Dirk Nowitzki vs. Bob Pettit Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob Pettit 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.

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 Bob Pettit, who played 11. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Bob Pettit had his rookie season in 1954-55. 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.

Rookie Season
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	1998-99	1954-55
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Milwaukee Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
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:	+25	+16.5	+12.2			+10.4	+2.2				-1.4	+4.3	+10.7	+.002				+3.8	+5.2	+.022
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dirk Nowitzki nor Bob Pettit played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	1999-00	1955-56
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did not play	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+10	+3.0	+8.2			+9.7	+0.1				-0.3	+2.7	+7.3	+.032				+4.2	+6.3	+.094
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843

Season 3
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2000-01	1956-57
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost NBA 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	+3.0	+2.9			+5.4	+0.2				-0.5	+1.4	+5.6	+.059				+2.0	+3.0	+.065
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
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:		+3.1	+6.4			+8.7	+1.1				-0.4	+2.9	+7.4	+.009				+1.9	+3.9	+.116
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767

Season 4
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2001-02	1957-58
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+6	+1.9	+1.2			+7.5	+0.2				-0.3	+0.4	+3.7	+.067				+2.2	+3.8	+.104
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
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:	+3	+5.5	+4.2			+3.4	+0.5				-0.6	+0.9	+0.4	+.054				+0.3	+1.4	+.149
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729

Season 5
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2002-03	1958-59
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost West 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:	+8	+0.9	+4.1			+6.5	+0.1				-0.2	+1.4	+4.2	+.025				+3.3	+5.3	+.122
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
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:	+11	+0.3	+2.5			+1.0	+0.1				-0.2	+0.9	+4.4	+.056				+2.4	+4.2	+.127
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785

Season 6
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2003-04	1959-60
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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	+2.3	+4.3			+8.3	+0.9					+1.4	+4.2	+.024				+2.8	+4.5	+.124
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
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:	+9	+1.1	+0.5			+4.0	+2.3				-0.1	+0.2	+0.9	+.008				+0.4	+1.7	+.103
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754

Season 7
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2004-05	1960-61
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+2	+1.1	+1.8			+10.6	+0.3				-0.1	+1.6	+4.1	+.012				+0.2	+1.5	+.145
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
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:	+1	+1.3	+4.9			+7.5	+0.1				-0.3	+1.9	+4.0	+.010				+2.0	+3.5	+.072
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757

Season 8
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2005-06	1961-62
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals	Did not play

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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:	+3	+4.0	+4.5			+9.7	+0.9				-1.8	+1.8	+5.4	+.030				+2.2	+4.2	+.130
Bob Pettit	78	42.1	31.1	-	-	18.7	3.7	-	-	-	3.8	11.1	24.7	.450	-	-	-	8.9	11.6	.771
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
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2006-07	1962-63
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
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	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+1	+2.9	+3.8			+6.2	+0.3				-1.4	+1.2	+4.9	+.056				+2.3	+4.1	+.130
Bob Pettit	79	39.1	28.4	-	-	15.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.6	9.8	22.1	.446	-	-	-	8.7	11.2	.774
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	+2.3	+12.1			+3.8	+0.7				-0.2	+4.8	+7.8	+.076				+3.2	+4.8	+.062
Bob Pettit	11	42.1	31.8	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.1	10.8	23.5	.459	-	-	-	10.2	13.1	.778

Season 10
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2007-08	1963-64
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+3	+5.2	+3.8			+6.7	+0.3				-1.2	+1.7	+4.3	+.016				+1.4	+2.5	+.090
Bob Pettit	80	41.2	27.4	-	-	15.3	3.2	-	-	-	3.8	9.9	21.4	.463	-	-	-	7.6	9.6	.789
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:	+7	+1.0	+5.8			+2.5	+1.2				-1.1	+0.8	+0.6	+.061				+2.9	+3.8	+.027
Bob Pettit	12	41.2	21.0	-	-	14.5	2.8	-	-	-	3.7	7.8	18.8	.412	-	-	-	5.5	6.6	.835

Season 11
	Dirk Nowitzki	Bob Pettit
Season	2008-09	1964-65
Team	Dallas Mavericks	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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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:	+31	+2.6	+3.4			+4.0	+0.2				-1.1	+1.7	+1.5	+.050				+0.6	+1.4	+.070
Bob Pettit	50	35.1	22.5	-	-	12.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.3	7.9	18.5	.429	-	-	-	6.6	8.1	.820
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:	+6	+15.6	+15.3			+4.1	+1.1				-0.4	+5.0	+6.7	+.152				+4.6	+4.3	+.125
Bob Pettit	4	23.8	11.5	-	-	6.0	2.0	-	-	-	2.5	3.8	10.3	.366	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.800

Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 10 seasons more than Bob Pettit 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 Bob Pettit, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 6 All-Star Game