Dirk Nowitzki’s #NBARank

Labels and perceptions are funny things in sports. Once we place a label on a player, the perception of this said athlete tends to stick even though it may no longer apply. For instance, for years it was said that Dirk Nowitzki was soft and that he could not and would not play big when the pressure was at its highest. The smoking gun for this theory was his less than stellar play in the 2006 NBA Finals and it seemed that his disappearing act in the 2007 playoffs against the Golden State Warriors only reinforced an open and shut case.

Consequently, when the #NBARank announced that the German had been rated as the fifth best player in the NBA for his performance during the 2010-11 regular season and 2011 playoffs, some might have felt that he was ranked too low. Many felt he had come a long way and finally conquered his demons. With an NBA title and Finals MVP now accompanying him like an I.D. card, he had finally arrived.

Except that was not entirely the case. Dirk Nowitzki’s been tearing up the NBA for the past four years; especially during the playoffs. Mind you, the issue wasn’t him shrinking in big moments, instead it was the collective failure of the masses to notice he was playing big in crucial moments but that his teams often failed to deliver. Have a look at his playoff statistical output from 2006 to 2011:

The narrative during the 2011 postseason was that Dirk had finally acquired the mental toughness that had eluded him for so long; but such was not the case. Nowtizki had acquired some toughness after the elimination at the hands of the Dubs but few noticed in the following playoff appearances because the Mavericks only made brief cameos.

The Mavs star forward is the best seven-foot shooter the league has ever seen but that would be shortchanging his talent. He is not only an impressive shooter, but he is also one of the best scorers to ever participate in an NBA game.

Nowitzki boats an impressive 47.3 percent career field goal shooting mark, 38.0 percent career 3-point field goal shooting and an 87.6 percent free throw figure for his career.

In addition, his scoring and rebounding during the postseason have consistently surpassed his regular season numbers throughout his 13 seasons in the NBA.

Granted, the statistics are one thing but has Dirk always been the assassin we saw on his run to the title? Actually, yes.

It’s easier to remember Nowitzki allowing Udonis Haslem to push him around in the 2006 NBA Finals and Matt Barnes as well as Stephen Jackson essentially bullying him into submission in his following postseason appearance; but let’s not forget that Disco Dirk lit up the Phoenix Suns for 50 points in the 2006 Western Conference Finals and also had arguably one of the best three-point plays in NBA history when he drove past Bruce Bowen and converted a tough lay up while getting hacked by Manu Ginobli in Game 7 of the 2006 Western Conference  Semifinals to send the game to overtime where the Mavericks were victorious (on the road no less).

Also, we have moments like the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals where Dirk lit up bruisers like Kenyon Martin, Nene and Chris Andersen despite their tough physical defense.  In those five games, Dirk poured in 28, 35, 33, 44 and 32 points.

Fast forward to the 2011 NBA Finals, and really Nowitzki’s game hadn’t changed all that much. He carried himself with the same swagger, played just as hard and was just as deadly from the field. Dirk has been one of the top 10 players in the league for quite some time, but it just unfortunately took him winning a ring for people to finally realize it.

Dirk hasn’t arrived, he’s been here for a while…

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