Dallas Mavsketball: The riDIRKulous Dirk Nowitzki

Many people may have forgotten by now, that Dallas Mavericks head coach, Rick Carlisle, made a bold statement about his superstar power forward Dirk Nowitzki just a few weeks ago. His exact words were, "in my opinion, he's a top 10 player in NBA history because of the uniqueness of his game and how he's carried this franchise on his back for over a decade."

To Rick's credit, he did preface that statement with "in my opinion." And to Dirk's credit, he sure as heck played like it while earning his first ring.

Carlisle stating his opinion is so much better than promising an arena full of fans that you will be winning, "not five, not six, but at least seven championships" before you have even played a single game on your new team. *cough Lebron cough*

Now, as you surely heard, Rick and Dirk were both criticized for this comment. It started about...forty-one seconds after the statement was released. For good reason too.

It is a bit early to put Dirk in the top 10 all-time. Personally speaking, I think it's pointless to put ANY active player in a top 10 all-time list because their career is still in progress. I believe all-time greats should be judged based on their entire body of work. But, hey! No one asked me!

Like I said, for Dirk, it's just too soon. However, by the end of his career he may be viewed very differently. Especially if he continues to produce these ridirkulous numbers.

Dirk is without a doubt one of the most consistent, durable, and decorated players to have ever played in the NBA. Let me break each of those categories down for those who don't follow him like paparazzi do to the Kardashians.

Consistency:
The conclusion of the 2010-2011 regular season marked the 11th season in a row that Dirk led Dallas to 50 wins or more.

Dirk averaged 8.4 points per game his first year in the NBA in only 47 games played. (this season was shortened due to a lockout)

His sophomore year he averaged 17.5.

In his third season he averaged 21.8 points per game. Since then, he has never averaged fewer than 21.8 points per game through the regular season. Meaning, his average over the past ten years has stayed between 21.8 and 26.6 points per game.

If there is one thing you can depend on, it's Dirk droppin' 20+ every time he laces up his size fifteen-and-a-half shoes.

Durability:
In his 12 full seasons, he has never played fewer than 73 of the 82 regular season games. To be exact, he has played in 968 of 993 regular season games during his career. Oh, and that's just the regular season.

He has added playoff games to his total in each of the last 10 years. So add his 124 playoff games (he has never missed one) and that brings his games played total to 1,092 out of 1,117 games played.

But he's soft! He's soft because he couldn't single-handedly beat the Heat in 2006. Wrong.

Remember that time Carl Landry's face got in the way of Dirk's elbow during a drive to the basket? The time that two of Carl Landry's teeth were embedded in Dirk's elbow...I'll repeat that in case you didn't get it: two of Carl Landry's teeth were embedded in Dirk's elbow. What did he do next? He pulled them out and hit the free throws.

During his recent trip to the finals he played game four with a 101 degree fever. He finished the night with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Not to mention, he tore the ligament in his middle finger of his non-shooting hand. No big deal for Dirk, he even won a couple games with lefty lay-ins.

Still want to call him soft?

Decorated:
This list is lengthy. You may want to grab a drink and a snack before you start in on it.

NBA World Champion 2011
NBA Finals MVP 2011
NBA Most Valuable Player (2007)
10 time NBA All-Star (2002-2011)
11 time All-NBA team (Only Kobe Bryant can match his 11 year streak)

4 time first team selection (2005-2007, 2009)
5 time second team selection (2002-2003, 2008, and 2010-2011)
2 time third team selection (2001, 2004)

NBA Three-Point Shootout Champion (2006)
FIBA World Championship MVP (2002)
EuroBasket MVP (2005)
7 time European Player of the Year (2002 - 2008)
Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to record over 100 blocks and 150 three pointers in a single season.
One of five member of the 50-40-90 Club

This club includes very few NBA players who have average at or above 50% field goal shooting, 40% three-point shooting, and 90% free throw shooting in a single season.

Other members of this club: Steve Nash, Larry Bird, Mark Price, and Reggie Miller. Ever heard of em?

One of four players to average 25+ points and 10+ rebounds in his/their postseason career.

Other members of this club: Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, and Hakeem Olajuwon. Ever heard of em?

Notable playoff totals

3,214 postseason points scored (26th all-time - 3rd among active players)
25.9 playoff points per game (10th all-time - 4th active)
969 free throws made (12th all-time - 3rd active)
1,289 rebounds (32nd all-time - 3rd active)

21,792 total points scored (23rd all-time - 3rd active)
Recorded the most free throws made in a game without a miss

24 out of 24

Dirk Nowitzki has carried the successes and the struggles of the entire Dallas Mavericks franchise on his back for 13 straight years. He continues to learn, develop, and perfect his game each and every year. He finally achieved his dream of winning it all, and now there's only one thing left to do...do it again.

After taking all those stats in, it sure makes Rick Carlisle look a lot smarter than the national media was giving him credit for. They were far too busy comparing the ring-less LeBron James to Michael Jordan, the greatest of them all.

Assuming Dirk keeps this kind of play up for at least three more years, I can comfortably make the following declarations.

Best shooting big man of all time: Definitely.

Best European player ever in the NBA: Definitely.

Top 10 Power Forward all time: Definitely.

Top 25 NBA player of all time: Definitely.

But the question you want answered is, 'Will Dirk Nowitzki be considered a top 10 NBA player of all time?' I continue to plead the fifth.

For all I know, the pictures below could mark just the beginning of his greatness.
For all I know, he's not done yet.
For all I know, no one knows.