Dirk Nowitzki: His Most Underrated Season – CrownHoops
Dirk Nowitzki is the Dallas Mavericks GOAT (greatest of all time) and a future Hall of Famer. The man who led a Dallas Mavericks squad whose second-best player was Jason Kidd on the back end of his prime to a Finals win over the newly assembled Miami big three does not receive enough credit. A Miami team that had LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade all in their prime for even more context. Not to mention, Nowitzki has a great case for being considered the best international player in NBA history.
It still does not seem real at times that we are witnessing a league without our favorite Mavericks power forward, even if Luka Doncic is the next sensational international Dallas star. With this in mind, we had to include the German NBA legend in our “Most Underrated Season,” series. Without further adieu, here is the most overlooked campaign of Dirk Nowitzki’s amazing career.
Dirk Nowitzki: His 2006-07 Campaign
Led by one of the most forgotten MVPs in NBA history, the Dallas Mavericks and their leader, Nowitzki, were a juggernaut in the 2006-07 season. They went an insane 67-15. This, of course, was good enough for first place in the entire league and good enough to set a franchise record. Sadly, history remembers this team as one of the dominant one seeds who choked in the first round to the Golden State Warriors four games to two.
The same Warriors squad who were led by the likes of Baron Davis, a young Monta Ellis, and the highflying Jason Richardson. However, this does not detract from the fact that the Mavericks and Nowitzki had a regular season for the ages. As alluded to already, Nowitzki had a season good enough to secure him the MVP. One look at his numbers shows why he earned the award.
Dirty’s Numbers in the 2006-07 Season
Nowitzki put up insane numbers across the board in this particular year. He finished with 24.6 points, 8.9 total rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Dirk also averaged an effective field goal percentage of 52.9 percent. Not to mention, Nowitzki also shot 41.6 percent from the three-point territory which was considered almost unheard of for that era. He also started in all 78 games he played in that season.
If you were not impressed by the 2006-07 MVP’s regular stats, then take a look at his advanced numbers from that season. Not only did Nowitzki tally an offensive rating of 123, a number which he posted the year before and would end up being a career-high, he also came away with a player efficiency rating of 27.6. Nowitzki also averaged a box plus/minus of 8.3, another total which would become a career-high. The icing on the cake was his career-high 17.8 percent assist percentage. This showcased how much of an unselfish superstar he was for the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas may have not gotten the end result they desired as a team. However, the 2006-07 season was still a memorable one for them and especially Dirk Nowitzki.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
Tagged with: Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Most Underrated Season