Dirk Nowitzki vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet 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 / 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.

Dirk Nowitzki played 21 years in the NBA, 12 more than Fred VanVleet, who played 9. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Fred VanVleet had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Fred VanVleet	9	6	2016-17 to 2024-25

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


Rookie Season
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	1998-99	2016-17
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+10	+12.5	+5.3	+0.8	+1.6	+2.3	+0.1	+0.2	+0.5	-1.2	-1.2	+1.8	+4.1	+.054		+0.6	+.173	+1.6	+2.1	+.045
Fred VanVleet	37	7.9	2.9	0.1	1.0	1.1	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.0	.351	0.3	0.8	.379	0.5	0.6	.818

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fred VanVleet	7	4.1	2.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.4	0.9	1.3	.667	0.3	0.7	.400	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	1999-00	2017-18
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Raptors Lost East Conf 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:	+6	+15.8	+8.9	+0.9	+3.1	+4.1	+0.7	+0.1	+0.5	-0.7	-1.4	+3.2	+6.4	+.035		+0.3	+.035	+2.4	+2.9	+.002
Fred VanVleet	76	20.0	8.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.2	0.9	0.3	1.0	1.7	3.1	7.2	.426	1.4	3.4	.414	1.1	1.3	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Fred VanVleet	6	19.0	6.8	0.0	1.7	1.7	2.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.2	6.5	.333	1.3	4.7	.286	1.2	1.3	.875


Season 3
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2000-01	2018-19
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+18	+10.6	+10.8	+1.2	+5.4	+6.6	+2.7	+0.1	+0.9	-0.6	-1.3	+3.4	+5.8	+.064		+0.2	+.009	+4.0	+4.8	+.005
Fred VanVleet	64	27.5	11.0	0.3	2.3	2.6	4.8	0.9	0.3	1.3	1.7	3.8	9.4	.410	1.8	4.6	.378	1.5	1.8	.843

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:	+14	+15.2	+15.4	+1.1	+5.3	+6.4	+1.2	+0.3	+0.5	-0.5	-1.7	+4.2	+9.4	+.031	+0.3	+0.5	+.105	+7.3	+8.1	+.109
Fred VanVleet	24	24.7	8.0	0.3	1.4	1.7	2.6	0.8	0.3	0.9	2.0	2.7	6.9	.392	1.6	4.1	.388	1.0	1.3	.774


Season 4
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2001-02	2019-20
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+22	+2.3	+5.8	+1.3	+5.0	+6.1	+4.2	+0.8	+0.7	-0.3	-0.5	+2.0	+2.3	+.064	+0.9	+2.3	+.007	+2.7	+3.1	+.005
Fred VanVleet	54	35.7	17.6	0.3	3.4	3.8	6.6	1.9	0.3	2.2	2.4	5.9	14.3	.413	2.7	6.9	.390	3.1	3.7	.848

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	+8.8	+1.6	+7.1	+8.7	+4.6	+0.4	+0.2	-0.8	-0.9	+2.2	+3.2	+.045	+1.9	+6.5	+.180	+6.2	+7.0	+.038
Fred VanVleet	11	39.1	19.6	0.5	3.9	4.4	6.9	1.6	0.6	2.0	2.5	6.9	17.3	.400	3.9	10.0	.391	1.9	2.3	.840


Season 5
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2002-03	2020-21
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+28	+2.5	+5.5	+0.4	+5.3	+5.7	+3.3	+0.3	+0.3	-0.1	-0.3	+2.1	+1.9	+.074	+1.4	+4.3	+.013	+2.7	+3.2	+.004
Fred VanVleet	52	36.5	19.6	0.6	3.6	4.2	6.3	1.7	0.7	1.8	2.3	6.5	16.7	.389	3.3	9.2	.366	3.3	3.7	.885

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2003-04	2021-22
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Raptors Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+12		+1.5	+0.5	+3.7	+4.3	+4.0	+0.5	+0.9	-0.8	-0.3	+1.1	+0.1	+.059	+2.4	+6.1	+.036	+1.8	+2.1	+.003
Fred VanVleet	65	37.9	20.3	0.7	3.8	4.4	6.7	1.7	0.5	2.6	2.5	6.8	16.9	.403	3.7	9.9	.377	3.0	3.4	.874

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:	+1	+7.2	+12.8	+2.1	+6.7	+8.8	+4.9	+0.4	+1.6	-0.2	-0.2	+4.2	+6.5	+.098	+1.6	+6.0	+.134	+5.9	+6.9	+.024
Fred VanVleet	4	35.0	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.3	1.8	1.0	1.0	3.0	4.8	13.5	.352	3.0	9.0	.333	1.3	1.5	.833


Season 7
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2004-05	2022-23
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+9	+2.0	+6.8	+0.8	+4.9	+5.6	+4.1	+0.6	+0.9	-0.3		+2.2	+2.4	+.066	+1.8	+5.9	+.057	+4.2	+5.0	+.029
Fred VanVleet	69	36.7	19.3	0.4	3.6	4.1	7.2	1.8	0.6	2.0	2.8	6.3	16.1	.393	3.0	8.8	.342	3.7	4.1	.898

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2005-06	2023-24
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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:	+8	+1.3	+9.2	+0.9	+4.2	+5.2	+5.3	+0.7	+0.2	-0.2	-0.5	+3.5	+5.4	+.064	+1.7	+4.7	+.019	+4.0	+4.3	+.041
Fred VanVleet	73	36.8	17.4	0.5	3.4	3.8	8.1	1.4	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.8	13.9	.416	3.1	8.0	.387	2.7	3.1	.860

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
Fred VanVleet	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Dirk Nowitzki	Fred VanVleet
Season	2006-07	2024-25
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+18	+1.0	+10.5	+1.1	+4.1	+5.2	+2.2	+0.9	+0.4	-0.6	-0.1	+3.8	+4.5	+.124	+1.8	+5.5	+.071	+4.5	+4.8	+.094
Fred VanVleet	60	35.2	14.1	0.5	3.2	3.7	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.5	2.3	4.8	12.7	.378	2.7	7.7	.345	1.9	2.3	.810

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:	+1	+0.2	+1.0	+3.8	+3.5	+7.2	+2.1	+0.8	+1.0	-0.4	-1.0	+0.3	+2.4	+.047	+3.2	+5.7	+.224	+3.6	+4.9	+.160
Fred VanVleet	7	40.0	18.7	0.4	3.7	4.1	4.4	1.0	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.3	.430	3.9	8.9	.435	3.4	3.4	1.000


Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Fred VanVleet 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 Fred VanVleet, 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

Dirk Nowitzki vs. Fred VanVleet Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Fred VanVleet 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

Additional Years