NBA Legends Explain Why Dirk Nowitzki Is The Greatest Foreign NBA Player 

Thank you my hometown I call that championship before that season start.

It is my number two behind the 2016 cavs. But it was insane, as a german I need to say, that was the only time I wasn't rooting for Lebron in a final.

@@joshuadavidhillmann3 Definitely a respectable answer. That 3-1 comeback was insane.

I like that true that Nuggets Jocic was one of the best Team today with good leadership and teamwork who swept the Lebron Lakers, but man Dirk was a Monster back then playing against the heavily favorite MIA with superteam WADE BOSH AND Prime LBJ, the Mavs Choked them too hard they lose all motivation and hunger in the game leaving a Prime LBJ heart crushed and dying from meltdown... never forget a heavy underdog win the 2011 finals one of the best NBA run in history much much better than Lebron 2016 comeback win! Dirk Nowitzki is the beast! best Foreign Player outside the U.S

1986 Boston Celtics

So you always wanted to be black?

​@@GORILLA_PIMPshut up

I'm curious. How about Dennis Schröder? Is he highly regarded in Germany as well?

@@adingdingdiiing6740at the beginning of his career in the NBA he sort of had a bad reputation although he was not that well known to the broad public in Germany. Dennis was and still is pretty cocky, blunt and also likes to show off. It was something you don‘t see that often from sport stars over here, especially, if you compare him to Dirk who won most German hearts not only due to his great basketball achievements but his incredibly humbleness and down to earth spirit. Dirk is regarded as one of the best ambassadors of our country. However, Schröder matured a lot over the last decade and people in Germany really credit him for his undeniably strong commitment to the German national team which resulted in a surprising 3rd place finish in the European basketball championship on home soil last year. There are still some people on the fence about him but now I would say most are happy for him and love that he brings a different style to German basketball. Plus he does a lot for the community in his hometown. He also bought the majority of the shares of his hometown basketball club which plays in Germany‘s first division. On the pro level basketball teams in Germany are more than not dependent on single wealthy basketball enthusiasts or companies basically willing to finance the whole club. That’s why you see many teams just come and go within a short period. In soccer things are definitely way more stable.

​@@adingdingdiiing6740 feck what ever i wrote lol @davinnicode well answered

Stimme Dir voll zu. Bin aber der Meinung, dass 99,99% der Deutschen nicht verstehen, was Dirk in der NBA gerissen hat! Und was sein Entdecker schon für ein Coachingtalent hatte. Was da alles zusammenkommen musste , für SO eine Karriere. Wahnsinn.

Giannis is just as humble as both, also Duncan

Giannis Nash Duncan Olajuwon . Not foreign, but Dr. J

Tim Duncan

Stockton. That man is the poster child for humility.

@@mj23goat3 I certainly can't argue with that.

All true basketball fans know how good he was and all Lebron fan boys should definitely know who he is.

it was a great run but not nearly untouched; jordan 93>lebron 16>jordan 91>hakeem 94>magic 80>shaq 01>duncan 03........dirk 11

Dirk was so clutch that playoff run. They need a basket Dirk was getting it. They need a rebound Dirk was getting it. They need a stop Dirk was stopping that person. That run change the narrative on Dirk.

@@TheSportsCore the combination of the team Dallas was facing , while also considering the cast Dirk had was what set Dirk’s apart from all of those you mentioned

Jokic's playoff run was more impressive - even stats show that

@@heartmind4267 2011 Mavericks playoff run - mind you his entire roster was role players : * Swept 2-time defending NBA champion Lakers * Beat OKC 4:1 - (Durant/Westbrook/Harden) * Beat big 3 of Miami in Finals (LBJ/Bosh/Wade) Mavs playoff run is untouched imo

These international games were crazy. It was basically Nowitzki against everybody. It was a miracle that he even got the German national team into so many decisive games and that they could hold these games tight to the last whistle. Without Nowitzki no one in Germany would even talk about the basketball national team.

@bob88667 What I'm saying is Dirk's one-legged fadeaway influenced the younger generation. I'm not in any way comparing Dirk to Larry. Dirk's shooting coach taught him to shoot unorthodox in certain situations.

MJs fadeaway probably influenced Dirk, Dirk increased its curvature and brought it to another level with the help of his coach. a level you could not defend 1v1, with MJs fadeaways you had a little chance if you were a tall player and your timing was on point. to defend dirks fadeaway you probably have to be 10 foot 5 or something XD

Cant forget beating Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge led Portland team in 6.

Olajuwon 95 run is in that conversation as well Beat almost 3 60 plus win teams Beat the #1, #2, and #3 seed in the West And then Beat the #1 seed in the East...swept them after they beat Jordan and the Bulls Olajuwon destroyed the direct MVP in David Robinson Beat Shaq head to head, Penny, Barkley (previous MVP),Kevin Johnson, Rodman, Karl Malone (Future MVP and was in the conversation before that), and John Stockton. The yr previously Hakeem had already beaten Barkley, Ewing and Drexler

Dirk was not only German, he was also Serb because he is European. greetings from Germany

@@bjorndebar8361 Really nice words, Marko! Nowitzki was a player with his own style and he is the best European player ever, that played in the NBA. You talk about Nikola Jokic... what a great player! 5 times NBA All-Star, 2 times MVP. Denver can be proud of him, and he is just 28 y old. He can win the championship, too. I wish him all the best.

@@FCBayernMuenchen1900 Yeah, i am pretty sure he can win a championship 😁😁

Dirk paved the way for all Euro players in the NBA to be taken seriously and considered as First Team players.

@@bjorndebar8361 No. Dirk is not serbian. Dirk is German bruh…

Agreed. There are a lot that get minimized when we focus only on the goat stuff.

It's mostly the position. KG is the only one that's really recognized in a way that befit his actual impact on the league. Even Timmy and Dirk, some of the best to ever do it are overshadowed by flashy dunkers and 3-point machines.

i am a european and in fact a german. you couldnt be more wrong

Ita Jokic ;)

Sabonis petrovic and pau are better

THAT WAS PETROVIC(R.I.P.) NOW ITZ LUKA DONCIC!!!

@@THEREALLORDJ now its Jokic, lol.

Also beating the defending champions (lakers) the up and coming OKC with Durant, Westbrook and Harden and the physical/ defensive Portland

They did. But maybe u dont count that documentary style movie as a real movie

LeBron ain't best ever. Keep dreamin'.

Did you know the 2011 Mavericks are the only championship team in NBA history to have 5 past-present-or-future All NBA Players on their roster? Dirk, Kidd, Marion, Chandler, Peja... Not to mention Jet was a 6th Man award winner in 2009. Only two other championship teams have ever even had 4 past-present-or-future All NBA players on their team. 1. The Celtics of the 80s with Bird, McHale, Parish and Johnson. 15 total combined All NBA selections. 2. The 2011-12 Miami Heat with James, Bosh, Wade, and Allen. 30 total combined All NBA selections (19 are LeBron's) 3. The 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks with Dirk, Kidd, Marion, Chandler, and Peja. 22 total combined All NBA selections.

@@mj23goat3 He's definitely in the conversation.

yeah bill laimbeer never existed... its a blatant lie that dirk is that "revolutionary". guys did it before. but not as a primary option. i am german but i think nowitzki is getting overrated at this point

@@hoebertrabeck1621Bill Laimbeer?? Bill? Get outta here...

@@hoebertrabeck1621Schande über dein Haupt für diesen Vergleich...lmao

@@frizzyrascal1493 ja peja gabs auch nicht. oscar schmidt hat federball gespielt. recency bias hat noch nie jemandem geholfen.

Hakeem has entered the chat

nur wenn man hinterm mond gelebt hat

Eher der Detlef😉

@@darolhitman3154 aber so richtig groß erst durch Dirk

Moin erstmal!!!

TK is that you???

@@GORILLA_PIMP Ι don't understand you and I don't know who TK is.

I don’t believe it. Prove it with ticket stub from the game or you’re lying.

I saw Dirk and Steve Nash at the Galleria in Dallas a few times.

Why would I be lying? How would that benefit me? I'm a born-again Christian, and the Bible says "thou shall not lie!" And even if I had the stub, how am I supposed to show it to you on RU-vid? It did happen man! Basketball had very popular and then it dipped in popularity and that was probably why the games were for free! But then Greece won the 2005 European championship, we made it to the finals in the 06 Mundobasket, and Giannis Antetokounmpo became one of the GOATS so basketball became relevant again!

Luka is on a path to maybe be the best player of all time, you can look on him vs MJ stats, Jokic also, they are projecting past MJ, that is insane to think, MJ is the best i have ever seen, i mean Wilt also, but Jokic and Doncic, we are lucky to be seeing this.

There's still a large gap between Bird and Dirk though.

Just an example, intended to help convey the point and increase the power of the channel: Dirk supposedly was this great accurate shooter. I read that. I hear that. And, yeah, cool to hear some of the greatest of the game strongly making that point. But I watched this, and from the watching, I just don't see it. When I finished this video could I say, "indeed, he was a great shooter" ? Well, no. Maybe you'll do Calvin Murphy sometime. I've seen pieces on him that I watched and went, "WOW!!". You know what I mean?

Damn Solid draft right there

Embiid LMFAOOOO

don't put embid in a same game with Dirk!!!! EVER

@@stankopesa226 The reason I mentioned Embiid because all of these guys are foreign players that won MVP

@@shareofmoney all good just mine opinion

@@stankopesa226 I definitely understand. It's all respect

I think Dirk will still be the greatest foreign player ever. Dirk run is so consistent. Twelve years of doing the same thing at a high level. They got to do it at a high level to be consider the best. I remember when everyone want to found their Dirk and couldn’t found him. They still look for him to this day.

@@DatBoyBlue91 I understand what you are saying here, longevity is important. But Jokic and Giannis have already had better single seasons than Dirk and both have a lot of years left. Both already have 2 MVP awards, titles and Finals MVP. To think that both will just fall off the planet is highly unlikely. Throw in the fact Giannis also has a DPOY and Jokic already has more assists right now than Dirk had in his career? Not bashing Dirk here. He is one of my favorite players of all time. And he was abig part of changing narratives. But I think Giannis or Jokic will eclipse him for that title by the time it is over. And you know what? Thats ok.

​@@DatBoyBlue91No Dirk is the greatest European player Ever Hakeem Olajuwon is the Greatest Foreign player Ever

@@peterguidry6084 Dirk and Hakeem is 1a and 1b when you talk about greatest foreign player . But we was talking about Jokic and Giannis passing Dirk.

@DatBoyBlue91 your comments lend me to believe that you think Dirk and Hakeem are close. There is a gap in talent and skillset between the two. Even Dirk knows he wasn't as good as Olajuwon. Olajuwon is in conversation as one of the most complete and greatest 2 way players ever. Hakeem controlled the game on both sides of the ball Dirk was really good on the offensive side of the ball. The only thing Dirk did better was shooting 3s It's more like Hakeem is number 1 Then a gap. Then Dirk Nowitzki After that is the question about Giannis and Joker

But this makes it so special. Winning Titles in Ultra Teams ... Better carry a middle class Team to the Title on your Shoulders. Dirkules !

What about Barkley?

@@bluegregory6239 Barkley at 4 or 5 Duncan Malone Dirk KG Barkley

Boris Becker, Michael Gross, Timo Boll, Jens Weissflog ..... not saying that football isn't way ahead of any other sport here in Germany, but I think we aren't that one-sided as you make it sound. And with Steffi Graf, we also have one of the greatest sports persons of all time in any sport everyone knows and loves, and she certainly didn't play football.