Dirk Nowitzki says LeBron James will have to be above Michael Jordan if he surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record
LA Lakers star forward LeBron James is only 629 points behind NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James is expected to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record of 38,387 career points at some point this season to become the league’s new all-time leading scorer.
There is a lot of anticipation for when the moment finally comes. There has also been increased debate about how James inevitably becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will affect the GOAT debate. According to James’ former rival, Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, it will be hard not to pick James once he reaches the historic milestone:
“I always say Michael Jordan is the GOAT. (But) if he (James) really surpasses (Kareem) for the scoring record, I’m sort of running out of arguments for Michael. What this guy has done has been nothing short of incredible."
Dirk Nowitzki on LeBron James:
“I always say MJ is the G.O.A.T, [but] if he surpasses [Kareem] with the scoring record I’m kind of running out of arguments for Michael [Jordan].”
(via @LandonBuford) https://t.co/GUy0skugv3
Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan is fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 32,292 career points compared to James’ 37,758 points so far. However, it’s worth noting that Jordan played just 15 seasons compared to James, who is in year 20. Jordan also still has six championships to James’ four so far. So the GOAT debate will likely continue for years to come.
LeBron James’ longevity shouldn’t discredit him though as Nowitzki added how impressive it is that James is still producing at such a high level. James is about to turn 38 later this week. Nowitzki said:
“It’s tremendous that he can still play like this in Year 20. His athleticism is incredible, and I’m happy for him."
LeBron James calls Dirk Nowitzki the greatest international player of all time
As for LeBron James’ thoughts on Dirk Nowitzki, James also raved about his former rival following Nowitzki’s statue unveiling on Christmas Day. James even dubbed Nowitzki the greatest international player of all time:
“I think he’s the greatest international player ever.”
James continued:
“I put him right there with Manu (Ginobili). What he brought here, what he brought to the city… That boy was cold, man. Dirk was cold.”
James then went on to talk about how Nowitzki revolutionized the game of basketball for stretch-big men:
“He revolutionized what a stretch four big looks like. Put the ball on the ground. Finished above the rim in his earlier years. And then just mastering that in-between game as his game got a couple of years down the line. And then he started taking it out to the three-point line."
He went on to say:
“You couldn’t put a small on him because he was too big. You really couldn’t put a slow big on him because he was too quick with his first step early on. And you could never block his shot because he shot it behind his head, kind of like Larry Bird-Esque."
Finally, James added that Nowitzki is also near the top of the list when it comes to the greatest power forwards of all time:
"So Dirk, when you talk about top power forwards of all-time, he’s right up there with like (Charles) Barkley, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, those guys."
NBA fans could debate for hours about where LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki both rank all time. However, the majority of fans would probably agree that it’s nice to see the mutual respect between the two all-time greats.
Also read: When Charles Barkley was awestruck witnessing Dirk Nowitzki's caliber as a teenager: “Dirk was like 18 and was kicking our a**”