Why Dirk Nowitzki Was The MOST DOMINANT Midrange Shooter In NBA History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Michael Jordan’s iconic fadeaway is probably the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about unstoppable mid range scorers and moves.
And the 96-97 season is without a doubt the greatest shooting display from that area that the league has ever witnessed.
However, even tho Jordan is one of the best mid range shooters in NBA history, and had the highest peak in 97, he is not the most dominant. And there’s another player claiming this title.
Greatest peak, most dominant, what’s the difference? Well, let me explain. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
During the 96-97 season, Michael fired away an astonishing (588) 1202 mid range shots, and hit 48.9% of those.
That ranked him by far the number 1 in makes and attempts, and number 3 in efficiency. Combine these mind blowing numbers with the fact that Jordan had to take impossibly difficult shots every night with the entire defense focused on him, and that makes this graph that much more insane.
But MJ only became a mid range assassin in the second half of his NBA career.
Leading the league in 1997, 1998 and funny enough, the two years that he came back from retirement 02 and 03. This is at age 39 and 40.
For the first few seasons however, he was primarily a high flier, and an inconsistent shooter. And on top of that took 2 breaks in 94 and 99 so he never really had a streak of consistently being the top dog from that area. The guy with the most mid range buckets season after season.
There’s a player with 6 consecutive seasons being the best mid range shooter in the league. Let me give you a hint. You already know, it’s Dirk Nowitzki.
Another guy with an iconic and instantly recognizable signature shot, Dirk had probably the greatest run when it comes to consistently stellar shooting from mid range.
Taking a look at this graphic, you see that starting from 2004 Dirk was always among the top in makes per game from that area, and during this 6 year stretch Nowitzki not only had the most buckets but also did it at a phenomenal efficiency- often in the high 40%, culminating in that unforgettable championship season in 2011 when he shot a staggering 52.9%.
Before you ask however Dirk only had 353 total makes compared to MJ’s 588. So despite the slightly lower percentage, this is why I give the greatest peak title to Michael. His volume was unbelievable.
Still, continuing on with Nowitzki, even beyond his 6 year run, you see that he’s in the top 3 every single season from 2004 to 2016. That’s more than a decade being the absolute elite shooter from mid range. Now that’s what I call dominance. This is why to me he’s the most dominant mid range scorer in NBA history.
It wasn’t until his body completely gave up on him and he started to limp up and down the court for the last 3 seasons of his career that he fell further back in this category.
Nowitzki went to his bread and butter the 1 legged fadeaway for countless big buckets including a few game winners as well. The fact that his opponents knew what he was going to do and still couldn’t stop it- made this move one of the most famous and players even started to add it to their arsenal. This is probably the highest praise that you can give to a player, the level of impact that he had on the game is undeniable, and his mid range dominance was unstoppable.
MJ, Dirk, Lamarcus, CP3…a lot of great ones in this category. Who’s your favorite? That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out. - กีฬา
This is why Dirk will always be one of my favorite players 💯 That one-leg fadeaway was awesome ❤️
The knee also created desperation between himself and the defender, so he was also extremely smart. It’s nice to see Luka adopt a similar shot (w knee out).
Bro, huge respect for Dirk✊🏽 He shows us the athleticism can be toppled by a great shooting technique🏀🏀
Plus height
Dirk has the heaviest ring in NBA history as well
2016 is the heaviest!!why?
*against the best team in nba history 73-9
*cameback from 3-1 deficit
*against the first unanimous mvp Steph
*Kobe and Timmy's last season
@@theyrehere.3468 yeah but look at his team by personel they should not have been down 3-1. dirk was the clear only allstar lvl player on that team and he beat 3 guys that were #1 on their own teams .
Kyrie vs steph
Bron vs klay
Love vs draymond
On paper that is not a fair bout .
Their system (like the spurs) is what gets them over the talent hump
@@Yamivenum I agree, people need to stop d riding lebron he literally has the most finals losses in history, but hes the goat foh😂
Nah it's Hakeem by a good margin at least in 95
@@Yamivenum are you saying the warriors had less talent?
Amazing analysis, I always new he was elite but never imagined this level of superiority over a decade
Stefan!! I miss your uploads man. Now that the season is over and there are nothing significant happening around the NBA, I hope you could do some analysis of previous "non-mainstream" legendary players and teams, like Sam Jones, Bob McAdoo, Mark Eaton, etc. as content. It's always interesting to watch you break down stats and gameplay!
Dude needs to start eating eggs and working out. He looks like he's about to edition for Tom Hanks role in Philadelpha.
@@maxmeier532 cmon bro thats foul play you not supposed to comment on someones appearance like that
@@maxmeier532 Man if this were soccer you'd get yellow carded for that one. People's body types are their body types.
A video on Bernard King would be nice
A lot of players do this 1 legged fadeaway but Dirk's fade literally hits different👏👏
There’s something about watching fadeaway shots that make them beautiful
Dirk The Kingslayer, Slayer of The King James Heat
Thanks for showing love to dirk, my favorite player of all time. I was just wondering, is there any footage where dirk's fadeaway gets blocked?
Kobe blocked it once drom behind
Plenty of times lmao wade and Kobe blocked it
nicolas batum has the cleanest if i'm not mistaken
I like the one legged fadeaway, I hope a future NBA player do it from 3.
Gotta appreciate that MJ dominated the league in two styles, flying then shooting
don't forget defense, Dirk is a cone on defense but he makes up for it with his unguardable offense
@@vanguardas9927 Dirk wasn’t terrible on defense
@@NothingElseMattersJM yes he was, one of the worst rebounders at his position too
@@vanguardas9927 “Dirk was one of the worst rebounders at his position”…. Averages 7.6 rebounds for his career including multiple seasons where he’s right around 10 rebounds per game lol.
@@NothingElseMattersJM tell me how many all defense selections he has, and 1st team defense selections
Gosh I love Dirk so much it really hurts
Lot of good mid range shooters in the game but I gotta give it to Daddy Derozan😤
Dirk has the best signature move in nba history 🙌🏾
Great video & as a Mavs fan love seeing Dirk get his flowers!! However, please pronounce his last name as "Na Vit Skee" since the W in German is pronounced as a V lmao
I love Rip Hamilton❤️🏀
eyy.. nice. brandon bass would've been great too
Thumbnail:
Jordan - wrong posture
Nowitzki - right posture
Me thinking:
Jordan - many rings
Nowitzki - 1 ring
conclusion: follow the wrong posture
Statistically speaking Bird is the best mid-range shooter ever.. by a mile. He’s not a top 10 3 point shooter as so many seem to think, but he was by far the greatest mid range shooter ever.
I am German, so for my favourite mid range shooter there is just one very obvious answer.
Anyone knows a yt channel that is more focused on the off-season transfers and all that?
Flight mike
@@slenderman5162 thanks! I liked the videos I saw, just subscribed
No one looks as cool as dirk shooting that 1 leg shot.
Yow heatcheck. Shout out from Philippines!
He was flying i was in front of my tv like 12 years old it was beautifull.. Damn..
Well considering they only started tracking the stat in 96-97 we dont have Jordan's numbers before that so nobody knows how many years he dominated the midrange.
Dirk. My 2957th favorite player of all time
Well we don’t know if there was a better midrange shooter before 97 because we don’t have the numbers for it, but maybe MJ was. Not for 6 years in a row but maybe for 8 years total
There’s like a 53 of 82 game sample size in 91-92 where he shot 52.1 % from mid range but yea you’re right Only select sample sizes. In the 92 playoffs , he shot 48.6% from mid range
@@NothingElseMattersJM yeah so that's fantastic and he probably shot a higher volume than Dirk. We don't have the info but that doesn't mean we can just say because of that Dirk was a better midrange shooter
@@christophergooding9820 Sure but Dirk is definitely one of the GOATS of mid ranger
@@NothingElseMattersJM one of them for sure yeah
my favorite fadeaway shot is lamarcus aldridge
@Heat Check You can't outright say Dirk was a better mid-range shooter since you don't have any of MJ's stats pre 1997. The NBA didn't track the shot location before that season. Maybe you could say "since the data started being tracked" or something. There's a great case for a ton of 80s and 90s players as great mid-range shooters.
As someone who watched MJ play since he came into the league by the late 80s he was lethal from midrange and only got better.
Of course, dirk is my favorite in this category. But I'm from Germany, so no real Surprise here 😜
Size and skill, Dirk had center length combined with elite shooting.
Idk if i can watch a video with this title.. at least u said "entire defences focusing on him"
Yeahhhh Dirk! German Power!!!🇩🇪
Jordan was never an inconsistent shooter lol
Dirkules!
ya fave playa hahaha
MJ also did it when you could hand check.
That clip of him getting a nod from Kobe hits home your point
How about rip hamilton?
They didn't track MJs midrange until 96-97 he might have had league high numbers before that. Larry Bird too.
🐐
Now LaLuka boy
Bird is doing the one leg fade away numerous times ...
numerous europeran player also did it before Dirk.
Kobe was not mentioned?
Skip Bayless insists its KD
Burger
well... it's not a question jordan is the best mid range shooter in history. not a single person seriously thinks otherwise. even in a more modern sense, Nash leads Dirk in percentage. We can just use stats to answer the question haha Dirk is on the mount rushmore of midrange shooters though that's for damn sure
Alex English?
Best mid range players, mj, kobe, t-mac
Dirk & Durant more efficient then all of them and not named is weird
@@superdopehiphop Michael Jordan at age 40 in 2002-03 LED the league in mid range attempts and was TIED ( LITERALLY) with Dirk in mid range efficiency lol. There are levels to this mid range shooting and MJ was in the GOD Tier. Just as good as Dirk and KD if not better
@@NothingElseMattersJM KD & Dirk at their absolute best slightly greater efficiency MJ from mid range especially for their whole career. MJ post retirement was def great at it though.
@@NothingElseMattersJM he’s not a better mid range shooter than Dirk and Kd.
His shot COULD have been stopped. They just needed someone with major hops. When he shoots, and defender is close, jump UP and block the ball's trajectory. It seems like players were half jumping to block his shot.
No hate on Dirk.
ofcorz.. everything is possible but is it viable in the long run?? noone would always jump that high just to contest nowitzki.. that would drain your stamina easily..
lol, you'll a need yao with vince carter's hops to stop dirk's shot everytime
well I'm not sure about the video since MJ is the greatest Midrange Hall of famer all time, i guess the reason is MJ play in two or 3 different era of rules how zone defense change out how MJ guard in the 80s also with a height of s guard compare to Dirk that's insane cuz yuh Dirk was better dominant in base numbers but because he play favour in big man shooter but being a guard? In mid is insane also talk about dominant it's how you impact the game and win since mostly MJ draw a foul call to get Free throws in mid too there's some Many things to tackle about in mid its not just shooting but drive hoops and foul calls since MJ need to stop by more players on him.
midrange shots were only tracked from the 1997 season onwards. jordan was already a lethal shooter in the first half of the 90s, go check your stats again
Anybody remember Larry Bird?
Nah, that's just clickbait. Spewing stats doesn't change the fact that given anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE, inside the arc, I would take Jordan over Dirk. Jordan had more moves, while Dirk replied on height to get his shot off. No way this is anything but a hot take. Too bad stuff like this makes your basketball IQ look suspect.
Dirk is also a lot taller
2nd behind mj
Of course dirk nowitki
Funny how everyone forgets kobe true shooting percentage, just because the % people have been forced to see.
Mj still is the goat midrange
Since Kobe was supposed to be a replica of MJ, I wonder what Kobe’s stats were in this category
Probably very inefficient. But Kobe was still a killer
he could be had many volume but inefficient because you know but maybe around 41-44% fg percentage
@@vincealexander9253 League average mid range % hovers around 38%…. That’s not inefficient lol
@@NothingElseMattersJM i mean this isnt kobe's game tho so ofc he was inefficient
@@vedantgupta2145 But he wasn’t inefficient lol. Especially from mid range
dude 7ft so he better be shooting good boi tall AF while MJ 6'6 and getting guarded by 3-5 and still making them so nah MJ>Dirk.
Dirk was a good player
@@tubulus22 ok
@@tubulus22 done
@@tubulus22 I don't take it back 😂 but I did change post . What else do you want ?
go watch some game highlights not just dirk but whole game highlights and watch how dirk gets his buckets is insane. everything is midrange and when they sell out for it he’ll beat you off the dribble or a drop step to the rim. it didn’t matter how covered he was he was rising up and nailing it. jordan’s came from iso ball in 1v1s when help defense wasn’t allowed. i think dirks degree of difficulty far outweighs jordan’s
Naw Jordan still had it hard why y’all do all this comparing they don’t care
where is jimmy buckets?
he literally made a video that states the opposite.
@@name-ic3vo 😮
Missing shots
i have no issue here. Dirk is my favorite player and Jordan is my GOAT so.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Don't count Kobe out.
That’s a big hot take Kareem is better
Best kept secret in the NBA: Wilt actually had an unstoppable fadeaway. Check the clips.
Хахахаха ово ,,Доста је" на крају све говори 😛
DIRK is my all time no. 1, and then MJ
First 💗😂
Second
Dirk > lebron
Idiot most dominant! Only 1 championship in 20th season..
Dominant in one aspect. You lousy guy.
jordan fadeaway was better. 😴
Jorbum overrated
Bruh Michael Jordan is the greatest midrange shooter gtfoh
Well it’s arguable between MJ , KD , And Dirk. There are a few other names you can throw in there like CP3
@@NothingElseMattersJM Michael Jordan has 6 rings 6fmvps undefeated in the playoffs because of his mid range game dude
First of all,
Jordan was the Great Master Jedi of NBA, and the so called defenders were in fact his clumsy padawans, also teaching vs. learning.
Dirk Nowitzki copied and perfected Jordan's fav move. The Fadeway_JS.
Perfected is a stretch.
Yes Dirk was a beast but what about kawhi leonard or kd
Not better than Dirk
Kawhi from the midrange is a god. But his body is too fragile to handle an 82-game season.
For me Jordan always ...
Dirks one leg fadeaway only got him 1 ring compaired to MJ's 6 rings....plain and simple fact...
MJ had to play with 2 NBA HOFers in his prime and one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA.
Dirk had super 6th man Jason Terry as the 2nd banana majority of his prime.
JKidd was 36 when he finally played with Dirk.
And Nash/Finley NOT EQUAL TO Pippen/Rodman
Plain and simple fact.
@@dexarceo821 ow, so you Dirk is better than MJ?...my bad...as far as e remember they got more attention due to the fact that they play with MJ...try to remove MJ and see what happens to that bulls...
Okay, where are Dirks 5 additional Championshi-- ohh wait 😐
So let's forget the height factor... And the shot metrics re distance measurements was started in mid 1996. Yeah.. Your "dominant" factor is moot.
Dirks shot is a work of art. Been a huge fan since I was a kid. That little montage of other players imitating his shot made me tear up a bit. His impact on the game is undeniable!
Watching Dirk and his fadeaway was such an exciting experience!
I totally agree with this one. That 1 legged fade away was phenomenal. Every basketball fan started copying and practiced that game after their championship. He defeated the big 3 of james, wade and bosh with that unstoppable move.
He didn’t beat the big 3 lol stop it. Terry and Peja with a 2 3 defense beat the heat
@@daniell5740 Peja barely played during the Finals
@@daniell5740Chandler clamped down on Lebron and Bosch in the paint.
I also incorporated the Dirk mid-range shot in my game as well 😎🏀🏀🏀 he definitely brought a difference to the game 😎
That one leg fadeaway by dirk was awesome
Everytime he sink that shot it put a smile on my face
Dirk is so underrated the we really need this video to be reminded on how unstoppable Dirk really was.
I can remember, Dirk champion was the scariest and unstoppable player. It was unstoppable.
if dirk has a dominant mid range's shooter why Jordan win six championship and dirk is only one
Luka the new dirk for the Mavs. Dirk was a beast of a man
Friendly reminder that some idiots call KAT the greatest big man shooter.
he can still be. he is young enough to do it. but to claim it now thats just ridiculous
@@legenddaryl537 "he can still be"
Sure, you can too.
@@spurs_7798 im not an nba player.. pretty sure i cant.. but kat can.. currently kat has 52.7% FG % and 39.7% 3pt ... nowitzki careet FG and 3pt is 47.1 and 38.. if kat can be consistent until end of his career he can do it.. dont assume something if its not final
@@legenddaryl537 with that logic.. Hubert Davis is a better shooter than Steph Curry.
Stop dickriding stats. I know, its fun to talk about them and stuff.. especially because you can act like you know stuff without actually spending some time in front of these games.. but they tell you about 30% of the truth about this sport.
Dirk Nowitzki is my 2nd favorite basketball player in history.
Who’s first?
Westbrook
@@sophiathe1st189 imao, he was my fav when he debuted tho , never imagined he would fell off so hard
@@mattmmixes Hakeem Olajuwon the dream. What a class legend.
May b everyone has their own pov
Honestly I give dirk’s fade top 5 hardest moves to guard ever
I'm curious how Dirk went up almost 6% in shooting % in that championship year, what was he doing that year that made his mid-range efficiency increase by 13%?
Making shots
@@rosesaredying0 yes because volume equals efficiency 💀💀💀
@@rosesaredying0 your comment was ridiculously dumb. Thanks for the laugh
@@rosesaredying0 R.I.P Logic.
@@rosesaredying0 lol if you are going to insult somebody for lack of intelligence you might wanna be intelligent yourself. How can taking more shots equate to a higher percentage?
dirk goat
Dirk is the great 🐐
Dirk "Mr. Nice Guy" Nowitzki
haha now I know why that post made it onto front page of r/nba, someones ripping you of Stefan! keep the videos coming!
Peac out! You got the best NBA content on the tube bro.