Kareem: Dirk is a 1 trick pony

[LAD]

No way. Dirk doesn't have Bird's basketball IQ. He also isn't the passer or rebounder Larry the Legend was.

Yea, that's why I asked. I don't know much about Bird...never really watched him play outside of when he played against Magic & the Lakers.

 

[Wamu]

Yea, that's why I asked. I don't know much about Bird...never really watched him play outside of when he played against Magic & the Lakers.

I don't wanna sound like I'm disrespecting Dirk though, he's had a helluva career. Bird is just on a different level.

 

[Clayton]

ehhh.....wasn't Bird something of the same kind of player-before Dirk was?

Had a feeling this whole thing was just about race

 

[CitySushi]

Dirk is not in the Bird conversation, but you can consider him an all time great for what he's accomplished. He's an MVP and a World Champion. I think Timmy is in a class above him, but he's right up there with the KG's, Webber's, etc.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

ehhh.....wasn't Bird something of the same kind of player-before Dirk was?

Not at all. Sounds like you're just comparing two white guys because they are white.

 

[CodeBreaker]

How about Kareem's Sky Hook as 1 tricky pony?

 

[trojanfan12]

A post from you that doesn't mention how lebron is the best athlete ever?

You ok fella?

We'll consider that progress.

 

[trojanfan12]

"ABDUL-JABBAR: You asked about Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk Nowitzki's shot is very hard to block, but 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 like a one-trick pony.You want guys that can shoot like that on your team. I'm not saying that he lacked value, but he would have been considered at a higher level if he had done more on the court other than just shoot the ball."


Alright, so lets unpack this. The big elephant in the room here is that Kareem played in a different era than Dirk. The 3pt shot is a very big deal. Dirk being a volume 3 pt shooter of his size at almost 40% for his career is massive. The stretch 4 allows other players to do well. Being able to do a transition 3 pt shot...thats really hard to defend. Dirk was also getting 9-10 rebounds per game in his prime. Not elite but not scrubby. Dirk led the league in Win Shares twice, PER once and Win Shares per 48 minutes 3 times. You dont do that if you're a one trick pony. Dirk made the playoffs 14 times. Never got traded to another team to join up with superstars. Had his championship team immediately disassembled. Made it to the Finals once with some scrubs and still won 2 games against DWade and Shaq.

Dirk is a top 30 player of all time. Kareem is top 3 so him talking trash on anyone is probably really easy to do.

Kareem is wrong about one thing: Dirk had a dominant career.

Don't see anything wrong with what Kareem said. The 3 point line has nothing to do with the points Kareem made about defense and rebounding. It's also not talking smack about him when he was asked a question and answered it from a basketball perspective. He didn't diss Dirk, he just pointed out that with a little more attention to defense and rebounding, he'd be more highly regarded and rank higher among bigs than he does.

Dirk had a dominant offensive career, not a dominant all-around career.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

17th best player of all-time according to ESPN

All-Time #NBArank: Mailman, Dirk and Sir Charles in top 20

Better than Stockton, Barkley and D. Robinson

I am a SPURS homer no doubt, but I am still trying to figure out how ESPN came up with that ranking.


21.1, 10.1, 2.5, 3.0, 1.4 while shooting 52%
Career PER average = 26.2, Offensive Rating = 116, Defensive Rating = 96
2 time champion
Rookie of the Year, MVP, Defensive Player of the year, Scoring Champion
9 times MVP top ten finish
5 times MVP top five finish
9 times All NBA, 7 times All NBA Defense

22.1, 7.9, 2.6, .9, .7, while shooting 48%
Career PER average = 23.2, Offensive rating = 117, Defensive Rating = 104
1 time Champion
MVP
7 times MVP top ten finish
3 times MVP top five finish
12 times All NBA

 

[Bolts]

I am a SPURS homer no doubt, but I am still trying to figure out how ESPN came up with that ranking.


21.1, 10.1, 2.5, 3.0, 1.4 while shooting 52%
Career PER average = 26.2, Offensive Rating = 116, Defensive Rating = 96
2 time champion
Rookie of the Year, MVP, Defensive Player of the year, Scoring Champion
9 times MVP top ten finish
5 times MVP top five finish
9 times All NBA, 7 times All NBA Defense

22.1, 7.9, 2.6, .9, .7, while shooting 48%
Career PER average = 23.2, Offensive rating = 117, Defensive Rating = 104
1 time Champion
MVP
7 times MVP top ten finish
3 times MVP top five finish
12 times All NBA

Whether or not I'd put Dirk over Robinson, the ESPN list as a whole is garbage. I'm pretty sure Steph is in the top 25, which is a joke no matter how great he's been the last 1 and a half seasons.

 

[gohusk]

Whatever. Dirk was a pretty good rebounder as well and a big guy like that who's good from 15+ is hard to find and all you can hope for is that he misses. And I guess Garnett's a 1 trick pony himself because he's just a better version of Dirk. If you're going to have only 1 trick then it better be a good one, which is what both of them have.

Kareem was an awesome player but he's a bitter man. yes, he's one of the greatest ever and there's not many players I'd rank higher. But just about everything that comes out of his mouth is negative and he just isn't worth listening to.

 

[gohusk]

Wooden said that Shaq was nothing but a dunker and couldn't stand his game. Anybody can call someone else a 1 trick pony. Hell, Curry's a 1 trick pony. It's a fucking awesome trick!

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Disrespecting a legend. One trick pony? GTFO.

Dirk is one of the greatest PF's of all-time. You don't get there by being a one trick pony.

I thought that the insult was a bit much and over the top. I wouldn't call Dirk one of the greatest power forwards of all time though because while he has enjoyed a top notch offense, I think he has been weak on defense and that keeps him out of the discussion for that. By the same evaluation, however He isn't a one trick pony either. He is one of the best power forwards of this generation though and I have enjoyed seeing him play. He is truly a master.

 

[Shanemansj13]

The thing that makes Dirk so unique is his off-balance shots and his impossible jumpshot to block. His shooting style and the fact he is a 7 footer makes him even more unique. You will never see another 7 footer shoot like him, not even close.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

As a SPURS fan, I am kind of jaded. I am used to the 2-way greatness of players.

Robinson, Duncan, and Ginobili have all been such dominant offensive and defensive player.
Even Tony Parker was adequate at defense...maybe not quite as good as the other 3 big name Spurs.

Kareem is most likely referring to his being mostly an offensive player as opposed to just one skill.

 

[LAD]

Had a feeling this whole thing was just about race

You mean in terms of Kareem's comments? Certainly not mine.

 

[LAD]

Not at all. Sounds like you're just comparing two white guys because they are white.

How does it sound like that when I NEVER mentioned anything about race?

I could easily say you thought that because you're quick to judge. See how that works?

 

[SJ76]

I could be wrong here, but if Dirk is a 1 trick pony.. What would you call that sky hook Kareem had?

Both of these guys had an unconventional "go to" shot on offense. Kareem played better D, but hell I can play better D than Dirk. Guy has concrete in his shoes.

 

[UK Cowboy]

That's like KAJ was a one trick pony with the skyhook.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

How does it sound like that when I NEVER mentioned anything about race?

I could easily say you thought that because you're quick to judge. See how that works?

Because their games are nothing alike other than them being great shooters.

It's not a big deal, a lot of people compare white dudes to other whites and black guys to other blacks when looking for accurate player comps. Happens all the time, but this is not a good comparison.