Dirk Nowitzki's placement in NBA history called into question once again

Kevin Garnett is not Better Than Dirk Nowitzki

A lot of people want to say Kevin Garnett is better than Nowitzki historically because of his bigger impact on defense, and place Garnett higher than Nowitzki on the majority of all-time lists.

Despite their usage being fairly similar between the two players, Nowitzki was a more efficient scorer on more volume (51.2% eFG for Nowitzki to 50.1% for Garnett), garnered more win shares, had 12 All-NBA selections to Garnett's 9, and the playoff scoring heavily favors Nowitzki (25.3 PPG to 18.2).

The people who favor Garnett point to his defensive impact, but how often did that lead to winning as the best player? Those Minnesota Timberwolves teams may not have been the best, but they lost in the first round seven straight years, including once with home court advantage in 2003, and that came the year after Nowitzki's Mavericks swept them in a 4/5 matchup.

In those even straight playoff series losses, Garnett played with a few players who made All-Star teams alongside him, as well as solid players like Stephon Marbury and Chauncey Billups. Once they got Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell for the 2003-04 season, they were able to make it to the Western Conference Finals, before losing to the Lakers.

Garnett was 2-8 in playoff series with the Timberwolves before he was traded to the Boston Celtics, teaming up with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo. He had much more team success there, but Pierce was arguably the better player than Garnett by that point in their careers when they won the championship in 2008. It was also an incredibly talented team that should've had more success if not for injuries.

Nowitzki ended up 13-14 in all-time playoff series, but made two NBA Finals, winning arguably the heaviest ring of all time in 2011, and making an additional conference finals. The last few playoff series were marred by the Rajon Rondo trade tanking the chemistry of the team, and just bad roster decisions in general.

If you needed someone who could be the true best player on a championship team, Nowitzki is the choice. Garnett is arguably the best second option in NBA history who couldn't prove that he could win as a first option. Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and even Dwyane Wade got that chance and made the most of it. Garnett didn't, and that should matter.