x NBA All-Star (2002–2009)
(2002–2003, 2008)
2× All-NBA Third Team
2× All-NBA Third Team
2006 NBA Three-Point Shootout Winner
Dirk Nowitzki towering over Jet Li at the 2008 ALL-STAR Game in New Orleans, LA
#41 Nowitzki protecting the ball from Rasual Butler
Dirk Nowitzki jubilates after hitting a shot
Dirk Nowitzki gets an earful from ex-coach Avery Johnson
New uniforms and different teams, but same best friend
RIVALRY
Kevin Garnett Vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Who's better? It's a question fans never stop arguing about and one that rarely is answered with both sides in agreement. There would probably be a load of hateful comments and rants before I even start but let me analyze meticulously between these two players before deciding who's the better player. It's a tough one though. Kevin Garnett can win the game for you in many ways, with his rebounding, and he's an excellent passer. He's not as good an outside shooter. He's also not as good a scorer all the way around as Nowitzki. In fact, Nowitzki is the guy where you want the ball in the hands of because he's a big time scorer, especially when your team is trailing late n the fourth quarter. But Garnett is a great defender. He can defend the one, two, three, four or five position. He's a 7-foot guy who's as quick as a 6-foot guy. Defense is where he has it over Nowitzki.
"I think Dirk is a terrific player. I almost saw him in a defensive stance one time." Quoted by Charles Barkley. The truth, whether Barkley says so or not, is that Dirk is no longer a defensive liability. He'll never be an All-Defensive team candidate, but Dirk has worked his way to being a solid defender. Dirk is willing to get his nose dirty and smart enough to usually be where he's supposed to be on defense. Yes, Dirk will need a lot of help against Amare Stoudemire, but name a power forward that wouldn't. And Dirk has become a very good help defender.
I think Nowitzki's a better player when it comes to the perimeter game and ballhandling skills. I wouldn't say that Garnett really lacks anything, but he doesn't have the ballhandling skills Nowitzki does. Garnett is the consummate team player. But Nowitzki can make something out of nothing, so clearly Nowitzki gets the edge here. He is also arguably the best international player ever in the NBA.
About the raves about KG's leadership, as all Celtics fans are doing these days. And they ought to, since Boston has morphed from a lottery team into one with the league's best record since KG arrived in the 2007-08 season. But let's see what happens during this year's playoffs before going too wild with the KG-as-a-leader love. In the 2008-09 season, injuries limited him to only 57 games and he didn't return in the playoffs. Which makes very doubtful of why he couldn't return to the playoff games because reports kept stating that he could return in the next game. You want to whine about KG's supporting cast in Minnesota? Well, Dirk carried a Mavs team without any other All-Stars to the Finals in 2006. Dirk's supporting cast that season wasn't better than the one KG had with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. KG had Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to help him win a championship.
Even if Garnett's defense was that good, he couldn't guard Nowitzki. Dirk has career averages of 47% field goal, 87% free throw and 37% three-point shooting. Nowitzki scored against Garnett on one possession, after they couldn't score, Nowitzki once again got the ball with Garnett defending on him. This time he tries to guard Nowitzki real close and tight, I could see by his face and body language. He was competing with Dirk. Unfortunately, Dirk got the ball from the far left just outside the three-point line. He ball fakes, gives a hesitant dribble and drives right to the centre and shoots in. It scores, whistle blows and Garnett just picked up his 5th foul late in the 3rd quarter. He was owned. Nowitzki is a almost a complete offensive player.
The verdict: Garnett will wear you down the entire game, but Nowitzki will win the match for you in the end. After Boston's second round lost in the playoffs, it shows that Boston cannot win without Kevin Garnett and it also shows that Garnett will never carry a team to the Finals, he will need at least two more superstars to aid him. I couldn't even remember how many first round exits the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered when Garnett was playing for the T-Wolves. Though he did have Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell.
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