Buddy Hield vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Buddy Hield, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Buddy Hield played 9 years in the NBA, 12 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Buddy Hield had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Dirk Nowitzki had his rookie season in 1998-99. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Buddy Hield	9	2	2016-17 to 2024-25
Dirk Nowitzki	21	15	1998-99 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2016-17	1998-99
Team	New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	82	23.0	10.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	1.5	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.4	4.0	9.4	.426	1.8	4.6	.391	0.8	0.9	.842
difference:	+35	+2.6	+2.4	+0.5	+0.3	+0.1	+0.5	+0.1	+0.5	-0.4	-0.8	+1.1	+2.3	+.021	+1.5	+3.2	+.185	+1.3	+1.8	+.069
Dirk Nowitzki	47	20.4	8.2	0.9	2.6	3.4	1.0	0.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	2.9	7.1	.405	0.3	1.4	.206	2.1	2.7	.773

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Buddy Hield nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2017-18	1999-00
Team	Sacramento Kings	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	80	25.3	13.5	0.7	3.2	3.8	1.9	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.9	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.1	.431	0.9	1.0	.877
difference:	+2	+10.5	+4.0	+0.5	+2.0	+2.7	+0.6	+0.3	+0.5	-0.1	-1.2	+1.1	+1.9	+.015	+0.8	+1.4	+.052	+2.6	+3.2	+.047
Dirk Nowitzki	82	35.8	17.5	1.2	5.2	6.5	2.5	0.8	0.8	1.7	3.1	6.3	13.6	.461	1.4	3.7	.379	3.5	4.2	.830

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Buddy Hield nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2018-19	2000-01
Team	Sacramento Kings	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	82	31.9	20.7	1.3	3.7	5.0	2.5	0.7	0.4	1.8	2.5	7.6	16.6	.458	3.4	7.9	.427	2.1	2.4	.886
difference:		+6.2	+1.1	+0.2	+4.0	+4.2	+0.4	+0.3	+0.8	-0.1	-0.5	+0.4	+1.4	+.016	+1.6	+3.1	+.040	+3.4	+4.2	+.048
Dirk Nowitzki	82	38.1	21.8	1.5	7.7	9.2	2.1	1.0	1.2	1.9	3.0	7.2	15.2	.474	1.8	4.8	.387	5.5	6.6	.838

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dirk Nowitzki	10	39.9	23.4	1.4	6.7	8.1	1.4	1.1	0.8	1.4	3.7	6.9	16.3	.423	1.3	4.6	.283	8.3	9.4	.883


Season 4
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2019-20	2001-02
Team	Sacramento Kings	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	72	30.8	19.2	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.0	0.9	0.2	2.3	2.3	6.9	16.1	.429	3.8	9.6	.394	1.6	1.9	.846
difference:	+4	+7.2	+4.2	+0.8	+4.6	+5.3	+0.6	+0.2	+0.8	-0.4	-0.6	+1.0	+0.5	+.048	+2.0	+5.0	+.003	+4.2	+4.9	+.007
Dirk Nowitzki	76	38.0	23.4	1.6	8.4	9.9	2.4	1.1	1.0	1.9	2.9	7.9	16.6	.477	1.8	4.6	.397	5.8	6.8	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dirk Nowitzki	8	44.6	28.4	2.1	11.0	13.1	2.3	2.0	0.8	2.8	3.4	9.1	20.5	.445	2.0	3.5	.571	8.1	9.3	.878


Season 5
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2020-21	2002-03
Team	Sacramento Kings	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	71	34.3	16.6	0.4	4.3	4.7	3.6	0.9	0.4	1.8	2.5	5.7	14.0	.406	4.0	10.2	.391	1.2	1.5	.846
difference:	+9	+4.7	+8.5	+0.6	+4.6	+5.2	+0.6	+0.5	+0.6	-0.1	-0.1	+2.9	+4.6	+.057	+2.1	+5.3	+.012	+4.8	+5.4	+.035
Dirk Nowitzki	80	39.0	25.1	1.0	8.9	9.9	3.0	1.4	1.0	1.9	2.6	8.6	18.6	.463	1.9	4.9	.379	6.0	6.9	.881

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dirk Nowitzki	17	42.5	25.3	0.9	10.6	11.5	2.2	1.2	0.9	2.4	3.1	8.8	18.4	.479	1.6	3.6	.443	6.1	6.6	.912


Season 6
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2021-22	2003-04
Team	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	81	30.9	15.6	0.8	3.5	4.4	2.8	0.9	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.5	13.6	.406	3.2	8.8	.366	1.4	1.6	.874
difference:	+4	+7.0	+6.2	+0.4	+4.0	+4.3	+0.1	+0.3	+1.1	-0.1	-0.5	+2.4	+3.4	+.056	+1.9	+5.0	+.025	+3.4	+3.9	+.003
Dirk Nowitzki	77	37.9	21.8	1.2	7.5	8.7	2.7	1.2	1.4	1.8	2.8	7.9	17.0	.462	1.3	3.8	.341	4.8	5.5	.877

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dirk Nowitzki	5	42.2	26.6	2.6	9.2	11.8	1.4	1.4	2.6	1.2	3.2	9.0	20.0	.450	1.4	3.0	.467	7.2	8.4	.857


Season 7
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2022-23	2004-05
Team	Indiana Pacers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	80	31.0	16.8	0.8	4.2	5.0	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.7	2.0	5.9	13.0	.458	3.6	8.5	.425	1.3	1.6	.822
difference:	+2	+7.7	+9.3	+0.4	+4.3	+4.7	+0.3		+1.2	-0.6	-0.8	+2.6	+5.5	+.001	+2.4	+5.6	+.026	+6.6	+7.5	+.047
Dirk Nowitzki	78	38.7	26.1	1.2	8.5	9.7	3.1	1.2	1.5	2.3	2.8	8.5	18.5	.459	1.2	2.9	.399	7.9	9.1	.869

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dirk Nowitzki	13	42.5	23.7	1.9	8.2	10.1	3.3	1.4	1.6	2.5	3.2	7.9	19.7	.402	0.8	2.3	.333	7.1	8.5	.829


Season 8
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2023-24	2005-06
Team	Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	84	25.7	12.1	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.8	0.8	0.5	1.2	2.0	4.4	10.1	.436	2.6	6.8	.386	0.6	0.7	.881
difference:	+3	+12.4	+14.5	+0.7	+5.1	+5.8		+0.1	+0.5	-0.7		+4.9	+9.2	+.044	+1.2	+3.5	+.020	+6.1	+6.7	+.020
Dirk Nowitzki	81	38.1	26.6	1.4	7.6	9.0	2.8	0.7	1.0	1.9	2.0	9.3	19.3	.480	1.4	3.3	.406	6.7	7.4	.901

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.5	1.0	1.8	4.3	.412	1.5	3.3	.462	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+19	+29.9	+21.5	+1.5	+8.8	+10.4	+2.4	+1.1	+0.3	-1.6	-1.8	+6.7	+13.9	+.056	+0.5	+0.4	+.119	+8.4	+9.5	+.105
Dirk Nowitzki	23	42.7	27.0	2.0	9.6	11.7	2.9	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.8	8.5	18.2	.468	1.0	2.9	.343	8.9	10.0	.895


Season 9
	Buddy Hield	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2024-25	2006-07
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	82	22.7	11.1	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.6	0.8	0.3	1.1	1.6	4.0	9.6	.417	2.5	6.7	.370	0.6	0.8	.828
difference:	+4	+13.5	+13.5	+1.0	+4.7	+5.7	+1.8	+0.1	+0.5	-1.0	-0.6	+4.6	+7.6	+.085	+1.6	+4.5	+.046	+5.8	+6.3	+.076
Dirk Nowitzki	78	36.2	24.6	1.6	7.3	8.9	3.4	0.7	0.8	2.1	2.2	8.6	17.2	.502	0.9	2.2	.416	6.4	7.1	.904

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	12	27.3	12.5	1.5	2.0	3.5	1.8	1.2	0.4	1.1	2.0	4.3	10.4	.416	2.8	6.4	.429	1.1	1.2	.929
difference:	+6	+12.5	+7.2	+2.7	+5.2	+7.8	+0.5	+0.6	+0.9	-1.2	-1.3	+1.7	+5.3	+.033	+2.1	+3.2	+.218	+5.9	+7.1	+.089
Dirk Nowitzki	6	39.8	19.7	4.2	7.2	11.3	2.3	1.8	1.3	2.3	3.3	6.0	15.7	.383	0.7	3.2	.211	7.0	8.3	.840


Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Buddy Hield in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 21, from 2008 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 8 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 12 extra years over Buddy Hield, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 8 All-Star Game

Buddy Hield vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Buddy Hield, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years