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Dirk disagrees with Kareem's opinion of him as a 'one-trick pony'

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dirk Nowitzki has been slighted before, but it probably tends to sting more when coming from one of the greatest basketball players ever. On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks' franchise player responded to comments made by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar suggesting he is one-dimensional.

"I guess he's not a big fan of my game, which is OK," Nowitzki told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "But I like to think I was dominant at some point - especially on the offensive end - of my career, in my prime ... people have opinions. He's one of the greatest ever to play the game, so I'm not going to get in a war of words. I respect his opinion. I don't necessarily agree with it, but it is what it is."

Earlier this week, Abdul-Jabbar - the leading scorer in NBA history - was critical of Nowitzki for being all about offense.

"Dirk Nowitzki’s shot is very hard to block, but I don’t think that he was able to have a dominant career because he couldn't do other things," the 68-year-old told a George Mason University panel covering everything from basketball to civil rights to jazz music.

"If he could have shot like that and rebounded and played defense and blocked shots, then he would have been all-around, and he would have gotten more credit. He was like a one-trick pony."

While Nowitzki has never been a defender in the class of fellow 7-footers like Abdul-Jabbar, the 37-year-old German became a better rebounder as his career progressed. Offensively, he transformed from a skinny spot-up shooter as a rookie to a true power forward who could score at will in the post. He is also only one of four players in NBA history to average 25 points and 10 rebounds in his postseason career, which encompasses 140 games.

"I don't think you can average 25 and 10 over your playoff career and not be dominant," Nowitzki added. "I don't think you can get to sixth in scoring in this league over 18 years and not be at some point at least somewhat dominant."

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