On Tuesday night, Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki became the 6th player in NBA history to score 30,000+ career points in the NBA, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain in this exclusive club. When people mention the greatest of the greats, Nowitzki's name doesn't ever come up, but with him officially joining this elite NBA class, I think it's time we start thinking of Nowitzki as more than just a hall of fame player. He's beyond a hall of fame player. He's one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA right along with the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Bill Russell.
Hell, none of those three guys eclipsed 30,000 career points! It might feel weird to say it, but we need to come to grips with the fact that Dirk Nowitzki is a living legend that deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the rest of basketball royalty. His resume speaks for itself. He's 6th all-time on the NBA's all-time scoring list, the 6th member of the 30,000 point club, an NBA champion (2011), NBA Finals MVP (2011), NBA Regular Season MVP (2007), 13x NBA All-Star, 4x All-NBA First Team, 5x All-NBA Second Team, and 3x All-NBA Third Team.
In addition to his NBA accolades, Dirk Nowitzki has an impressive international competition resume with Germany as the FIBA World Cup MVP and FIBA World Cup top scorer in 2002. He's been the greatest player in the history of Germany and helped put basketball on the map in Europe. His impact on the game of basketball from a global perspective cannot be understated.
What I like most about Dirk Nowitzki is his perseverance. He never gave up. When the Mavericks blew a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA Finals and proceeded to lose in the first round of the 2007 NBA playoffs to the Golden State Warriors during his MVP season, Nowitzki could have given up on his dreams of winning an NBA championship. Doubt could have easily crept in, but Nowitzki instead used those setbacks as motivation to get better. In the end, Nowitzki was rewarded with an NBA championship in 2011 and an NBA Finals MVP to go along with it.
While it took him a while to accomplish all of the things that he has accomplished, there is little doubt now of as to where Dirk Nowitzki belongs in the history of basketball. He's one of the games' greatest players and deserves to be mentioned among the very best to every play in the NBA. His body of work says it all. In my opinion, Dirk Nowitzki has to be mentioned as a top-ten player in NBA history and maybe even a top-five player. He's been that good and it's time he gets recognized as such.
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