Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki will be eligible for Hall of Fame induction this coming year and is widely expected to get in on the first ballot.
With Nowitzki set to join the Hall and be immortalized with some of the greatest players of all-time, he’s making his pick for the greatest player the NBA has ever seen.
In an interview with Landon Buford, Nowitzki said that while he’s always asserted that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all-time, he’s open to changing his pick to LeBron James. He believes that if LeBron breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record, he’ll be out of arguments to make for LeBron over MJ.
NBA fans are largely in support of this pick. Though a few think it’s a bit of a self-centered pick since if he dubs LeBron the GOAT, he can claim that he beat him with the NBA title on the line:
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) pic.twitter.com/GUy0skugv3
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 25, 2022
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“hyping up the guy you cooked in the finals, genius move,” one user wrote.
“This is from someone who HATES Lebron time to give it up people,” wrote another.
“He just wants to say he beat the GOAT,” a third said.
The “GOAT” debate will likely go on far after Dirk Nowitzki is finally inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Does Dirk have a good enough reason for picking LeBron over MJ in the heated debate?