Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle believes that his star player, Dirk Nowitzki, should be considered as among the 12 best players in the history of the game.
Carlisle said that Nowitzki is just one of the 12 players in NBA history to have made it to the All-Star game 12 times and been named Finals MVP and league MVP.
"I think there's a certain criteria where you can say pretty much for certain that he's one of the top 12 all time," Carlisle said as per ESPN. "And that is, there's only been 12 guys that have been 10-time All-Stars, [NBA] Finals MVP and league MVP. So I think that firmly puts him in the top 12. And then getting into the top 10 in all-time scoring validates that even more."
Other players who have done what Nowitzki has achieved in his career are Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
However, it should also be noted that the league had no Finals MVP award until the 1968-69 season, which prevented other all-time greats like 11-time champion Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson from achieving all three honors.
Still, Carlisle believes that his franchise player still has enough gas left in the tank.
"He's got a lot more good basketball left in him," he said. "A lot more great basketball. So I think he's going to pick off a few more guys going up the ladder."
The 35-year old is in his 16th season and recently passed Robertson as the 10th leading scorer in NBA history. He was the league MVP in 2007 and won the finals MVP plum in 2011 when the Mavericks shocked the heavily-favored Miami Heat in six games.
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