The Top 5 Contributors to Dirk Nowitzki’s Success

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Mar 7, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) reacts during the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

Dirk Nowitzki deserves every bit of recognition that he has gotten over the last day and really deserves more than he will get. That being said, Dirk played with some great players in his career.

Just so we are clear to start off, these are the top 5 players that suited up with Dirk Nowitzki at some point in his career and helped him get to where he is today. In the final years of an illustrious career, Dirk became the 6th player in NBA history to score 30,000 points in a career.

Knowing that there are only 5 other players who achieved this accomplishment before Dirk, it is easy to see how amazing of a task this is. The fact that those other 5 players would make up a vast majority (if not the entirety) of the National Basketball Association’s Mount Rushmore really puts this into perspective.

Dirk Nowitzki has been in the elite players in NBA history for some time, but for all those who have doubted him in the past, it is even sealed for you now. Nowitzki is the best foreign born player in league history. He is the first European born MVP of the NBA (Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria) and the 2nd European born Finals MVP (Tony Parker was born in Belgium).

Nov 13, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Nowitzki is one of only 3 players to score 30,000 points with one franchise, and joins Karl Malone as the only two players to ever have 30,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during their time with one franchise. These are pretty amazing accomplishments.

However, most of these players who have had the level of success that Dirk has, usually have a Robin to their Batman. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had Oscar Robertson for a few years and Magic Johnson for 10. Karl Malone had John Stockton. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Kobe Bryant had Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol. Wilt Chamberlain had Hal Greer and Jerry West. But, who did Dirk have?

Some of those players are comparable to Dirk’s situation as not everyone had a Stockton to their Malone or a Pippen to their MJ for so many years. Here are 5 of the players that Dirk played with who really gave him that Robin like boost that he was never able to hold onto for very long.

Next: Michael Finley