#TBT- Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dallas Mavericks
-Hoover26 October 29
Very few athletes are identified by just a first name. Bo. Kobe. Babe. Dirk is one of those people (technically, there was another Dirk in the NBA, but very few people remember Dirk Minniefield).
How can you deny that Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history? He is a 13 time All Star, former NBA MVP, finals MVP, and has one of the greatest “signature moves” in NBA history. However, the question for the 37 year old Dirk is: Can he be a top fantasy player again? If you ask me, the answer is a resounding yes. This week’s #TBT will take a larger role in the offense with Monta Ellis gone, and Dirk’s career .383 three point shooting percentage makes him the only consistent shooter besides Wesley Matthews (.442 career 3P%).
Dirk’s True Shooting Percentage (my favorite stat of all time, takes into account free throws and threes) was far better than LaMarcus Aldridge's in 2014-2015, and his Value Over Replacement Player (another great metric stat) was equal to Aldridge’s (basketball-reference.com), yet Aldridge was drafted 49 picks higher than Dirk on average (espn.com).
How is this possible? Well, FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO projection system projects that Dirk will play considerably less minutes than he has in years past. This in, in large part, due to the fact that CARMELO uses similarities between other NBA players to aid in the projection. However, how many seventeen year veterans do you know that are the main key to a team’s playoff run? Dirk.
Everything about Dirk, from his age to his style of play, is throwback. But, just because something is outdated doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Throwbacks are back in this year, and Dirk is leading the pack.
In honor of #TBT, I thought I would include a throwback picture of Dirk:
Yes, he once looked like that!
How can you deny that Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history? He is a 13 time All Star, former NBA MVP, finals MVP, and has one of the greatest “signature moves” in NBA history. However, the question for the 37 year old Dirk is: Can he be a top fantasy player again? If you ask me, the answer is a resounding yes. This week’s #TBT will take a larger role in the offense with Monta Ellis gone, and Dirk’s career .383 three point shooting percentage makes him the only consistent shooter besides Wesley Matthews (.442 career 3P%).
Dirk’s True Shooting Percentage (my favorite stat of all time, takes into account free throws and threes) was far better than LaMarcus Aldridge's in 2014-2015, and his Value Over Replacement Player (another great metric stat) was equal to Aldridge’s (basketball-reference.com), yet Aldridge was drafted 49 picks higher than Dirk on average (espn.com).
How is this possible? Well, FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO projection system projects that Dirk will play considerably less minutes than he has in years past. This in, in large part, due to the fact that CARMELO uses similarities between other NBA players to aid in the projection. However, how many seventeen year veterans do you know that are the main key to a team’s playoff run? Dirk.
Everything about Dirk, from his age to his style of play, is throwback. But, just because something is outdated doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Throwbacks are back in this year, and Dirk is leading the pack.
In honor of #TBT, I thought I would include a throwback picture of Dirk:
Yes, he once looked like that!