Dirk Nowitzki vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Sharman and Dirk Nowitzki, 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

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.

Dirk Nowitzki played 21 years in the NBA, 10 more than Bill Sharman, who played 11. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Bill Sharman had his rookie season in 1950-51. 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
Dirk Nowitzki	21	15	1998-99 to 2018-19
Bill Sharman	11	10	1950-51 to 1960-61

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11


Rookie Season
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	1998-99	1950-51
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Washington Capitols
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+16		+4.0			+0.1	+0.3				-0.6	+1.6	+5.2	+.035				+1.0	+0.8	+.116
Bill Sharman	31	-	12.2	-	-	3.5	1.3	-	-	-	2.8	4.5	12.3	.370	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.889

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dirk Nowitzki nor Bill Sharman played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	1999-00	1951-52
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+19	+13.8	+6.8			+3.0	+0.1				-0.2	+2.4	+3.6	+.072				+0.6	+0.8	+.029
Bill Sharman	63	22.0	10.7	-	-	3.5	2.4	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	10.0	.389	-	-	-	2.9	3.4	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Sharman	1	27.0	15.0	-	-	3.0	7.0	-	-	-	4.0	7.0	12.0	.583	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	1.000


Season 3
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2000-01	1952-53
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+11	+5.2	+5.6			+5.1	+0.6				-0.4	+1.5	+2.2	+.038				+0.7	+1.0	+.012
Bill Sharman	71	32.9	16.2	-	-	4.1	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	5.7	13.0	.436	-	-	-	4.8	5.6	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+4	+6.4	+11.7			+5.6	+1.1				-0.6	+3.6	+6.3	+.090				+3.3	+4.1	+.055
Bill Sharman	6	33.5	11.7	-	-	2.5	2.5	-	-	-	4.3	3.3	10.0	.333	-	-	-	5.0	5.3	.938


Season 4
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2001-02	1953-54
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+4	+3.7	+7.4			+6.4	+0.8					+2.2	+3.9	+.027				+1.2	+1.4	+.009
Bill Sharman	72	34.3	16.0	-	-	3.5	3.2	-	-	-	2.9	5.7	12.7	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.844

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+10.3	+9.6			+8.9	+0.6				-1.4	+3.3	+7.0	+.013				+0.9	+1.0	+.018
Bill Sharman	6	34.3	18.8	-	-	4.2	1.7	-	-	-	4.8	5.8	13.5	.432	-	-	-	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 5
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2002-03	1954-55
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+12	+2.9	+6.7			+5.5	+1.1				-0.5	+1.9	+3.0	+.036				+0.9	+1.2	+.016
Bill Sharman	68	36.1	18.4	-	-	4.4	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.6	.427	-	-	-	5.1	5.7	.897

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+1.1	+4.6			+6.1	+3.2				-0.3	+0.9	+2.7	+.021				+1.1	+1.2	+.009
Bill Sharman	7	41.4	20.7	-	-	5.4	5.4	-	-	-	3.4	7.9	15.7	.500	-	-	-	5.0	5.4	.921


Season 6
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2003-04	1955-56
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Div Semis

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+0.4	+1.9			+5.1	+2.0				-0.1	+0.4	+0.1	+.024				+0.2	+0.2	+.010
Bill Sharman	72	37.5	19.9	-	-	3.6	4.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.5	17.1	.438	-	-	-	5.0	5.7	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+2.5	+9.3			+9.5	+2.6				-0.9	+3.0	+4.7	+.059				+1.9	+2.7	+.084
Bill Sharman	3	39.7	17.3	-	-	2.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.3	6.0	15.3	.391	-	-	-	5.3	5.7	.941


Season 7
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2004-05	1956-57
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+11	+2.8	+5.0			+5.4	+0.4					+0.8		+.043				+2.2	+2.8	+.036
Bill Sharman	67	35.9	21.1	-	-	4.3	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	18.5	.416	-	-	-	5.7	6.3	.905

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+3	+4.8	+2.6			+6.6	+0.4				-0.9	+0.4		+.021				+1.0	+2.1	+.124
Bill Sharman	10	37.7	21.1	-	-	3.5	2.9	-	-	-	2.3	7.5	19.7	.381	-	-	-	6.1	6.4	.953


Season 8
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2005-06	1957-58
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+18	+3.0	+4.3			+4.3	+0.1				-0.5	+0.6	+1.3	+.056				+1.9	+2.0	+.008
Bill Sharman	63	35.1	22.3	-	-	4.7	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.7	20.6	.424	-	-	-	4.8	5.4	.893

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+12	+5.8	+5.9			+6.8	+0.6				-0.3	+0.3	+1.9	+.061				+4.2	+4.9	+.034
Bill Sharman	11	36.9	21.1	-	-	4.9	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	8.2	20.1	.407	-	-	-	4.7	5.1	.929


Season 9
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2006-07	1958-59
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+3.1	+4.2			+4.8	+0.9				-0.2	+0.8	+1.9	+.094				+1.6	+2.0	+.028
Bill Sharman	72	33.1	20.4	-	-	4.1	2.5	-	-	-	2.4	7.8	19.1	.408	-	-	-	4.8	5.1	.932

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+10.5	+0.4			+8.0	+0.2				-0.1	+1.5	+1.8	+.042				+1.8	+2.9	+.126
Bill Sharman	11	29.3	20.1	-	-	3.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	7.5	17.5	.425	-	-	-	5.2	5.4	.966


Season 10
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2007-08	1959-60
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	77	36.0	23.6	1.2	7.3	8.6	3.5	0.7	0.9	2.1	2.6	8.2	17.1	.479	1.0	2.9	.359	6.2	7.1	.879
difference:	+6	+9.0	+4.3			+4.9	+1.5				-0.4	+0.3	+0.2	+.023				+2.7	+3.0	+.013
Bill Sharman	71	27.0	19.3	-	-	3.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.9	17.3	.456	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	5	42.2	26.8	2.0	10.0	12.0	4.0	0.2	1.4	2.0	2.6	8.6	18.2	.473	1.2	3.6	.333	8.4	10.4	.808
difference:	+8	+14.2	+10.0			+8.5	+2.5				-0.9	+1.8	+2.1	+.052				+5.1	+6.3	+.003
Bill Sharman	13	28.0	16.8	-	-	3.5	1.5	-	-	-	1.7	6.8	16.1	.421	-	-	-	3.3	4.1	.811


Season 11
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bill Sharman
Season	2008-09	1960-61
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	81	37.7	25.9	1.1	7.3	8.4	2.4	0.8	0.8	1.9	2.2	9.6	20.0	.479	0.8	2.1	.359	6.0	6.7	.890
difference:	+20	+12.5	+9.9			+4.7					-0.1	+3.3	+5.1	+.057				+2.6	+3.0	+.031
Bill Sharman	61	25.2	16.0	-	-	3.7	2.4	-	-	-	2.1	6.3	14.9	.422	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.921

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	10	39.4	26.8	1.2	8.9	10.1	3.1	0.9	0.8	2.3	2.1	8.8	17.0	.518	0.6	2.1	.286	8.6	9.3	.925
difference:		+13.3	+10.0			+7.4	+1.4				-0.1	+2.0	+3.7	+.007				+5.4	+5.7	+.036
Bill Sharman	10	26.1	16.8	-	-	2.7	1.7	-	-	-	2.2	6.8	13.3	.511	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	.889


Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 10 seasons more than Bill Sharman in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 21, from 2010 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 10 extra years over Bill Sharman, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 6 All-Star Game

Dirk Nowitzki vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Sharman and Dirk Nowitzki, 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

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years