Dirk Nowitzki vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson 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 / 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, 11 more than Lance Stephenson, who played 10. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Lance Stephenson had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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
Lance Stephenson	10	6	2010-11 to 2021-22

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


Rookie Season
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	1998-99	2010-11
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Indiana Pacers
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:	+35	+10.8	+5.1	+0.8	+1.2	+1.9	+0.8	+0.3	+0.6	-0.3	-1.0	+1.8	+3.8	+.072	+0.3	+1.0	+.206	+1.2	+1.5	+.013
Lance Stephenson	12	9.6	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.2	1.1	3.3	.333	0.0	0.4	.000	0.9	1.2	.786

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dirk Nowitzki nor Lance Stephenson played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	1999-00	2011-12
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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:	+40	+25.3	+15.0	+0.9	+4.2	+5.2	+1.4	+0.3	+0.7	-0.8	-2.4	+5.2	+10.6	+.085	+1.3	+3.0	+.246	+3.3	+3.8	+.359
Lance Stephenson	42	10.5	2.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.9	0.7	1.1	3.0	.376	0.1	0.7	.133	0.2	0.4	.471

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance Stephenson	4	3.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	0.5	.500	0.3	0.5	.500


Season 3
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2000-01	2012-13
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 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:	+4	+8.9	+13.0	+0.9	+4.4	+5.3	+0.8		+1.0	-0.5	-0.9	+3.7	+7.5	+.014	+1.0	+2.4	+.057	+4.5	+5.1	+.186
Lance Stephenson	78	29.2	8.8	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.9	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.1	3.5	7.7	.460	0.8	2.4	.330	1.0	1.5	.652

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:	+9	+4.5	+14.0	+0.7	+0.1	+0.5	+1.9	+0.1	+0.7	-0.5	-1.2	+3.3	+7.4	+.015	+0.4	+1.2	+.002	+7.1	+7.5	+.261
Lance Stephenson	19	35.4	9.4	0.7	6.8	7.6	3.3	1.2	0.1	1.9	2.5	3.6	8.9	.408	0.9	3.4	.281	1.2	1.9	.622


Season 4
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2001-02	2013-14
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 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:	+2	+2.7	+9.6	+0.4	+2.5	+2.7	+2.2	+0.4	+0.9	-0.8	-0.4	+2.4	+5.4	+.014	+0.7	+1.5	+.045	+4.0	+4.3	+.142
Lance Stephenson	78	35.3	13.8	1.2	5.9	7.2	4.6	0.7	0.1	2.7	2.5	5.5	11.2	.491	1.1	3.1	.352	1.8	2.5	.711

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:	+11	+7.5	+14.8	+0.8	+5.4	+6.2	+1.9	+1.2	+0.6	-0.4	-0.5	+3.8	+8.9	+.010	+0.7		+.213	+6.3	+6.7	+.164
Lance Stephenson	19	37.1	13.6	1.3	5.6	6.9	4.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	2.9	5.3	11.6	.455	1.3	3.5	.358	1.8	2.6	.714


Season 5
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2002-03	2014-15
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Charlotte Hornets
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:	+19	+13.2	+16.9	+0.4	+5.0	+5.4	+0.9	+0.8	+0.9	-0.2	-0.4	+5.2	+9.6	+.087	+1.6	+3.2	+.208	+4.9	+5.1	+.254
Lance Stephenson	61	25.8	8.2	0.6	3.9	4.5	3.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	2.2	3.4	9.0	.376	0.3	1.7	.171	1.1	1.8	.627

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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2003-04	2015-16
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Grizzlies Lost West 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:	+8	+18.0	+13.5	+0.6	+4.8	+5.5	+0.8	+0.6	+1.3	-0.4	-0.8	+4.6	+10.1	+.019	+0.9	+2.7	+.044	+3.5	+3.9	+.093
Lance Stephenson	69	19.9	8.3	0.6	2.7	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.0	3.3	6.9	.481	0.4	1.1	.385	1.3	1.6	.784

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	+18.4	+13.6	+2.3	+7.9	+10.3	+0.4	+1.1	+2.6	-0.4	-0.7	+3.2	+9.0	+.073	+0.9	+1.7	+.067	+6.2	+7.1	+.057
Lance Stephenson	4	23.8	13.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	11.0	.523	0.5	1.3	.400	1.0	1.3	.800


Season 7
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2004-05	2016-17
Team	Dallas Mavericks	New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+60	+18.6	+19.3	+1.0	+5.8	+6.8	+0.2	+0.9	+1.3	-0.9	-1.0	+5.5	+11.8	+.009	+0.9	+1.8	+.099	+7.5	+8.4	+.254
Lance Stephenson	18	20.1	6.8	0.2	2.7	2.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.0	6.7	.450	0.3	1.1	.300	0.4	0.7	.615

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:	+9	+15.7	+7.7	+1.6	+3.2	+4.8	+0.5	+0.9	+1.6	-1.5	-0.4	+1.1	+6.4	+.107	+1.0	+2.2	+.056	+6.3	+7.5	+.079
Lance Stephenson	4	26.8	16.0	0.3	5.0	5.3	2.8	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.8	6.8	13.3	.509	1.8	4.5	.389	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 8
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2005-06	2017-18
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+1	+15.5	+17.4	+0.6	+3.2	+3.8	+0.1	+0.1	+0.8	-0.3	-0.2	+5.6	+10.7	+.053	+0.6	+0.5	+.117	+5.7	+5.9	+.240
Lance Stephenson	82	22.6	9.2	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.6	2.2	3.7	8.6	.427	0.8	2.8	.289	1.0	1.5	.661

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:	+16	+21.4	+16.6	+1.6	+7.3	+9.0		+0.8	+0.5	-0.8	-0.1	+4.2	+8.9	+.006	+0.1	+0.8	+.035	+8.2	+8.7	+.339
Lance Stephenson	7	21.3	10.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	2.9	0.3	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.3	9.3	.462	1.1	3.7	.308	0.7	1.3	.556


Season 9
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2006-07	2018-19
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+10	+19.7	+17.4	+1.1	+4.6	+5.7	+1.3	+0.1	+0.7	-0.8	-0.6	+5.9	+10.8	+.076	+0.2	+0.7	+.045	+5.7	+6.0	+.219
Lance Stephenson	68	16.5	7.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.6	2.7	6.4	.426	1.1	2.9	.371	0.7	1.1	.685

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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.


Season 10
	Dirk Nowitzki	Lance Stephenson
Season	2007-08	2021-22
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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:	+31	+18.3	+15.3	+0.9	+4.8	+5.8	+0.1	+0.2	+0.8	-0.5	-0.5	+5.0	+10.1	+.024	+0.4	+0.9	+.059	+4.8	+5.4	+.091
Lance Stephenson	46	17.7	8.3	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.6	2.1	3.2	7.0	.455	0.6	2.0	.300	1.4	1.7	.788

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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 11 seasons more than Lance Stephenson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 21, from 2009 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 11 extra years over Lance Stephenson, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 7 All-Star Game

Dirk Nowitzki vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson 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

Additional Years