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Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, Kevin Garnett 2008-01-13, CC BY-SA 2.0
Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, Dirk Nowitzki 2, CC BY-SA 2.0
Note: Updated for Kevin Garnett’s 2020 Hall of Fame selection.
Throughout most of the NBA’s history, seven-foot centers and forwards have traditionally played close to the basket and focused on scoring and rebounding in the paint. In the mid to late-1990s, however, the first wave of “unicorn” players began to emerge in the shape of versatile seven-footers who could dribble, pass, and shoot with the skills of a guard (yes, that included making three-pointers). Two of these early unicorns were high schooler Kevin Garnett and German-born Dirk Nowitzki, who went from being raw, but talented teenagers to franchise faces and league MVPs. With both players having retired in recent years, the landscape of the NBA has changed dramatically since when they first entered the league – now, positionless seven-footers such as Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kristaps Porzingis are becoming increasingly valuable for their unique skill sets. As we look back upon a couple of the prototypes of the modern basketball player, a natural question arises:
Who was better – Kevin Garnett or Dirk Nowitzki?
The Beginning
Whereas NBA teams traditionally drafted players out of college, Garnett and Nowitzki both bucked that trend – the former was the first high school player drafted in 20 years, while the latter was one of the early first round picks from Europe. As high potential, but less polished players entering the league, both players would require a few years of seasoning before becoming superstars.
As a high schooler, Garnett was named Mr. Basketball in Illinois and USA Today National High School Player of the Year as a senior, as well as Most Outstanding Player in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He declared for the 1995 NBA Draft and was selected fifth overall by the moribund Minnesota Timberwolves, thus becoming the first high schooler drafted since 1975. As a rookie (and the youngest player in the NBA at the time), he had a solid season and gave a tantalizing glimpse of his all-around talents – Garnett was named Second Team All-Rookie after averaging 10.4 points (49.1% shooting), 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, while also contributing more than a steal and a block per game.
As for Dirk, as a teenager, he spent four seasons playing professionally with DJK Wurzburg in his native Germany, eventually rising to become German Basketballer of the Year. After dominating at amateur showcases like the Nike Hoop Summit, he declared for the 1998 NBA Draft and was selected ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. However, he would never play for the Bucks – instead, on draft night, he was traded with Pat Garrity to the Dallas Mavericks for sixth overall pick Robert “Tractor” Traylor; Garrity was subsequently traded with Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, and a first round pick to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash. Nowitzki had a relatively quiet rookie year, only averaging 8.2 points (on only 40.5% shooting), 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, but with a new owner in Mark Cuban and a nucleus that also included Nash and Michael Finley, Dirk would soon help lift Dallas to new heights.
Career Comparison
Following a period of adjustment to the NBA, Garnett and Nowitzki would eventually become two of the most accomplished players in league history, their resumes filled with All-Star Game appearances, All-NBA selections, MVPs, and NBA titles.
Garnett would become an All-Star (the first of 15 appearances) in just his second season at age 20, and teamed with newly drafted point guard Stephon Marbury (who was acquired on draft day in a trade for Garnett’s future teammate Ray Allen) to form a promising young core for the Timberwolves. A couple of years later, in the lockout-shortened 1998-1999, he would make his first All-NBA team (Third Team) with 20.8 points (46.0% shooting), 10.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game, as well as 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. This would mark the start of a remarkable nine straight years averaging more than 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block per game – during that time, Garnett led the NBA in rebounding for four straight seasons (2003-2004 to 2006-2007), including a career-best 13.9 boards per game in 2003-2004 for his first rebounding crown. In fact, the 2003-2004 season was arguably Garnett’s finest, as he took home MVP honors on the strength of a career-high 24.2 points (49.9% shooting), 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game while also garnering another All-Star selection, First Team All-NBA honors, and First Team All-Defensive honors.
Despite his individual heroics in Minnesota, which included the aforementioned MVP, 10 All-Star Games, eight All-NBA selections, and eight All-Defensive nods, Garnett could not elevate the Timberwolves to the next level. Following yet another frustrating playoff exit in 2006-2007, the Timberwolves blew things up and traded Garnett to the Boston Celtics in the largest-ever deal for one player, dealing him for seven players (Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, a top-three protected 2009 first-round pick, and another 2009 first-round pick acquired via trade) and cash considerations. In Boston, Garnett formed a new “Big Three” with Paul Pierce and the aforementioned Ray Allen, and willingly sacrificed individual numbers for team success. Nevertheless, his inaugural season was one of the finest of his career – despite playing roughly seven fewer minutes a night vs. the ~40 or so he was used to in Minnesota, Garnett averaged 18.8 points (on a career-best 53.9% shooting), 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game en route to All-Star, First Team All-NBA, All-Defensive, and Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as a third-place MVP finish behind Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul.
Following his standout inaugural season in Boston, Garnett settled into averaging around 15 points and 9 rebounds per game, while shooting very efficiently from the field and continuing to play his signature ferocious defense – during his six seasons with the Celtics, he was an All-Star 5x and All-Defensive 4x, though never made an All-NBA Team again after that first year. After the 2012-2013 season, Boston traded a 37-year-old Garnett, Pierce, Jason Terry, and D.J. White to the Brooklyn Nets for three future first-round picks (2014, 2016, and 2018), Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, and Keith Bogans. In his season-and-a-half with the Nets, Garnett was largely a veteran mentor before being traded back to Minnesota for Thaddeus Young and finishing out his career there, retiring after the 2015-2016 season at age 39.
As for Dirk, he also quickly evolved into a star – in his second year, he doubled his scoring to 17.5 points per game, along with 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Then, starting in his third season, Nowitzki would average 20+ points per game for a dozen straight years (and 13 seasons overall) while shooting better than 45% on field goals, 34% on three-pointers, and 83% on free throws. In 2001-2002, Dirk made his first of 11 straight All-Star Games (14x overall) and Second Team All-NBA on the strength of 23.4 points (47.7% shooting), 9.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. Though Nowitzki made First All-NBA 4x in his career (including back-to-back 26+ point-per-game seasons in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006), arguably his best season came in 2006-2007, as he averaged 24.6 points (on 50.2% shooting) with 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game to take home MVP honors, edging out his friend and former teammate Steve Nash and preventing Nash from three-peating as MVP; moreover, with shooting percentages of 50.2% on field goals, 41.6% on three-pointers, and 90.4% on free throws that season, Dirk is one of only seven players in NBA history with a 50-40-90 season (the others being Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Nash, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry).
Entering his 30s, Nowitzki continued to be one of the best players in the NBA, with consecutive seasons of 25+ points per game in 2008-2009 (his last First Team All-NBA nod) and 2009-2010. From there, however, his scoring average gradually began to dip, finally going under 20 points per game for the first time in a dozen years in 2014-2015; in fact, the 17.3 points per game he averaged that season was the lowest scoring output since his rookie season. Though he bounced back with another All-Star season in 2013-2014 at age 35 (21.7 points per game on 49.7% shooting with 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game), Nowitzki was clearly in decline. By his swan song season at age 40 in 2018-2019, he was playing fewer than 20 minutes per game and averaging a career-low 7.3 points per game; nevertheless, Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade (who was also retiring after a Hall of Fame career) were named special roster additions to the All-Star Game and in his final NBA game, Dirk turned back the clock with one more 20-and-10 performance.
Overall, Garnett and Nowitzki both played 21 seasons and had impressive career accomplishments – Garnett is only the third player in NBA history (behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone) with 25,000+ points, 14,000+ rebounds, and 5,000+ assists, while Dirk retired sixth on the all-time scoring list. On one hand, Dirk was the superior scorer (20.7 vs. 17.8 points per game), a much more dangerous three-point shooter (1,982 made three-pointers vs. only 174 made for Garnett), and overall, a better shooter (though his career field goal percentage is lower in part due to greater range); on the other hand, Garnett was a monster rebounder (10.0 vs. 7.5 rebounds per game), a better passer (3.7 vs. 2.4 assists per game), and a much better defensive player overall. Despite their playing style differences, both were highly decorated – Garnett made more All-Star appearances (15 to 14) and All-Defensive teams (12 to 0, including 1x Defensive Player of the Year), while Nowitzki had more All-NBA selections (12 to 9), and both were 1x MVPs. From an advanced stats perspective, it is once again a split decision: Garnett has the slight edge in Player Efficiency Rating (PER), but Nowitzki has more career Win-Shares. Not surprisingly, Garnett was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, as Nowitzki most likely will be when his time comes.
Regular Season Statistics
| Kevin Garnett | Player | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 21 (1995-2016) | Seasons | 21 (1998-2019) |
| 1,462 | Games Played | 1,522 |
| 17.8 | Points | 20.7 |
| 10.0 | Rebounds | 7.5 |
| 3.7 | Assists | 2.4 |
| 1.3 | Steals | 0.8 |
| 1.4 | Blocks | 0.8 |
| 49.7% | Field Goal % | 47.1% |
| 78.9% | Free Throw % | 87.9% |
| 22.7 | PER | 22.4 |
| 191.4 | Win Shares | 206.3 |
| 15x | All-Star Games | 14x |
| 9x | All-NBA | 12x |
| 1x | MVP | 1x |
| 1x | NBA Titles | 1x |
| – | NBA Finals MVP | 1x |
| 1x Defensive POY, 12x All-Defensive, All-Rookie | Other Awards | – |
| 2020 | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
During their lengthy careers, Garnett and Nowitzki led their respective franchises to the postseason year after year and put up great playoff numbers (both averaged playoff double-doubles for their careers), but were thwarted repeatedly in their quests to win an NBA title. It would take a change of scenery for Garnett and a herculean effort by Nowitzki for each to finally reach the pinnacle of professional basketball.
While Garnett made the postseason in eight consecutive years during the prime of his career with Minnesota, they were bounced in the first round seven straight times; in his 2003-2004 MVP season, the Timberwolves finally made a breakthrough and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games despite Garnett’s monster numbers (24.3 points and a playoff-leading 14.6 rebounds per game). Following a hiatus from the playoffs, in his first season with the Celtics (and 13th overall in the NBA), Garnett finally exorcized his postseason demons – together with Pierce and Allen, he averaged 20-and-10 for the playoffs (20.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game) and led Boston to its first NBA title since the 1980s with a six-game victory over the Lakers in the Finals. The next year, Garnett would miss the last 25 games of the regular season and all of the playoffs due to injury, but bounced back in 2009-2010 with another Finals appearance; however, this time, Garnett had a relatively down postseason (only 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game), and the Celtics would fall in seven games in a rematch with the Lakers. Though the Celtics would continue to make the postseason every season, they would never again taste the success of those early years.
Similarly, Nowitzki made the postseason 15x with the Mavericks, though faced a number of trials and tribulations. In the 2006 playoffs, he averaged 27.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and led Dallas to the Finals vs. the Miami Heat – despite an early 2-0 lead, Nowitzki struggled later in the series, and Dwyane Wade would lead the Heat to four straight victories for the championship. The next season, despite Dirk being regular season MVP, the top-seeded Mavericks were upset by the Golden State Warriors in the first round, the first time an eighth seed had beaten a number one seed in a best-of-seven series. Finally, in 2011, Nowitzki was able to lay all of the criticism to rest – in a Finals rematch with the heavily favored Heat, led by the triumvirate of LeBron James, Wade, and Chris Bosh, Dirk overcame a torn tendon in his left middle finger in Game 1 and a fever in Game 4 to propel the Mavericks to their first NBA title in a six-game victory; he was also named Finals MVP on the strength of 26.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
During their illustrious careers, Garnett and Nowitzki played head-to-head 40 times; in 37 career regular season matchups, Dirk had a 20-17 edge and averaged 23.1 points (46.7% shooting), 8.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game vs. Garnett’s 21.8 points (51.9% shooting), 11.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Moreover, the two met once in the playoffs, where Dirk’s Mavericks swept Garnett’s Timberwolves 3-0 in the first round in 2002. In that series, Dirk also outplayed Garnett, averaging 33.3 points (52.6% shooting), 15.7 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game to Garnett’s 24.0 points (only 42.9% shooting), 18.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game.
On the international stage, both Garnett and Nowitzki represented their respective countries with distinction. As a member of Team USA, Garnett won gold at both the 1999 FIBA Americas Championships and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Meanwhile, Dirk played for the German National Team for nearly two decades, winning a silver at the 2005 EuroBasket and a bronze at the 2002 World Cup. Additionally, he was able to lead Germany to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he also served as the German National Team flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony.
Playoff Statistics
| Kevin Garnett | Player | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 143 | Games Played | 145 |
| 18.2 | Points | 25.3 |
| 10.7 | Rebounds | 10.0 |
| 3.3 | Assists | 2.5 |
| 1.2 | Steals | 1.0 |
| 1.3 | Blocks | 0.9 |
| 47.8% | Field Goal % | 46.2% |
| 78.9% | Free Throw % | 89.2% |
| 21.1 | PER | 23.8 |
| 16.4 | Win Shares | 23.1 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; with each player’s career spanning two decades, Garnett and Nowitzki both made the transition from developing youngster to dominant superstar to elder statesman and mentor. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Kevin Garnett | Player | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 1998-2008 | Decade of Dominance | 2001-2011 |
| 759 | Games Played | 782 |
| 22.0 | Points | 24.5 |
| 12.2 | Rebounds | 8.8 |
| 4.8 | Assists | 2.9 |
| 1.4 | Steals | 0.9 |
| 1.6 | Blocks | 1.0 |
| 49.4% | Field Goal % | 47.9% |
| 78.8% | Free Throw % | 88.6% |
| 25.5 | PER | 24.8 |
| 130.1 | Win Shares | 137.8 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
No surprises across the decades of dominance, with Nowitzki being the better scorer and shooter, Garnett being the better all-around player, and the two being relatively equal on advanced metrics. Perhaps the most interesting observation is Garnett being a 20-and-10 player in his best 10 years, illustrating how much he sacrificed his personal scoring numbers for team success during his Boston years.
My Thoughts
Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki were not just Hall of Fame players, but rather, their unique skills led to a paradigm shift in the NBA. Today, every team is looking for the next multi-talented seven-footer with an array of shooting, rebounding, passing, and defensive skills – though that quest has led to a number of busts (e.g. Darko Milicic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Andrea Bargnani, etc.), it has also spawned some of the league’s best players, such as the aforementioned Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Between the OG unicorns, however, the two were an interesting contrast in style and abilities – despite Dirk’s greater scoring and shooting abilities, I would take Garnett’s better all-around skillset, especially in terms of his ferocious rebounding and defensive prowess.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Kevin Garnett
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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