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Kevin Durant Praises Dirk Nowitzki And His Never-Aging Jumpshot
Dirk Nowitzki joined an elite group of NBA legends last season, as he drained a signature jump shot which saw him reach the 30,000 points plateau. Despite other NBA personalities singing his praises for his achievement, Nowitzki is still somehow underrated by NBA fans and many individuals involved with the game which is downright blasphemy.
As he joined the NBA, numerous players and coaches alike didn’t believe Nowitzki would even last in the league, let alone break all kinds of records for a big man. But he has done that, and continued to prove the doubters wrong throughout his glamorous career. Nowitzki not only changed the game for international players, but changed the game forever overall. Unfortunately, his impact and influence throughout the NBA is still now quite comprehended by the casual fan after all these years.
On the other hand, Dirk has the respect of other NBA stars. One of them is the reigning Finals MVP, Kevin Durant. Durant loves playing against Dirk and praised him after last night’s game.
Per Bay Area News Group’s Mark Medina
“It’s always good to play him, especially now that he’s coming to the last games of his career. Playing against him at a very special time, I got a lot of memories against him.He got a skill that never ages. That’s a jump shot. His body may age and his mind may get a little jogged. But that jump shot will always be there.“
“Guys can shoot and be in the league for that long and be effective. To be a starter in the league and the whole offense is centered around you and opposing teams are still trying to figure out to stop this, you can tell you’re a great and legend.“
Durant und Nowitzki both are members of the exclusive 50-40-90 club and are considered to be among the best shooters the league has ever seen. Nowitzki is shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point land and 88.5 percent from the free throw line, which adds up to a career high effective field goal percentage of 55.0 percent.
You see, young NBA fans growing up now will see the likes of Karl Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid knocking down threes form the outside, but what they don’t realize is Nowitzki paved the way for every shot making big man that can step away from the basket and be a deadly weapon. Nowitzki didn’t just create the true definition of a “stretch 4 and stretch 5” he revolutionized those positions forever. Previously, players were drafted out of college into the NBA purely on their size and ability to rebound the ball and possibly block shots. Now, NBA scouts are asking “Can he step away from the basket? Can he pick-and-pop? Can he handle the ball? Can he score? What’s his range?” All these questions are now relevant, because Nowitzki has dominated and scored the basketball in ways in which we’ve never seen big men put the ball in the basket for such a long period of time.
Despite all his success and continued production and loyalty each passing season, Nowitzki still hasn’t received the credit he has deserved. Maybe it’s because he’s not American, or didn’t have a colorful personality, or didn’t have a flashy game, but it’s baffling how he hasn’t received the recognition his accolades demand.
