Dirk Nowitzki's No. 41 jersey will fly above the Lone Ranger's home stadium, and after landing in the NBA in 1998, he dedicated all of his 21-year long NBA career to Dallas, from a benchman who played crazy on the outside to a regular season MVP and a Finals MVP, and his retired jersey that was selected as the "75 Superstars" is well deserved. Nowitzki has been named to the NBA's All-NBA Team 12 times, what level in NBA history?
Nowitzki was selected by the Bucks with the 9th pick in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft and was traded to the Lone Ranger that night, and in his rookie season he only shot 40.5 percent from the field and 20.6 percent from three-point range, and not many people at the time would have thought that such a big man floating on the outside could become the totem of the Lone Ranger. In 1,522 regular-season games in his 21-year NBA career, Nowitzki averaged 33.8 minutes per game, averaging 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists from 47.1 percent shooting and 38.0 percent three-point shooting.
As a shooting-type interior, Nowitzki's offensive efficiency is remarkable, with his contemporaries, Tim Duncan, who is recognized as the number one forward in NBA history, shooting 50.6 percent in 1,392 regular-season games in his 19-year NBA career and 49.7 percent from 1,462 regular-season games in his 21-year NBA career.
Nowitzki is one of the 17 players in NBA history who combines regular season MVP and Finals MVP, and his 12-time selection of the NBA's Best Team also confirms the league's official recognition of Nowitzki's NBA career achievements. Among the NBA current players, only LeBron James has been selected to the Best Team more than 10 times, and the second-place player in the current team is Chris Paul, who has been selected to the Best Team 10 times. It is worth mentioning that Stephen Curry, who has won the regular season MVP for the regular season, has only been selected to the best team seven times so far.
In the long history of the NBA, only 6 players have been selected to the Best Team more than 12 times: James, Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Duncan, Carl Malone and Shaq O'Neal. It is worth mentioning that "Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell has been selected to the Best Team 11 times in his NBA career, Michael Jordan, the "God of Basketball" has been selected to the Best Team 11 times, and "Basketball Emperor" Chamberlain has been selected to the Best Team 10 times, and these "Gods" have been selected to the Best Team less often than Nowitzki.
Many people say that Stephen Curry ushered in the NBA three-point shooting era, but Nowitzki is also an epoch-making figure in NBA history, and his achievements show that big men can make a name for themselves in the NBA by shooting, and his success makes the NBA interior line no longer a hand-to-hand combat.