By John Doe

Posted on February 5, 2016

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I have the highest amount of respect for Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. From his six NBA titles to his six MVPs to his NBA record 38,387 points, Jabbar is in my top five of greatest NBA players of all time. His impact went beyond the court as well. A renowned author, an education ambassador and an outspoken activist, Jabbar paved the way for athletes of today to use their place in society to push for social change in the world outside of sports. If you haven’t seen the HBO Documentary, Kareem: Minority of One, I suggest you correct that ASAP. You will not be disappointed.

For all he’s seen and done, Abdul-Jabbar commands my respect and attention when he speaks. However, in a recent interview at George Mason University, Jabbar called Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki  a ‘one-trick pony.’ Nowitzki’s name came up when Abdul-Jabbar was asked about his patented sky hook and if there was another shot since that as unstoppable and if Nowitzki’s one-legged fadeaway was close. In response, Jabbar said:

“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.”

Kareem went on to say, “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.”

With all due to respect to Kareem, he couldn’t be more wrong. Calling Nowitzki simply a shooter belittles all of his successes over the course of his 18-year career. He’s a 13-time All-Star, NBA and Finals MVP, and the sixth-leading scorer of all time with 28,934 points and counting.

Undoubtedly a prolific scorer, Nowitzki has the same number of 2,000-plus-point seasons, five, as Jabbar. He’s been a regular on the scoring charts as he’s ranked in the top 10 of points scored 11 times, including a nine-year run from 2001-02 to 2009-10.

Yes, Nowitzki is a great shooter, but to imply he was just another shooter is ridiculous. He’s one of only six members of the 50-40-90 club, with Larry Bird as the only other member owning a ring. He ranks 16th of all-time in three-pointers made with 1,653, the most ever for a seven-footer. Nowitzki’s long-distance shooting prowess for a big man has helped revolutionize the NBA game. Before Nowitzki, stretch 4s were an anomaly, but they’re virtually necessary for today’s game.

His one-legged fadeaway is one of the signature shots in NBA history, but again was not Nowitzki’s only method to score. He could pound you on the post, beat you off the dribble, as well as catch-and-shoot. With almost 200 more made free throws than Jabbar, Nowitzki ranks seventh in NBA history, proving he wasn’t afraid of getting into the paint. He’d routinely drive and finish at the rim, drawing contact and getting to the line.

Nowitzki wasn’t just a complementary player who racked up numbers without substance either. He changed the fortunes of an entire franchise. During his run in Dallas, the Mavericks have gone from the laughingstock of the NBA during the ’90s to one of the most successful teams in NBA history. From 2000-01 to 2010-11, Dallas posted 11 consecutive 50-plus win seasons. Since 2000, Dallas has the second-most wins in the NBA with a far-from-stacked roster.

In the past 15 seasons, Dallas has had only four players, other than Nowitzki, named to the All-Star team. In his career, Nowitzki has led the Mavs to 14 playoff appearances, three Western Conference Finals, two NBA Finals and one championship. During his 18 years, the Mavericks have a 63 percent winning percentage and three 60-win seasons. That includes a 67-win campaign in 2005-06, something only nine other teams have ever done. If that’s not dominant, I don’t know what is.

And when it comes to the postseason, Dirk is no shrinking violet.

Nowitzki has posted an average of 25.4 points per game in over 140 playoff contests, ranking him 12th. It wasn’t all about scoring in the playoffs, either. His average of 10.2 rebounds per game puts him into even further elite company, as Nowitzki is also one of only four players with a career average of more than 25.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit are the others.

So to say Nowitzki was purely a scorer is where Abdul-Jabbar starts to look silly. The rebounding ability of Nowitzki goes largely forgotten. He’s averaged at least 9.0 rebounds per game five times in his career. His 8,953 defensive rebounds rank eighth all-time, conveniently right behind the man formerly known as Lew Alcindor.

While no one will say Dirk has been a defensive stopper, he did average 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game from 2000-05. He averaged at least one block per game seven times in his career. To further discredit the notion that Nowitzki hasn’t been a good all-around player, take into consideration the following: Nowitzki is one of only 10 players in NBA history to average 26.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for an entire season as he did in 2004-05. In the last 45 years, his career averages of 22.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game is matched by only three other players, Shaquille O’Neal, Bob McAdoo and Nowitzki’s biggest critic, Abdul-Jabbar.

I can go on and on with more facts and figures to prove Abdul-Jabbar wrong, but is it necessary? If you ever watched Nowitzki play in his prime, you know how dominant he was. But if you still have any doubts about Dirk’s greatness, I leave you with this:

All advanced stats are per Basketball-Reference.com, unless noted otherwise.