KAJ on Dirk Nowitzki: “I don’t think that he was able to have a dominant career because he couldn’t do other things. If he could have shot like that and rebounded and played defense and blocked shots, then he would have been all-around, and he would have gotten more credit. He was a one-trick pony”
by PositiveCounty4347
@Dallas Mavericks
18 Comments
Well now I hate KAJ
Roll the tape
move over dwade, i got someone new to hate.
Weird take. Seems like he hates that people use the fadeaway/Dirk and the sky hook/him in the same sentence, so he belittles him out of spite.
Crazy how many people agree with this sentiment. Dirk led the Mavs to several 50+ win seasons and led them to 2 finals and a NBA championship. Yes he wasn’t some all around dominant player but he could do much more than shoot. He could obviously score from anywhere and was a 3 level scorer. He was a great passing big and his rebounding is underrated as he has multiple 9+ rebound seasons. And defensively he had some good seasons and wasn’t a liability like most think. Shawn Marion gave huge props to Dirk and his defense for their championship victory. Let’s also not forget how clutch he was.
Additionally I hate this idea that you have to be dominant at every aspect. I feel like so many NBA fans fall into this trap too, thinking to be considered an all time great you have to be great or dominant at every aspect. Dirk is one of the very best scorers and shooters and won a championship and a MVP and finals MVP. He is a top 20 player of all time, 25 at worst.
This is 8 years old (FYI for those seeing these comments for the first time), and Kareem doubled back to give Dirk his props shortly thereafter:
*”I want to make a shout-out to Dirk,”* Abdul-Jabbar told Nichols. “*Some of the statements I made about him were misconstrued to make it seem like I was trying to knock him and knock his career…Nothing could be farther from the truth.*’’
Of Nowitzki, Abdul-Jabbar went on to say: *“He helped the game evolve by stretching the court with his accurate 3-point shooting. Anybody that can lead the league multiple times as the leading scorer is awesome.*
*“And anything that I said that made anybody think differently, they got it wrong. And I wanted him to hear that from me.”*
“If he was a better player he would of gotten more recognition” what an unbelievably thought provoking take no one has ever thought of
Now you know why he couldn’t keep a job or was a fan favorite ever in his life. Salty as fuck
this some bullshit here
This is how you tell us you never watched him play without saying you never watched him
Kareem is a notorious prick. Just ignore this man’s opinion on Dirk. He’s lost plenty of credibility over the years
Dirk didn’t win more championships and accolades bc he was loyal and stayed with the Mavs. From what he and Kobe have said, Dirk was supposed to be on that Lakers team, not Pau, but he refused to leave Dallas, and Kobe refused to leave LA. They would have dominated together.
It takes one to know one ig. Sky hook is all this man could do.
I don’t get this. Individual defense is honestly the most overrated thing in the NBA in the way players are being rated. Team defense matters waaaay more. Not everyone can do everything. How many tall, lanky, 7-footers are being dubbed as good defensive players? Fcking hell even Gobert is getting shit on despite multiple DPOYs.
That said, to call Dirk one-trick pony when he probably had the most offensive bag among 7 footers before and during his time…is something. Wait until you heard Dirk ended Kareem’s assistant gig in the league, lol
Winning can come from a lot of things… eleven 50+ consecutive win seasons (where three of them are 60+) and 2 finals appearance during a Lakers+Spurs dominance is an amazing accomplishment. I don’t think you can name any other player that had the same stretch of consecutive winning seasons except the Spurs big 3. Winning that many seasons says a lot aside from just being a good offensive player.
Man. Whatever. He’s an old head. They were all in terrible shape back then. Smoking cigs on the court, eating cheeseburgers and hotdogs at halftime. I hate when players from different eras weigh in on shit like this. Just talk about the game itself please.
He clearly haven’t watched Dirk that much then lol. I am tired of people who making it look like Dirk can only shoot fadeaways lol. He is pretty much avg. defender back in his prime, dude can get steals and blocks. He is a decent rebounder during his prime. He can shoot 3s, great at midrange and can score in the paint.
It is so fucking stupid to call Dirk a one trick pony.
Ridiculous opinion that. Dirk changed the game and is an all time great.
Good thing we all know that Dirk doesn’t give a shit about all that talk.