"In my 20 years, he was probably the best offensive player or best player I've seen" - Dirk Nowitzki on why Kobe Bryant was undeniably the greatest player he ever faced in his career

Yahoo

16-07-2025

"In my 20 years, he was probably the best offensive player or best player I've seen" - Dirk Nowitzki on why Kobe Bryant was undeniably the greatest player he ever faced in his career originally appeared on Basketball Network.
It was somewhere in the middle of a losing battle that Dirk Nowitzki realized he was dealing with something altogether different.
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Not just a rival or another Hall of Famer, but a force so precise and relentless, it bordered on cruel.
Through two decades playing in the NBA, Nowitzki saw it all — dominant scorers, elite defenders and once-in-a-generation athletes. But only one player left him truly grasping for answers.
That was Kobe Bryant.
Kobe's edge
For years, the debates have circled around LeBron James or Kobe Bryant — which player stood taller in the spotlight and who defined greatness on the court. James' size, vision and longevity have carved a resume that feels extraterrestrial. But for Nowitzki, the answer was never a numbers game.
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It was personal, shaped by nights of chasing shadows in purple and gold.
'His skill level was unbelievable, it was not one shot he didn't have in his repertoire,' Nowitzki said of Bryant. 'In my 20 years, he was probably the best offensive player or best player I've seen.'
Maybe that wasn't nostalgia speaking, it was an eyewitness account. The kind only a fellow all-timer could give. Nowitzki, the 2011 NBA champion and sixth on the league's all-time scoring list, saw his share of offensive brilliance. But it was Bryant who broke the film, twisted game plans into knots and made even the most polished defenders look ill-prepared.
Bryant was never merely about scoring totals or highlights, though he delivered those in heaps. What made him devastating was his commitment to the granular. Every pump fake, pivot and foot placement came from hours of replication, study and surgical obsession with the tiniest edge.
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He wasn't blessed with James physical gifts. Bryant stood 6-foot-6, not 6-foot-9. He didn't have the freight-train strength or supernatural passing lanes. What he had was skill, layered and viciously honed. Nowitzki, who revolutionized the power forward position with his high-arching fadeaway, recognized that same devotion in his ex-rival he battled countless wars with throughout the nostalgic 2000s.
A different breed
From 2000 to 2013, Bryant averaged 28.3 points per game, made 15 NBA All-NBA teams and dropped 40 or more points in over 100 regular-season games. He once scored 62 in three quarters against Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks and sat out the fourth quarter.
In 2006, he torched the Toronto Raptors for 81. In all those games, he was unstoppable in all the moments he was on the floor.
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'Kobe, we tried everything,' Nowitzki said. 'He was just, you couldn't stop him, he was full-on unguardable.'
Defenders could take away the drive, he'd pivot into a jumper.
Double-teams only triggered faster decisions. He'd post smaller guards and fade over bigger ones. When his legs were tired, his footwork kept him in the game. And when pressure rose, his confidence scaled with it. No stage was too big and no moment too late.
From 1999 through 2013, the Mavericks and Lakers met over 50 times, including three playoff series. In those meetings, Bryant averaged 27.2 points per game. He hit game-winners, dagger 3s and silenced Dallas crowds with impunity.
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Just ask Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban. But beyond the stats was the psychological edge. Opponents didn't just lose to Bryant, they were dismantled by his preparation and consumed by his urgency. And even in decline, when his body began to betray him, Bryant summoned the echoes. His final NBA game saw him drop 60 points, an emotional avalanche that reminded everyone how little had changed in his competitive fire.
James, for all his genius, is a system unto himself. He warps defenses with size and tempo. He plays the game like chess. But Bryant was poetry and made the hard way look easy.
Related: 'I was always a huge fan of Kob, they are never out of a game' - Dirk Nowitzki on why he respected Kobe Bryant's role on the Lakers
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.