Kevin Durant is a better basketball player than dirk nowitzki

I will argue that Dirk Nowitzki is the overall better player at this point and this is why: Shooting: Dirk Nowitzki. Arguably the best shooter today. You may say: No, Ray Allen or Kobe Bryant etc. is the best shooter on the planet, and that's true on certain levels, but I believe that the most competent shooter from all of the floor is, no other than: Dirk Nowitzki. Close Range, Mid Range, 3 point, Baseline, you name it. Besides Nowitzki possesses a repertoire of "Unguardable Shots" and his jump-shot is also one of the most efficient shots in the league. Examples of "Unguardables" is his fadeaway which the 7-footer releases above his head and his "Flamingo" turnaround jumper. Not only can he shoot it from anywhere, he doesn't need to establish a certain position or post up to be effective, for example, Tim Duncan is at his best when he posts up and shoot the turnaround bank shot... Dirk can catch the ball at the elbow, three point line, baseline or in the post and still be as deadly.This incredible shooting combined with his size make him a very unique player. Then, you may ask "what's the meaning with this kind of player? I want my bigman to bang inside" well, if you watched the Finals last year you may have noticed that the pick and roll was sometimes reversed and JJ Barea could freely attack the basket and if he was stopped he could kick it out to a wide-open Dirk, which he did, and Mr. Nowitzki drained them all, that's what happens when you have a big who can shoot it from anywhere. Kevin Durant is a scoring machine and also shoots the basketball very well but I'll still give this category to Dirk because of overall shooting ability and the fact that he's a 7-footer releasing the basketball above his head. Clutch: Dirk Nowitzki is also, a really clutch player, both in the regular season and post season. He have had a bad reputation of being a post season choker before last season's success but he have won the post season match-ups between him and Garnett in Minnesota and Duncan in San Antonio. This is simply a case of blaming failures on the superstar. In the seasons where the Mavericks have had an early post season exit Nowitzki haven't had any good supporting cast at all, and we all know that's needed to dig deep in the post season. And if you observe past championship teams you can clearly see that the superstars have had a great supporting cast, see legends like: Jordan, Isaiah, Kobe, Magic, Bird. Those past championship teams have always had plenty of GREAT players, I can't honestly see that the Mavericks had that kind of role players on their roster last year. This further proves Nowitzki's clutch. What have actually Durant accomplished in the post season? I'm aware that OKC currently are in the WC Finals but you can not simply rank him higher than Nowitzki in terms of clutch. Consistency: Nowitzki hits 88% of his free throws, hits nearly 50% of his field goal attempts and 40% of his 3-point shots. In 2006–07 Nowitzki became only the fifth member of the NBA's 50–40–90 Club for players who shot 50% or better from the field, 40% or better on three-pointers, and 90% or better on free-throws in a single season. Throughout Nowitzki's career, he has responded to the increased pressure of the playoffs by increasing his productivity. In the regular season he averages 22.9 points, 8.3 rebounds. In the playoffs he averages 25.9 points and 10.3 rebounds, which only Hakeem, Bob Pettit and Elgin Baylor have managed to do. Despite the claims of lack of defense, he is ranked 8th in active players for defensive win shares, placing him higher than Kobe Bryant, who has made the All-Defensive team 11 times. Durant have already proven that he's a consistent shooter, but, come back to me when he's joining the 50-40-90 club. Summary: Dirk Nowitzki has been an NBA All-Star every year since 2002 and is at the moment 33 years of age and can still compete with the best of the best. He has been consistent his whole career in a way that few have been. Easily the best European player to ever play the game of Basketball. Dirk is a sure Hall of Famer and one of the greatest and most complete Power Forwards of all time. It's true that Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the NBA at his mere age of 23 (He will turn 24 this summer) but I believe that he's not a newbie as you expressed. Basketball is a sport where you often as a player begin your prime age at a relative young age, it's often the case for NBA players as they are often in their prime around 25 years of age (Durant turns 25 next year). So, I believe that the NBA is more of a young man's league more than other sport leagues when you often hit your prime at around 30 years of age (Hockey, Soccer etc.). In my opinion Durant is, or at least, nearing his prime as a player, how long one's prime lasts is difficult to foresee, but in most cases player's drop rapidly in their 30's. One who i know for sure have enjoyed a lenghty prime is Dirk Nowitzki... Five words to describe Dirk Nowitzki: 1. Efficient 2. Consistent 3. Clutch 4. Everlasting 5. Champion Lastly: Rings - Dirk 1, Durant 0 MVP Awards - Dirk 1, Durant 0