I normally don't buy NBA players getting disrespected but....

[Rocky]

Has there ever been a great player/champion more overlooked than Dirk Nowitzki? I mean every article/TV show/even posts here have almost completely forgot how dominant he was last season. How he dominated EVERY defender put on him (only player in the NBA you can truly say that about). How he 100% stepped up to the challenge of being the man.

There are Top 10 player lists with Durant or Melo being ahead of him....and I am simply like did anybody actually watch the games last year?

It's just kinda frustrating when great players don't get their due.

[Hotobu]

Top 10 list? He's not now, nor has he ever been the best player in the league. If you think otherwise the problem isn't with everyone else it's with you. He had a great run that resulted in a championship, but what's that got to do with a top 10 list? Teams win championships not players.

On the subject of teams last year's Mavericks team was an OLD team that lost a lot of key players. Tyson Chandler alone was huge, but JJ Barea, Caron Butler (so what he didn't play in the playoffs, but he helped them get there and he's still god), and Deshawn Stevenson are big losses. Lamar Odom doesn't make up for all of those losses. But the other young teams that they beat (OKC and the Heat) have only gotten better, and the Bulls are out there lurking too. To top it all off Dirk and the Mavs got plenty of pub in the offseason which is when they should have gotten it.

This is a new season. Dirk ain't the best player, and there's no reason to believe that team will contend again this year. What's there to talk about?

[loloben]

Did you forget about Tim Duncan? He's one of the best Power Forwards ever and has won four championships, but he isn't in any of the greatest player of all time discussions.

[Rocky]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hotobu

Top 10 list? He's not now, nor has he ever been the best player in the league. If you think otherwise the problem isn't with everyone else it's with you. He had a great run that resulted in a championship, but what's that got to do with a top 10 list? Teams win championships not players. On the subject of teams last year's Mavericks team was an OLD team that lost a lot of key players. Tyson Chandler alone was huge, but JJ Barea, Caron Butler (so what he didn't play in the playoffs, but he helped them get there and he's still god), and Deshawn Stevenson are big losses. Lamar Odom doesn't make up for all of those losses. But the other young teams that they beat (OKC and the Heat) have only gotten better, and the Bulls are out there lurking too. To top it all off Dirk and the Mavs got plenty of pub in the offseason which is when they should have gotten it. This is a new season. Dirk ain't the best player, and there's no reason to believe that team will contend again this year. What's there to talk about?

Why isn't he the best player in the league? Why is it so inconceivable that he could be that...especially when he SHOWED that he was the best player on the court by far against so many guys that we consider "better"?

[Hotobu]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rocky

Why isn't he the best player in the league? Why is it so inconceivable that he could be that...especially when he SHOWED that he was the best player on the court by far against so many guys that we consider "better"?

The answer to that is easy. You don't get to be the best player in the league overnight, and the NBA finals = overnight. They may be the biggest stage in basketball, but they were still only 6 games. Six games don't outdo the other 90 that proceeded them. Say what you will about "Dirk being Dirk," but he was hot that whole playoffs. I'm not saying it was a fluke, but hotstreaks don't carry over across offseasons. Also Dirk only plays at one end of the court. Wade and Lebron are easily top 3 defenders at their positions as well. How many PFs do you have to go through before you get to Dirk's name as a defender?

[ScoobySnax]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hotobu

The answer to that is easy. You don't get to be the best player in the league overnight, and the NBA finals = overnight. They may be the biggest stage in basketball, but they were still only 6 games. Six games don't outdo the other 90 that proceeded them. Say what you will about "Dirk being Dirk," but he was hot that whole playoffs. I'm not saying it was a fluke, but hotstreaks don't carry over across offseasons. Also Dirk only plays at one end of the court. Wade and Lebron are easily top 3 defenders at their positions as well. How many PFs do you have to go through before you get to Dirk's name as a defender?

I'm sorry, but Dirk's journey to being Finals Champion was definitely not overnight. People talk about Dirk defensively, but I can't recall him being consistently abused on that side of the ball. He took over games when his counterparts could not. He's been putting in work for a long time. Dude is a beast. Period.

[RedSceptile]

Dirk isn't a horrible defender any more. He's average but plays with savvy. This isn't 5 years ago he's progressively gotten better statistics and my own two damn eyes prove this. Hell there are a lot of other great players who were average if not horrible defenders but no one rates them any lower.

I give the guy his respect where it should be, don't belittle him for naught.

[Hotobu]

Quote: Originally Posted by ScoobySnax

I'm sorry, but Dirk's journey to being Finals Champion was definitely not overnight. People talk about Dirk defensively, but I can't recall him being consistently abused on that side of the ball. He took over games when his counterparts could not. He's been putting in work for a long time. Dude is a beast. Period.

The only thing I'm sorry about is that people don't pay attention to the conversation in which they're replying to then, in turn, respond to stuff out of context. That cherry-picked line was in response to the claim that he outplayed Lebron and Wade in the finals, and therefore he's better. That he did, but that was only 6 games. As for not getting abused on defense; who said anything about getting abused? I said that he's not an elite defender at his position. Lebron and Wade are easily top 3 at their positions Dirk isn't.