Last season in April, Dirk Nowitzki overtook Oscar Robertson for the 10th spot in the legendary NBA all-time scoring list. After signing a two-year contract extension with the Mavs, Nowitzki is now positioned for another historic season as he looks to at least move up to seventh place on the all-time scoring list, barring any unforeseen injury, according to Mavs.com:
After passing Jerry West, Kevin Garnett, Reggie Miller, Alex English, John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, and finally Oscar Robertson last season, next in Nowitzki's sights is two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon. The center, currently ninth on the list, sits 160 points ahead of Nowitzki. Just ahead of him are fellow big men Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone, both of whom Dirk will almost certainly overtake this season.
So the more important question to ask now is not if Dirk will pass them but when he will pass them. The Big German certainly has a huge task ahead and its difficult to predict when he will bump these legends in front of him since you can never forecast injuries or rest nights. Nowitzki is also considering playing for Germany in 2015 Eurobasket, per Mavs Moneyball which means that his then 37 year old body will have played plenty of basketball miles already.
And after a series of free agent moves and signings in the offseason, the Mavs are also a much deeper team heading into the season which means that coach Rick Carlisle could very much afford resting his star every now and then especially in the second night of a back-to-back. Plus, Dirk might just opt to play fewer minutes to keep his body fresh in the playoffs which means that his scoring average might go down a point or two from his average last year of 21.7 points per game.
But Dirk is extremely durable and has proven time and time again that he still has what it takes to carry his team even if Charles Barkely and other analysts have been predicting that "Father Time" has caught up on him. In addition, the Beauty in Dirk's game is that he doesn't require a lot of athleticism for him to become effective. With his 7 foot frame, sweet touch, and high-arcing shot release, Dirk will still be able to shoot one-legged fade-aways even if he is past 40. And right now he is preparing for the coming season with a new and better shot. Nowitzki revealed that he is working with Geschwinder on his shot when he talked with RP Online. The goal of his work is to shoot quicker.
How far Dirk Nowitzki will climb up the NBA All-time scoring list remains to be seen but right now he is already working on improving his shot and in the coming season its not hard to see him cracking up the 7th spot.
Join the Conversation