Dirk Nowitzki or Prime Larry Legend?

Larry Bird: In a mcdonalds commercial with Michelle Jordan and returned with LeBron+Howard



Dirk Nowitzki: He is the biggest mismatch in the NBA and anytime you take something away from his game, another opens up. He is a skilled 7 footer with the best ball handles for a guy his size and can drive past other bigs. He also can shoot from anywhere with the %s of (47-50%FG, 37-41%3pt) therefore he lures bigs away from the hoop so that teammates can drive without being blocked. He doesn't need to touch the ball AT ALL to have an impact on the offense. Teams try to go small on him because of this and all that leads to is less rebounds for them and post up opportunities for Dirk which lets him get doubles and pass out to open shooters. He has the dimensions of a guard (passing off the dribble, creating his own shot, making FTs, outside shooting) which other bigs have a weakness in and the dimensions of a post player (shot blocking, post player for double teams, passing out the post, rebounding at 11per game in the playoffs yet he plays far from the hoop etc.) which the guards like Kobe/Wade would need a great big to help them in that (Shaq/Gasol/Duncan) and vise versa. Dirk didn't need either one to make the finals and none of the others made the finals in the tough west conference without that.

MAKING TEAMMATES BETTER:

Dirk's ability to stretch out the defense and create easy shots for his teammates is severely underrated as well.

Jason Terry's FG% with Atlanta 42.5%

Jason Terry's FG% with Dallas 47%

Terry is scoring the same amount of points he did as a Hawk while playing a full four minutes less. Plus, Terry won the Sixth Man of the Year Award, largely thanks to Dirk.

Jason Kidd's 3pt% before Dallas 33.5%

Jason Kidd's 3pt% with Dirk 43%

Kidd, is also averaging career lows in turnovers thanks to Dirk stretching the floor and creating wider passing lanes

Dirk is one of the most efficient players in the game. Dirk averages 1.9 turnovers per game for a 12 year career while missing only 32 games.

There is a reason why teammates shoot better around him, he makes people better.

The CLUTCH Factor:

Dirk Nowitzki is the most clutch player in the game today.

*According to this link, in the top 50 greatest elimination game performances since the year 1991-2010, Dirk's name comes up the most times.



*Dirk career elimination games: 28.4ppg, 12.2rpg, 49%fg, 39%3pt.



That's right, Dirk's name even comes up more over Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Hakeem, Malone, Duncan and any great you can think of from this time period when it comes to elimination games.



*Dirk has hit the most gamewinners since 2005-2006, and has a great efficiency and % in the fourth quarter)

** According to Elias Sports Bureau, in the ENTIRE history of the NBA, in elimination-games, Dirk Nowitzki has 13 30+ point performances. Only Wilt the Stilt, tied at 13, and Jerry West at 14, have achieved similar results! (Bird not on)



* Dirk career game 7's

Dirk game 7 vs Kings: 31 pts and 19 rebounds (shot higher than 50%)

Dirk game 7 vs Blazers: 31 pts and 11 rebounds (same)

Dirk game 7 vs Rockets: 14pts and 14 rebs (But his team won in blow out fashion) (5-14)

Dirk game 7 vs Spurs: 37 points and 15 rebounds with the clutch three point play. (above 50%)

So his game elevates the most under clutch pressure situations.

EFFCIENCY %26amp; Impact:

Dirk shoots anywhere from 47-50%fg, 37-41%3pt and 88-91%ft. He turns the ball over less than any superstar. This means running your offense through Dirk doesn鈥檛 waste as many possessions as running it through Kobe and LeBron who turn the ball over more and don鈥檛 shoot as efficient all over the court.



Win shares is basically a stat that shows the total amount of impact a player has on their teams winning out come. Dirk Nowitzki this past decade has led the NBA in win shares more times than any other player, including Kobe. So even the years Kobe鈥檚 team had the best record, he didn鈥檛 necessarily impact the winning % as much as Dirk did. There is a reason why.

- Rebounds (He averages 11+ for his playoff career and he plays far from the hoop, some nights he will have low rebounds but again, he plays away from the hoop often).

Post game (He dominated the nuggets series in the post against Kenyon Martin, Nene, Chris Anderson averaging 34.4ppg and 11.6rpg. He has spin moves, up and unders, and one foot fadeaways).Dirk Nowitzki or Prime Larry Legend?
The only thing that Dirk and Larry have in common is that they both pee standing up, and they are both white....Numbers,reputation,and some of the greatest of all time saying Bird was something to be reckoned with....no sir....Bird wins 1 on1 or 5 on 5....maybe if they played a round of Tennis....LOL then Dirk would win there...but...

Bird IS a top 3 for me ALL TIME....Dirk belongs in the top 20 MAYBE...DIRK IS NOT BETTER THAN BIRD EVEN OFFENSIVELY OR THE REST OF THE GAME...NO WAY NO HOW!!!

"** According to Elias Sports Bureau, in the ENTIRE history of the NBA, in elimination-games, Dirk Nowitzki has 13 30+ point performances. Only Wilt the Stilt, tied at 13, and Jerry West at 14, have achieved similar results! (Bird not on)"

Too bad Dirk LOST 90% of those playoff games...LOL...Bird has one of the highest win %'s of all time.Dirk Nowitzki or Prime Larry Legend?
Larry Bird
@DptdgclickCeltics!: No he copied Jamaican Man's speech LOL.



But I say Larry Bird.Dirk Nowitzki or Prime Larry Legend?
Larry Bird, he was an equal shooter, but a much better passer and a better rebounder and played better defense
LarryDirk Nowitzki or Prime Larry Legend?
Larry Bird hands down. Dirk is Good, but Larry is Legend.
Very will written essay but I have to say Bird.
Bird without a doubt.
larry Bird

Its a pretty easy answer.

Bird was a better shooter, and better in the post!

Bird was a better rebounder, 10 per game for his career!

Bird was a better passer, best passing forward in history!

Bird was tougher!

Bird was more clutch!

Dirk is great, don't get me wrong.

But bird was the best!

@ Team Player, Bird played his entire career with Parish and Mchale, 2 great rebounders, which would result in Bird's career number of 10 per game being less than he would average today or playing on weak Mavs rebounding teams for a decade. Also Dirk is entering the twighlight of his career and his career numbers will go down as he ages and gets less minutes. Birds numbers are set at 10 and Dirks final number will probably be less than 8.

Bird averaged 10 per game for his career and Dirk averaged 8.1 this play-offs and 8.4 career, but somehow your monkey math has them as equal rebounders?

Go ask your grade 7 math teacher if 10 is more than 8!
You typed all of that????



I;m going with LArry Bird.
Larry Bird is a top 5 all-time player and in some people's opinions a top 3 player. Dirk is an amazing player and is probably a top 12 at the highest, but Bird was such a much better all-around player. Not to mention he's better offensively and an exceptional passer for his position. Obviously Bird was a better rebounder and his defense is a lot better then Dirk too.





Edit: "Team Player". How are they equal in rebounding? Bird was consistantly a 10+ RPG player every season he played in give or take 1 or 2. Dirk has never officially averaged 10 RPG for a single season and many times has averaged less then 8 RPG in a season, not to mention Dirk is much bigger at 7'0 then Bird was at 6'9.
Larry. I take Larry over any player in history aside from Magic and Jordan.



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They're equal as scorer and rebounders, but Bird gets the edge because he was a top notch play maker.

@ Mamba - Bird played at a slightly higher tempo in the 80's than Dirk has in this generation. He had more possessions to play with, hence more chances to rebound.

Had Bird played at the current pace of today he'd be at about 9 boards a game as well. You can't just look at the bare numbers and say oh this guy is better here and there. They equally good as rebounders.

Also if you look at their playoff numbers Dirk averages MORE BOARDS AND POINTS THAN BIRD.

Dirk: 25.9ppg, 10.4rpg on 46/38/89% shooting

Bird: 23.8ppg, 10.3rpg, 47/32/89% shooting

Like I said, pretty equal. But Bird is the better passer/play maker and overall player.
Larry Bird, if Nowitzki got atleast more than two titles and was on a better team with a better history like the Lakers or Celtics,Bulls, and have helped alot getting championships, like if his history was like Kareem or Pippen then I might reconsider. But I'm going with Bird one of my favorite Celtics.
WTF this guy, you look into stats to much! Dirk is good but don't tryna make him sound like he's great cause he won the NBA FINAL this year! Every team run a different offense (for example) the lakers run a triangle so it would be harder for the average guard to get there numbers but Kobe is such a great overal player he still get his (just like Jordon do too). Dirt always had a deep bench of good players and shooters (just as much as he open the ball for them, they do the same for him) so that's why his number looks good for the average nerd to look into. You can thank Mark Cuban for that cause he's rich! If it would'nt be for the Lakers rumors that set off the drama behind close door that mess d'up the Lakers chemistry (the Lakers would have won and make it 3 peat) and you know it, if you don't you must be a Dallas fan then!