Legend! Two More Milestones For Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki certainly has had plenty of better games than last night’s. The former MVP finished with only eight points (4/6 shooting) and five rebounds while adding two blocks. Nontheless, it was a night to remember for the big German, as he’s reached yet two more milestones.
Against the Raptors last night, Nowitzki became only the 8th player in league history to make 11.000 field goals. That wasn’t it for records though. The 39-year old also played his 1462th NBA game of his career, tying Kevin Garnett for fifth on the all-time list that Robert Parish is leading with 1611 games played.
Dirk still is collecting records and milestone like only few have in NBA history. Last season, he joined an elite group of NBA legends, 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.
You see, young NBA fans growing up now will see the likes of Karl Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid knocking down threes from 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.