Dirk Nowitzki Comes in at 17th on ESPN’s All-Time NBA Rankings

Dirk Nowitzki comes in at #17 on ESPN’s all-time NBA player rankings, finally getting a little of the respect he deserves.

I’ll be honest, when I saw ESPN was doing an All-Time NBA Player Ranking I didn’t have high hopes. There have been a lot of these types of list, and , in my opinion, rarely gets the respect he deserves. But I have to say, I’m pleasantly surprised by where Dirk landed on ESPN’s version; just ahead of , , and at #17. Here’s how ESPN came up with the results:

"To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. The result is our all-time NBA Top 100."

I mean, the guy’s resume speaks for itself: NBA champion, both versions of the MVP award, sixth all-time in scoring, only player in NBA history with 25k points, 10k rebounds, 1k blocks, and 1k three-pointers, only all-star on two Finals teams, 50-40-90 club member, literally changed the way basketball is played…

And if it was based on “peak performance and career value” it’s clear that Dirk has earned his place. From ages 26-30 he averaged 25.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on close to a 50-40-90 pace, dragged the Mavericks to their first and only title through a gauntlet of all-time greats two seasons later, and will spend his entire career with a single franchise, leading Dallas to at least 12 seasons with at least 50 wins.

More Articles About Dirk Nowitzki:

But it just seems like Nowitzki isn’t appreciated as much as some of the other all-time greats. Even compared to a guy like , who despite having a Defensive Player of the Year award under his belt to go along with his regular season MVP award, got his lone title on a super team in Boston and could never get Minnesota to the Finals even with a talented supporting cast. Dirk’s even got taking shots at him for no apparent reason.

So it’s good to see him recognized. And for what it’s worth, ESPN also ranked Nowitzki as the third best power forward of all-time behind and .

It’s also important to remember that Nowitzki has stood the test of time the way few players in history have. Even at 37-years old in his 18th NBA season, Nowitzki is leading the Mavericks in scoring at 17.7 points a game and shooting just under 40% from three-point range. Meaning, he might not be done climbing the ladder.

Next: Is Mike Conley Obtainable for the Mavericks?

Be sure to follow us @thesmokingcuban, and check out our podcast on iTunes!