I’m curious here too. Where do you guys rank these three PFs? You can take it any way you want to. Best player, Most likely to win, most dominant… whatever. Just let me know how you rank these three players.
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1a. Gevin Karnett
1b. Nirk Dowitzki
- Marl Kalone
i’m okay with this. KG was a better all around player than Dirk, but I feel like Dirk has one of, if not the best ring in NBA history.
Dirk, KG, Malone is a distant 3rd. Dirk won his title as the lone all star in his team. KG had two other Hall of Famers. Dirk also averaged 33 ppg in their lone playoff series versus KG (3-0 sweep) and has winning record when going head to head.
I watched probably 80% of Dirk’s games…. Guy was unstoppable. KG was great too, but he was nowhere near the offensive force that Dirk was. And for all of KG’s defensive prowess - he never stopped Dirk from kicking his ass.
https://www.landofbasketball.com/games_between/kevin_garnett_vs_dirk_nowitzki.htm
KG Dirk Malone
Very different styles of play. Gonna say Dirk over KG due to the fact that Dirk was a one of a kind player (for his time) and was undisputedly THE guy on a championship team. When KG was the main guy on his team, they didn’t do anything in the playoffs.
Malone is the best of these players. Old Malone gave both of these players problems for multiple seasons. He was a difference maker with his ability to both rebound and run in transition.
KG, Dirk, Pedo
Why Dirk over Malone?
I’m just ranking them by peaks.
Dirk is to me a top 3-5 scorer in NBA history with some of the best volume and efficiency in the playoffs. He can score in the low and high post, is the best midrange shooter ever, an elite finisher, and can come off screens for jumpers. He’s the 2nd best spacer of all time and it allowed him to anchor some of the best offenses in the league despite playing with defensively slanted teams. Malone is a far better defender and passer, but Dirk’s impact as a scorer, shooter, and spacer is too much.
Also Dirk isn’t a pedo.
There’s no argument for Dirk being a top 5 scorer. You got MJ, KD, Curry, Lebron, Shaq, Harden, Kobe, and Kareem are all better scorers. Then there’s like 5 more you can make an argument for.
Dirk definitely a better scorer at his peak than Kobe, curry, and harden.
Ok bro, now you just sound dumb. Curry averaged 30 points on 67 ts%. How could you possibly argue Dirk was a better scorer.
Dirk from 2009-2011 in the playoffs: 29 points per 75 on + 8 relative TS%
Curry from 2015-2017 in the playoffs: 28 points per 75 on + 7.5 relative TS%.
Dirk also played with far worse offensive teammates than Curry. Dirk is also a more versatile scorer than Steph.
Steph literally had entire defenses scheming to stop him. Dirk face that at times, but not to the level of Steph. There’s no way in hell you could argue dirk to be a better scorer than steph.
Dirk’s impact as a scorer, shooter, and spacer is too much.
Funny you mention Dirk being a top 3-5 scorer in NBA history as a reason to rank him over Karl too.
Malone never won a scoring title but finished runner up 5 times. (Finished 3rd three times, 4th twice and 5th three times).As a point of reference that’s 13 seasons in the top 5 for PPG, Dirk Nowitzki finished top 5 for PPG once.
Malone top 5 in PPG 13x. Dirk top 5 in PPG 2x.
Nowitzki’s best scoring season (26.6PPG in 2005-06) would be Malone’s 10th highest scoring season!
Malone, 27.0+ PPG, 8x. Dirk, 27.0+ PPG, 0x.
It’s always Utah fans who use raw ppg especially only in the regular season without any context of efficiency to boost either their pedophile or overrated anti vaxxer.
Dirk from 2009-2011 in the playoffs: 29 points per 75 on + 8 relative TS%
Malone from 1991-1993 in the playoffs(his best playoff scoring stretch): 26 points per 75 on + 4 relative TS%.
These stats don’t also mention how Dirk was a FAR more versatile scorer than malone. This allowed Dirk to maintain his efficiency against elite defenses while the Pedo couldn’t.
Don’t forget to add that Dirk’s best teammate in his career was probably pre-MVP Nash while Malone got to play with a top 5 PG of all time for almost his entire career, then tried piggy backing off Shaq/Kobe for a ring and failed
3-5 scorer ever is a stretch but Malone was a efficient scorer too but had huge playoff dropoffs. I feel like Stockton gets overrated which makes Malone seem less valuable than he was
Top 3-5 isn’t a stretch when you consider his volume, efficiency, and versatility.
I will give the pedo credit on carrying overrated ass Stockton though.
Steph, Lebron, Michael, Durant, Shaq is already 5 id put ahead.
Malone (90-97) 27-11-4 on 59% TS
Dirk (05-11) 25-9-3 on 59% TS
Steph? I can’t see that.
Malone (90-97) 27-11-4 on 59% TS
Dirk (05-11) 25-9-3 on 59% TSYou’re going to have to adjust those numbers for pace and relative efficiency. Also Dirk after 2008 completely changed as a player. Using his 2005-2007 playoff numbers is very misinformed.
These are just regular season, i didnt calculate rTS but Malone was +6-9 those years
Curry (2014-2023): 26.9 ppg on 116 TS+
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Playoffs: 27.0 ppg on 61 TS (we don’t have relative stats)
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Peak season 30.1 ppg (scoring champion) on 124 TS+
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2x scoring title
Dirk (2002-2012): 24.1 ppg on 109 TS+
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Playoffs 26.2 ppg on 58 TS
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Peak season: 24.6 ppg on 112 TS+
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0x scoring title
How can you see anything other than Steph > Dirk?
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Eye test wise… KG > Dirk, but you can’t overlooking that carry job in 2011 as the undisputed “the man”. Dirk > KG > Malone.
KG > Dirk by a little bit. I’m not gonna address the other guy.
KG, Dirk, Malone. Defense matters
How you gonna put Dirk above Malone then quote defence?
Id put Dirk above him too. But c’mon.
Didn’t watch Malone
KG, Malone, Dirk
KG because of defense and versatility.
Naysayers will play the “his teams struggled when he was the lead guy” card, but he was never meant to be the 1A frontline scoring option. His best role is as the Bam/Giannis next to some greedy shooters and scorers. Once he got that role with Boston, he won a title.
I know my all-time 5 is Curry, MJ, and LeBron in the 1-3 spot. The 5 spot is tricky because I could see Wilt, Shaq, or Kareem all being the pick there. When I think about 4 though, my mind drifts to Garnett because of his athleticism, defense, and versatility. More switchable than Duncan. More offensive than Rodman. Better defender than Malone or Barkley. I didn’t watch b-ball before the 90s, but he’s my all-time PF based on the players I’ve actually watched in their prime.
KG > Malone > Dirk