Darius Garland vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Darius Garland, 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

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.

Darius Garland played 7 years in the NBA, 14 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Darius Garland had the first of his seasons in 2019-20, 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
Darius Garland 7 3 2019-20 to 2025-26
Dirk Nowitzki 21 15 1998-99 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2019-201998-99
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 59 30.9 12.3 0.5 1.4 1.9 3.9 0.7 0.1 2.6 1.6 4.7 11.8 .401 1.8 5.0 .355 1.1 1.2 .875
difference:+12+10.5+4.1+0.4+1.2+1.5+2.9+0.1+0.5-1.0-0.6+1.8+4.7+.004+1.5+3.6+.149+1.0+1.5+.102
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 Darius Garland nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2020-211999-00
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 54 33.1 17.4 0.4 2.0 2.4 6.1 1.2 0.1 3.0 2.0 6.7 14.9 .451 1.9 4.9 .395 2.1 2.4 .848
difference:+28+2.7+0.1+0.8+3.2+4.1+3.6+0.4+0.7-1.3-1.1+0.4+1.3+.010+0.5+1.2+.016+1.4+1.8+.018
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 Darius Garland nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2021-222000-01
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 68 35.7 21.7 0.6 2.7 3.3 8.6 1.3 0.1 3.6 1.7 8.0 17.3 .462 2.6 6.7 .383 3.2 3.5 .892
difference:+14+2.4+0.1+0.9+5.0+5.9+6.5+0.3+1.1-1.7-1.3+0.8+2.1+.012+0.8+1.9+.004+2.3+3.1+.054
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 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
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2022-232001-02
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st RdMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 69 35.5 21.6 0.4 2.3 2.7 7.8 1.2 0.1 2.9 2.1 7.6 16.4 .462 2.4 6.0 .410 4.0 4.7 .863
difference:+7+2.5+1.8+1.2+6.1+7.2+5.4+0.1+0.9-1.0-0.8+0.3+0.2+.015+0.6+1.4+.013+1.8+2.1+.010
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 5 37.8 20.6 0.0 1.8 1.8 5.0 1.6 0.2 3.6 3.4 7.0 16.0 .438 2.4 6.2 .387 4.2 5.0 .840
difference:+3+6.8+7.8+2.1+9.2+11.3+2.7+0.4+0.6-0.8+2.1+4.5+.007+0.4+2.7+.184+3.9+4.3+.038
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
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2023-242002-03
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisMavericks Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 57 33.4 18.0 0.5 2.1 2.7 6.5 1.3 0.1 3.1 1.7 6.6 14.8 .446 2.3 6.2 .371 2.6 3.1 .834
difference:+23+5.6+7.1+0.5+6.8+7.2+3.5+0.1+0.9-1.2-0.9+2.0+3.8+.017+0.4+1.3+.008+3.4+3.8+.047
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 12 36.0 15.7 0.1 3.5 3.6 5.8 1.1 0.2 2.3 2.8 6.1 14.3 .427 2.1 5.9 .352 1.4 1.8 .810
difference:+5+6.5+9.6+0.8+7.1+7.9+3.6+0.1+0.7-0.1-0.3+2.7+4.1+.052+0.5+2.3+.091+4.7+4.8+.102
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
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2024-252003-04
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisMavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 75 30.7 20.6 0.6 2.2 2.9 6.7 1.2 0.1 2.5 1.9 7.4 15.7 .472 2.8 7.1 .401 3.0 3.4 .878
difference:+2+7.2+1.2+0.6+5.3+5.8+4.0+1.3-0.7-0.9+0.5+1.3+.010+1.5+3.3+.060+1.8+2.1+.001
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 5 29.6 18.0 0.2 2.0 2.2 5.2 0.4 0.0 3.0 3.4 5.8 13.8 .420 2.0 7.0 .286 4.4 4.8 .917
difference:+12.6+8.6+2.4+7.2+9.6+3.8+1.0+2.6-1.8-0.2+3.2+6.2+.030+0.6+4.0+.181+2.8+3.6+.060
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
Darius Garland Dirk Nowitzki
Season 2025-262004-05
Team Cleveland CavaliersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 3 24.3 13.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 5.0 1.0 0.0 1.7 2.0 4.0 12.0 .333 2.3 6.3 .368 2.7 2.7 1.000
difference:+75+14.4+13.1+0.2+6.5+6.7+1.9+0.2+1.5-0.6-0.8+4.5+6.5+.126+1.1+3.4+.031+5.2+6.4+.131
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Darius Garland 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

Additional Years

* Dirk Nowitzki played 14 seasons more than Darius Garland in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 8 to 21, from 2006 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 14 extra years over Darius Garland, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 3 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 3 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 10 All-Star Game
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