Dirk Nowitzki had a special MVP season in 2007, as he led the Dallas Mavericks to the best record in the NBA with a 67-15 record. Nowitzki was an unstoppable force, averaging 24.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 3.4 APG while playing 78 games in the regular season. Nowitzki had help in the forms of Josh Howard (first-time All-Star) and Jason Terry, but it was the German who carried the team all season long.
In fact, Nowitzki’s impact was so great that he beat out 9 superstar players and 8 Hall of Famers to win the Award. In 2007, here are the stats of the 9 superstars Dirk Nowitzki beat out for the MVP Award.
Kobe Bryant: 31.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Tim Duncan: 20.0 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.4 BPG
LeBron James: 27.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.7 BPG
Tracy McGrady: 24.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Kevin Garnett: 22.4 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.7 BPG
Steve Nash: 18.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 11.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Gilbert Arenas: 28.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Dwyane Wade: 27.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.5 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.2 BPG
Carmelo Anthony: 28.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG
Clearly, either one of these superstars deserved an MVP Award. Kobe Bryant averaged 31.6 PPG, but the Lakers were barely .500 with a 42-40 record. Tim Duncan was solid, but he didn’t have Nowitzki’s numbers.
LeBron James was among the top-3 players in the world and even made the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers, but Dallas was much more consistent in the regular season. McGrady, Garnett, and Arenas did not have the team success that Nowitzki had with the Mavericks.
Even double-double machine Steve Nash didn’t have Nowitzki’s efficiency from the floor, while Wade and Anthony were mainly dominant scorers in 2007. There was always an argument against these top-9 players, but one simply couldn’t be made about Dirk Nowitzki.
In a nutshell, the German was near perfection. He joined the 50-40-90 club that year, and he broke through to become MVP after 5 straight seasons as an All-Star. He even played 78 total games at 36.2 minutes per night. It was evident before the All-Star break that the Mavericks were the favorites for the NBA championship, and even if they suffered a shocking defeat to the 8th seed Warriors, Nowitzki was the undisputed MVP in 2007.
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