(Photo : OLIVER BEHRENDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Two former hardcourt rivals exchange admiration for each other.
Basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki had a monument installed in his honor outside American Airlines Center before the Dallas Mavericks' 124-115 home victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. And Lakers superstar LeBron James hailed the German as "the best foreign player ever."
Like Hakeem Olajuwon, Steve Nash, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Tim Duncan, who all made the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, Nowitzki is unquestionably one of the game's all-time worldwide greats that played the sport.
Dirk's Phenomenal Career
According to Bleacher Report, LeBron James has remarked of Dirk Nowitzki, "I believe he's the best international player ever," as reported by Legion Hoops. He added that the German basketball legend revolutionized the power forward position.
"I think he's the greatest international player ever. I put him right there with Manu... That boy was cold man. Dirk was cold. He revolutionized what a stretch 4 big could look like."
LeBron James on Dirk Nowitzki 💯 pic.twitter.com/YUVcwwmoae— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 26, 2022
LeBron James, who played against Nowitzki for 16 years, can attest to the fact that he was a phenomenal player in his own right.
Dirk Nowitzki played with the Mavericks for 21 seasons and was named to 14 All-Star teams and 12 All-NBA squads. In the 2010-11 NBA Finals, he led the Mavs to victory against the powerhouse Miami Heat, with the triumvirate of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. "The Germanator" showcased one of the greatest performances in NBA championship series history as he propelled his team to bounce back from being down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series and eventually win the title. He was also named Finals MVP.
Throughout his amazing career, Dirk Nowitzki averaged 20.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. LeBron James has already praised Nowitzki, and he probably won't stop doing so in the future.
Even though Nowitzki's Mavericks handed James the worst NBA Finals defeat of his career, James has always maintained the highest regard for the German athlete.
LeBron Inches Away From Becoming The GOAT
LeBron James' praise of Dirk Nowitzki follows the latter's statements that exalt King James to GOAT status. In a press conference, Dirk Nowitzki said: "I always say Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but if [James] really surpasses Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] with the scoring record, I'm sort of running out of arguments for Michael."
James needed 677 points to break Abdul-record, Jabbar's which he had not done until the Lakers' Christmas Day game, according to Sports Illustrated.
Dirk Nowitzki is close to calling LeBron James the greatest ever: "Tremendous that he can still play like this in his Year 20. ... I always say that Michael Jordan is the GOAT — if (LeBron) really passes Kareem in the scoring record, I'm running out of arguments for Michael..." pic.twitter.com/X14Ko62Ds3
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 26, 2022
The Lakers superstar, just five days shy of his 38th birthday, scored 38 baskets (on 13-of-23 shooting) to make it seven games in a row with 30 or more points.
Night each night, he gets closer and closer to breaking the record; assuming any unexpected events, it should transpire within the next few months.
Understandably, the all-time scoring honor would please Nowitzki, who sits at #6 on the NBA's all-time scoring list with nearly 31,000 points, per Sporting News.
Dirk Nowitzki was mindful to point out that James is just as brilliant off the court as he has been on it. He noted that what LeBron James has accomplished in his almost 20-year professional basketball career proves that he's a "very, very special athlete."
"We need to appreciate watching him at the level he's playing at," the Mavs legend said.
Related Article: How Is the Health of Pelé? Brazil Legend's Cancer Worsens, Will Stay in Hospital Through Christmas
