'Best Big Man Shooter Ever?': Dirk Responds to KAT
For the Dallas Mavericks' matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dirk Nowitzki joined play-by-play announcer Mark Followill on the Bally Sports Southwest broadcast.
During the broadcast, Nowitzki took a light-hearted jab at Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns for describing himself as the greatest big man shooter of all-time after the Timberwolves star converted on a stepback three-pointer.
"Tough shot..." Nowitzki said. "There's the best shooting big man in the world!"
There's no denying that Towns is a dynamic jump shooter, especially for a big man. It's just difficult to give the designation to him of being the greatest big man shooter of all-time when Nowitzki put on a masterclass in mid-range and out of the post while also being a knockdown shooter from deep.
When evaluating Towns' standing in the debate, it's possible he may not even rank ahead of LaMarcus Aldridge overall on the season. Both players have taken a comparable amount of attempts off the dribble, too.
Aldridge has taken 129 jump shots (within half-court) so far this season and has produced a staggering 1.217 points per possession (PPP). When looking at all of the 158 players with at least 100 attempts in 2021-22, Aldridge ranks seventh overall and is the first big man on the list.
Perhaps what's most interesting of all for Aldridge is that 57.4 percent of his jump shots have come from mid-range. He's also taking a higher rate from short-range (22.5 percent) than from beyond the arc (20.2 percent). Despite a naturally less-efficient shot profile, his execution has been so strong that he's still posting such strong results regardless.
Towns' shooting efficiency ranks highly as well given his 1.166 PPP output is 20th among all players on that same list. Among big men, he trails Aldridge and Bobby Portis. Keep in mind, prior to Tuesday's game, Towns was taking 80.1 percent of his jump shots (half-court) as three-pointers.
There's a lot to like about Towns as a player and as a jump shooter. It just seems premature to give him an all-time declaration.
