April 10, 201412 yr Dirk may be more skillful, but Bird was a better player. Dirks stats may say he is a better shooter but line them up side by side shooting 30 shots from any spot on the court and how many think Bird would lose that contest... no way! Bird wins without taking off his warmups.
April 10, 201412 yr Sorry, but Dirk shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath with Bird. Not even close.
April 10, 201412 yr Sorry, but Dirk shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath with Bird. Not even close. Feel free to passionately defend Bird in this debate, but to infer that it isn't even close is just not paying attention. Listen, I understand the "why" as to Bird's legendary status, I listed many of them in my 1st post on the topic, but when you look at on-court performance only, while Bird has an edge, it is absolutely a worthy conversation. This sums it up better than anything else: Larry Bird vs. Dirk Nowitzki Comparison:
April 10, 201412 yr .... The one stat that Bird has way over Dirk in terms of individual performance is 1st Team All-NBA. I'm sure even the most ardent supporter of "The Legend" would agree that there have been more "all timers" playing in Dirk's era than there were in Bird's. Neither really hit Jordan's prime, but Dirk has been in the league along with all-timers like Kobe, LeBron, and Tim Duncan. Again, don't misunderstand, this is great vs great, this is more for fun than anything else. They both have had amazing careers.
April 10, 201412 yr ...... Last thing, as I said to Clyde on the phone yesterday, the one area of the game that Bird decimates Dirk is in his passing and court-vision. That plays itself out dramatically in the assists category.
April 10, 201412 yr Author Question Clyde, you think Pippen is HOF without MJ? Fair question. Not sure how I could answer it though. I'd lean towards yes.
April 10, 201412 yr .... The one stat that Bird has way over Dirk in terms of individual performance is 1st Team All-NBA. I'm sure even the most ardent supporter of "The Legend" would agree that there have been more "all timers" playing in Dirk's era than there were in Bird's. Neither really hit Jordan's prime, but Dirk has been in the league along with all-timers like Kobe, LeBron, and Tim Duncan. Again, don't misunderstand, this is great vs great, this is more for fun than anything else. They both have had amazing careers. More All timers ? Didn't Bird play in the era of Dr.J, Moses Malone, Magic, Kareem, Isaiah etc... The problem lies in what stats you want to use. If you are looking at total points or total rebounds that proves the player has greater longevity and it does not mean he was the greater player. Using baseball as an example, I think Pete Rose was great hitter and he is the All time hit king but would anyone really argue he is a better hitter than Ted Williams? Kareem has more total point than MJ but MJ has a healthy margin in PPG over Kareem which shows me when Jordan play he was the better scorer and he just didn't play as many games. Where Bird beats out Dirk and where its not close is the fact Bird got it done when healthy in the post season. How many times did a healthy Celtics team blow a series lead to an underdog in the playoffs. Dirk is great and I'm a huge fan but when you can't be in the discussion for the greatest player in your era then you shouldn't be having this discussion.
April 10, 201412 yr Fair question. Not sure how I could answer it though. I'd lean towards yes. I'm with you. The one full year we had of Pippen in his prime without MJ I can easily make the argument he was the best player in the NBA that year .
April 10, 201412 yr Author More All timers ? Didn't Bird play in the era of Dr.J, Moses Malone, Magic, Kareem, Isaiah etc... The problem lies in what stats you want to use. If you are looking at total points or total rebounds that proves the player has greater longevity and it does not mean he was the greater player. Using baseball as an example, I think Pete Rose was great hitter and he is the All time hit king but would anyone really argue he is a better hitter than Ted Williams? Kareem has more total point than MJ but MJ has a healthy margin in PPG over Kareem which shows me when Jordan play he was the better scorer and he just didn't play as many games. Where Bird beats out Dirk and where its not close is the fact Bird got it done when healthy in the post season. How many times did a healthy Celtics team blow a series lead to an underdog in the playoffs. Dirk is great and I'm a huge fan but when you can't be in the discussion for the greatest player in your era then you shouldn't be having this discussion. Disagree with using championships/post-season. Too many variables , including your teammates, when it comes to Ws and Ls.
April 10, 201412 yr Career stats: Bird- 24.4 ppg 10 rbg 6.3 Apg 1.7spg 88.6% Ft 49.6% Fg 37.6% 3pt 3 MVP's Dirk- 22.5 ppg 8.1rbg 2.6apg 0.9spg 87.9%Ft 47.6% Fg 38.3%3pt 1 MVP Side by side comparison of career averages. Dirk only has one slight edge and that is in 3pt%. Bird is a better defender, rebounder, and passer. Plus the one area people want to give Dirk in edge in is scoring and Bird averages more points per game. Not to mention Bird was voted the best player in the league 3 times to Dirks 1.
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