Dirk Nowitzki vs. Jalen Williams Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jalen Williams 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, 17 more than Jalen Williams, who played 4. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Jalen Williams had his rookie season in 2022-23. 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 |
| Jalen Williams | 4 | 2 | 2022-23 to 2025-26 |
Rookie Season |
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| Dirk Nowitzki | Jalen Williams | |
| Season | 1998-99 | 2022-23 |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | - |  All-Rookie First Team |
| 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: | +28 | +9.9 | +5.9 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +2.3 | +0.8 | +0.1 | -0.3 | +2.6 | +3.5 | +.116 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +.150 | +0.2 | +.039 | ||
| Jalen Williams | 75 | 30.3 | 14.1 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 10.6 | .521 | 1.0 | 2.7 | .356 | 2.1 | 2.5 | .812 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Neiher Dirk Nowitzki nor Jalen Williams played in the postseason in their season 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season 2 |
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| Dirk Nowitzki | Jalen Williams | |
| Season | 1999-00 | 2023-24 |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | ||
| Playoffs | Did not play | Thunder Lost West 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: | +11 | +4.5 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +1.7 | +2.5 | +2.0 | +0.3 | +0.2 | -0.6 | +1.2 | +0.4 | +.079 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +.048 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +.016 | |
| Jalen Williams | 71 | 31.3 | 19.1 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 14.0 | .540 | 1.5 | 3.4 | .427 | 2.5 | 3.1 | .814 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jalen Williams | 10 | 37.7 | 18.7 | 1.3 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 7.5 | 16.0 | .469 | 1.5 | 3.9 | .385 | 2.2 | 2.7 | .815 |
Season 3 |
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| Dirk Nowitzki | Jalen Williams | |
| Season | 2000-01 | 2024-25 |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | All-NBA Third Team | All-NBA Third Team |
| - | All-Defensive Second Team | |
| - | All-Star Game | |
| 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: | +13 | +5.7 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +3.2 | +3.9 | +3.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | -0.3 | -0.7 | +1.0 | +1.7 | +.010 | +0.1 | +.022 | +2.1 | +2.3 | +.049 | |
| Jalen Williams | 69 | 32.4 | 21.6 | 0.9 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 8.2 | 16.9 | .484 | 1.8 | 4.9 | .365 | 3.4 | 4.3 | .789 |
| 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: | +13 | +5.3 | +2.0 | +0.4 | +2.2 | +2.6 | +3.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | -0.4 | -1.5 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +.026 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +.021 | +3.9 | +3.8 | +.094 |
| Jalen Williams | 23 | 34.6 | 21.4 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 17.2 | .449 | 1.5 | 5.0 | .304 | 4.4 | 5.6 | .789 |
Season 4 |
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| Dirk Nowitzki | Jalen Williams | |
| Season | 2001-02 | 2025-26 |
| Team | Dallas Mavericks | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Honors & Awards | All-NBA Second Team | - |
| All-Star Game | - | |
| Playoffs | Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis | Did not play (season in progress) |
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 | % | ||||
| 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: | +62 | +7.9 | +5.9 | +0.7 | +4.0 | +4.7 | +3.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | -0.8 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +.025 | +0.9 | +1.8 | +.064 | +2.7 | +3.1 | +.007 | |
| Jalen Williams | 14 | 30.1 | 17.5 | 0.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 6.7 | 14.9 | .452 | 0.9 | 2.8 | .333 | 3.1 | 3.7 | .846 |
| 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 |
| Jalen Williams | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Additional Years |
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* Dirk Nowitzki played 17 seasons more than Jalen Williams in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 5 to 21, from 2003 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 13 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 17 extra years over Jalen Williams, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 1 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 4 All-NBA First Team 4 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 13 All-Star Game |