Dirk Nowitzki vs. Mel Riebe Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mel Riebe 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, 18 more than Mel Riebe, who played 3. Dirk Nowitzki had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while Mel Riebe had his rookie season in 1946-47. 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 achivements, 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
Mel Riebe 3 2 1946-47 to 1948-49

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21

Rookie Season
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 1998-991946-47
Team Dallas MavericksCleveland Rebels
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayRebels Lost 1st Rd
more >>
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
Mel Riebe 55 - 12.1 - - - 1.2 - - - 3.1 5.0 16.3 .307 - - - 2.0 3.1 .642
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe 3 - 7.0 - - - 0.7 - - - 1.0 3.0 12.3 .243 - - - 1.0 2.0 .500

Season 2
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 1999-001947-48
Team Dallas MavericksBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayCeltics Lost 1st Rd
more >>
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
Mel Riebe 48 - 10.2 - - - 0.9 - - - 2.9 4.2 13.6 .309 - - - 1.8 2.9 .620
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe 3 - 14.0 - - - 1.0 - - - 3.3 4.7 14.3 .326 - - - 4.7 6.7 .700

Season 3
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2000-011948-49
Team Dallas MavericksBoston Celtics, Providence Steamrollers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
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
Mel Riebe 43 - 9.8 - - - 2.4 - - - 2.6 4.0 13.7 .292 - - - 1.8 3.1 .594
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2001-02-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2002-03-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2003-04-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2004-05-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 8
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2005-06-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2006-07-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 10
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2007-08-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 11
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2008-09-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 12
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2009-10-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 81 37.5 25.0 1.0 6.7 7.7 2.7 0.9 1.0 1.8 2.6 8.9 18.5 .481 0.6 1.5 .421 6.6 7.2 .915
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 6 38.8 26.7 1.2 7.0 8.2 3.0 0.8 0.7 1.7 2.5 9.7 17.7 .547 0.7 1.2 .571 6.7 7.0 .952
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 13
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2010-11-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 73 34.3 23.0 0.7 6.3 7.0 2.6 0.5 0.6 1.9 2.4 8.4 16.2 .517 0.9 2.3 .393 5.4 6.1 .892
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 21 39.3 27.7 0.6 7.6 8.1 2.5 0.6 0.6 3.1 2.2 9.1 18.9 .485 1.1 2.4 .460 8.3 8.9 .941
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 14
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2011-12-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 62 33.5 21.6 0.7 6.0 6.7 2.2 0.7 0.5 1.9 2.1 7.6 16.7 .457 1.3 3.4 .368 5.1 5.7 .896
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 4 38.5 26.8 0.8 5.5 6.3 1.8 0.8 0.0 2.5 2.3 8.5 19.3 .442 0.3 1.5 .167 9.5 10.5 .905
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 15
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2012-13-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 53 31.3 17.3 0.7 6.2 6.8 2.5 0.7 0.7 1.3 1.8 6.5 13.7 .471 1.2 3.0 .414 3.1 3.6 .860
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 16
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2013-14-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 80 32.9 21.7 0.5 5.7 6.2 2.7 0.9 0.6 1.5 2.1 7.9 15.9 .497 1.6 4.1 .398 4.2 4.7 .899
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 7 37.6 19.1 0.7 7.3 8.0 1.6 0.9 0.9 2.1 2.9 7.7 18.0 .429 0.1 1.7 .083 3.6 4.4 .806
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 17
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2014-15-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 77 29.6 17.3 0.6 5.4 5.9 1.9 0.5 0.4 1.1 2.1 6.3 13.8 .459 1.4 3.6 .380 3.3 3.8 .882
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 5 36.2 21.2 0.8 9.6 10.4 2.4 0.4 0.4 2.0 3.2 7.6 16.8 .452 0.8 3.4 .235 5.2 5.6 .929
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 18
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2015-16-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 75 31.5 18.3 0.7 5.8 6.5 1.8 0.7 0.7 1.1 2.1 6.6 14.8 .448 1.7 4.6 .368 3.3 3.7 .893
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 5 34.0 20.4 0.6 4.2 4.8 1.6 0.4 0.6 1.4 1.8 8.2 16.6 .494 0.8 2.2 .364 3.2 3.4 .941
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 19
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2016-17-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 54 26.4 14.2 0.4 6.1 6.5 1.5 0.6 0.7 0.9 2.1 5.5 12.6 .437 1.5 3.9 .378 1.8 2.1 .875
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 20
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2017-18-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 77 24.7 12.0 0.3 5.4 5.7 1.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 1.9 4.5 9.8 .456 1.8 4.4 .409 1.3 1.4 .898
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------

Season 21
Dirk Nowitzki Mel Riebe
Season 2018-19-
Team Dallas Mavericks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki 51 15.6 7.3 0.1 3.0 3.1 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.4 1.5 2.6 7.4 .359 1.3 4.0 .312 0.8 1.0 .780
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dirk Nowitzki ------- --- ----------
Mel Riebe ------- --- ----------
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