Daniel Const / Contributing Writer
Being able to watch Dirk's illustrious career unfold in front of us for so long has been such a privilege as a Mavs fan -- time and time again he keeps doing Dirk things that make us all gush over him more. There's no doubt he's just the best, you guys. There are some pretty great milestones approaching this season, so here's a look at what's to come.
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POINTS
This one is kind of a big deal.. Most people would argue that Shaq is a top-10 player of all time, so for Dirk to pass such a legend in the game is a massive achievement. If he scores in a similar fashion to how he has to start the season, we'll see Dirk pass this milestone around mid December. After Shaq is Wilt Chamberlain, but that would require a few more seasons for the Big German.
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3-POINTERS
At seven feet tall, Dirk is hands down the best shooting big man in the history of the association. He's hot on Jason Richardson's tail and should reach him pretty quickly (I'd say sometime around early December). He's also only 100 behind his old running mate Steve Nash, which would be possible to reach this season, but only if he keep up his current shooting averages for the whole season.
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GAMES PLAYED
There's a heap of players in between Dirk and Gary Payton, and some still active. Dirk will pass a list of dudes like Sam Perkins, Mark Jackson and Ray Allen. Dirk played 77 games last season, but I'm hoping that number will drop to about 70ish to keep him going for as many seasons as he can last.
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FG MADE
More NBA royalty to be passed here and we should see this one happen in the next four or five games. Depending on how Tim Duncan's form is, Dirk could also possibly catch him. There's literally thousands of one-legged fadeaways in there.
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FT MADE
Dirk is a prolific free throw shooter -- he's had some amazing streaks (82 straight) and performances from the line. The night when he went 24 from 24 against the Thunder in the Western Conferences Finals goes down as one of the best playoff games I've ever seen. Dirk is only 63 free throws away from passing Adrian Dantley, who played for the Mavericks for a couple seasons back in the late 80s.