“Dirk Nowitzki’s fadeaway is ugly”: 4th Highest All-Time Scorer Kobe Bryant insists his rendition of the one-legged fadeaway jumper is ‘s*xier’

18-time All-Star Kobe Bryant had an unpopular opinion about Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki’s one-legged fadeaway jumper

Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki were two of the most feared players of their era. Their offensive excellence knew no bounds.
The two faced 49 times in the regular season. While Kobe was the undeniable regular season winner, Dirk averaged an insane 22.8 points and 10 rebounds against the Bryant-led Lakers.

The story in the playoffs was completely different though. Despite both of them playing in the Western Conference together for 18 years, they clashed in the playoffs only once.

In 2011, Dallas team’s big three Dirk, Jason Terry, and Jason Kidd clashed with Kobe, Gasol, and Lamar Odom-led LA. The Western Conference Semi-Finals saw two of the strongest teams in the entire league fight it out.

Nowitzki averaged 25.3 points per game to Bryant’s 23.3 points and led his team to the Conference Finals. His one-legged fadeaway jumper obviously wreaked havoc on the Lakers and was the reason for Dirk’s offensive success.

However, Kobe wasn’t all that fond of the German’s patented shot.

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Kobe Bryant found Nowitzki’s unstoppable shot unappealing to look at

Nowitzki’s unique shot was one of a kind. A 7’0″ center shooting from above his head while falling away from a defender looked as scary as it sounds.
Simply put, it was on the same level as Kareem’s sky hook. It was deemed unstoppable. The only way to stop it? Pray it doesn’t go in.

But Black Mamba felt differently about the shot. In his own words, he found it ‘ugly.’

Bryant: “His shot’s ugly. It is. It looks terrible. Anybody in Dallas that says Dirk has a pretty fadeaway is lying through their teeth. It just looks disgusting. But it’s extremely effective”

Despite disagreeing over the attractiveness of the shot, Bean wasn’t shy about acknowledging the damage German Jesus’ shot could cause. He had seen it too close after all. And so had Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Apart from his light roasting of Nowitzki, the two legends had a deep admiration for each other on and off the court. The 2007 MVP in fact went on to compare Kobe to Michael Jordan.

Nowitzki: “Of our generation, he was our Michael Jordan. The shot-making, the playmaking, the clutch shots, scoring at will at times — it was incredible to watch”

Do you think Nowitzki was right in comparing Kobe to his idol Michael Jordan?

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