Your mileage may vary on Bill Simmons, but since 2011 he has always touted Dirk's greatness. He ranked Dirk #17 all time. Incidentally he ranked Garnett at 23, which surprised me given that he's a mega Celtics homer. I've never heard him break down Dirk vs. KG but I would really like to hear his reasoning on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP_WRS7hU-k