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Lakers News: Dirk Nowitzki Calls Kobe Bryant ‘Best Player’ He Ever Faced

While the NBA is now officially in a new era with the Los Angeles Lakers and a host of other teams sporting elite All-Star duos, there’s still plenty of reverence for the most recent generation, which includes Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant.

Nowitzki and Bryant played in a similar, but very different era where player movement was more minimized and there was something to be said about staying with one team for a whole career.

Nowitzki and Bryant defined this by playing two decades with their respective teams. Bryant played 20 seasons with the Lakers from 1996-2016 while Nowitzki played an NBA-record 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2019.