LeBron James has Dirk Nowitzki atop his international NBA player power rankings.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers' Christmas Day loss to the Dallas Mavericks — preceded by the unveiling of Dirk's statue outside American Airlines Center — LeBron waxed on Dirk's legacy, his historical standing, and what made him so impossible to defend.
“Dirk is a — he's a legend,” said LeBron. “He's an icon. I think he's the greatest international player ever. Put him right there with (Manu Ginobili). What he brought here, what he brought to this city. That boy was cold, man. Dirk was cold. He revolutionized what a stretch-4 big could look like. Put the ball on the ground. Finish about the rim in his earlier years. And then just mastering that in-between game as his game got a couple years down the line. And then he started taking it out to the 3-point line. You couldn't put a small on him cause he was too big. You really couldn't put a slow big on him cause he was too quick with his first step early on. And you could never block his shot cause he shot it behind his head, kinda like Larry Bird-esque.
“So, when you talk about, like, top power forwards, top players of all-time at that position, he's right up there with like (Charles Barkley), Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale. Those guys — they tough. Dirk was tough. I mean, when you can talk about somebody with one name, you know he was tough. And Dirk was tough, for sure.”
"I think he's the greatest international player ever. I put him right there with Manu… That boy was cold man. Dirk was cold. He revolutionized what a stretch 4 big could look like."
LeBron James on Dirk Nowitzki 💯 pic.twitter.com/YUVcwwmoae
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 26, 2022
LeBron was victimized by Dirk and Manu's greatness first-hand — and on the grandest possible stage. In the 2011 Finals, Dirk carried the Mavericks past LeBron's heavily-favored Miami Heat, punctuating one of the greatest runs in playoff history. (Nowitzki took umbrage with LeBron and Dwyane Wade during that series, as the Heat stars immaturely mocked Nowitzki coming down with a cold, rendering LeBron's choice of words on Sunday unintentionally comical.)
Ginobili's San Antonio Spurs smoked LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 Finals and the Heat in 2014.
Nowitzki and Wade will be eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 (spoiler: they will get in). Ginobili, a four-time NBA champion, was a first-ballot inductee earlier this year.
Dirk's successor as Mavs franchise player, Luka Doncic, may be on his way to earning the GOAT label for non-American hoopers. Yet, he's not the only active superstar on that trajectory (see: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic) — perhaps the most significant representation of Dirk and Manu's legacy.
(BTW, Hakeem Olajuwon would like a word with the King.)
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