Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on why Larry Bird was better than Dirk Nowitzki: "Larry knew where to be on the court to be the most effective for his team"

Former Dallas Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki was often compared to Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird . Both were big men who could stretch the floor and consistently hit the outside shot, including the three-pointer. Knowing both Dirk and Larry, you could pick either one of them and live with the results.

However, the Los Angeles Lakers' all-time great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thinks Larry Legend was better than the German forward. According to Cap, Larry was a better leader and all-around player.

"No way that Dirk Nowitzki is better than Larry, and Dirk is a first-rate — he’s an All-Star. Absolutely, any time he’s been on the All-Star team, he’s deserved it. But Larry, I think, had more going in terms of leadership," said Kareem.

Bird was one of a kind

Kareem knew Larry Legend well because their teams met three times in the NBA Finals during the 1980s. Bird's Celtics beat Kareem's Lakers in 1984, but the Purple and Gold defeated the Men in Green in 1985 and 1987. Bird was league MVP during three straight seasons from 1984-86 and Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986.

Meanwhile, Dirk led the Dallas Mavericks to their only NBA title in 2011. Nowitzki won league MVP honors in 2007 and was the Finals MVP in 2011. But while Nowitzki was primarily a scorer, Bird could do a lot more than just scoring for the Celtics. And Larry Legend always knew when to pick his spots.

"If you take the 48 minutes of the game, for every second on that clock, Larry knew where to be on the court to be the most effective for his team. And Dirk doesn’t play the game that way. He’s a volume shooter. He’s a streak shooter, and he’s wonderful at that — and he’s had a great career; I’m not trying to knock him, but Larry is one of a kind,” added Kareem.

Kareem also called Dirk a one-trick pony

In another interview, Kareem also said that Nowitzki did not have a dominant NBA career because, aside from scoring points, he didn't do much on the basketball court. Abdul-Jabbar said that if he were a better all-around player, Dirk would've gotten more credit.

"I don't think that he was able to have a dominant career because he couldn't do other things. If he could have shot like that and rebounded and played defense and blocked shots, then he would have been all-around, and he would have gotten more credit. He was like a one-trick pony," the six-time NBA MVP said .

There's no doubt that Dirk is an all-time great and one of the first floor-stretching big men in the league. However, Larry Legend simply had more in his bag than the Mavs legend. Bird was a better rebounder, defender, and passer than Nowitzki. The German native was a great leader, too, but there was just something about The Hick From The French Lick's presence that commanded more on the basketball court.

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