Jeremy Lin vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Jeremy Lin, 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.

Jeremy Lin played 9 years in the NBA, 12 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Jeremy Lin had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, while Dirk Nowitzki had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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.

Season 3
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2012-13	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785
difference:		+5.9	+8.4	+1.1	+5.1	+6.2	+4.0	+0.6	+0.8	-1.0	-0.5	+2.4	+4.3	+.033	+0.7	+1.7	+.048	+2.9	+3.2	+.053
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+6	+18.9	+19.4	+1.4	+4.7	+6.1	+0.6	+0.6	+0.5	-0.6	-1.4	+5.4	+10.3	+.173	+0.8	+1.6	+.116	+7.8	+8.9	+.117
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

Season 4
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2013-14	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West 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		%
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823
difference:	+5	+9.1	+10.9	+1.1	+6.2	+7.3	+1.7	+0.1	+0.6	-0.6	-0.6	+3.7	+7.3	+.031	+0.6	+1.4	+.039	+2.7	+3.1	+.030
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813
difference:	+2	+15.1	+17.1	+0.9	+8.5	+9.4	+2.0	+1.5	+0.6	-0.6	-0.9	+4.9	+10.3	+.035	+1.2	+0.3	+.354	+5.9	+6.6	+.065
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

Season 5
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2014-15	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf 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		%
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795
difference:	+6	+13.2	+13.9	+0.6	+6.6	+7.3	+1.6	+0.3	+0.6	-0.3		+4.9	+9.8	+.039	+1.0	+2.5	+.010	+3.1	+3.3	+.086
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 6
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2015-16	2003-04
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks 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		%
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815
difference:	+1	+11.6	+10.1	+0.7	+4.8	+5.5	+0.3	+0.5	+0.9	-0.1	-0.7	+4.1	+7.7	+.050	+0.3	+0.9	+.005	+1.7	+1.8	+.062
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821
difference:	+2	+15.2	+14.2	+2.2	+7.3	+9.5	+1.2	+0.7	+2.6	-0.4	-0.2	+5.3	+11.0	+.037	+1.0	+1.0	+.253	+2.6	+2.8	+.036
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

Season 7
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2016-17	2004-05
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816
difference:	+42	+14.2	+11.6	+0.9	+5.1	+5.9	+2.0		+1.1	-0.1	-0.6	+3.6	+7.4	+.021	+0.4	+1.4	+.027	+4.7	+5.2	+.053
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 8
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2017-18	2005-06
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000
difference:	+80	+13.1	+8.6	+1.4	+7.6	+9.0	+1.2	+0.7	+1.0	-1.1	-1.0	+4.3	+7.3	+.063	+0.4	+1.3	+.094	+0.3	+0.4	+.099
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 9
	Jeremy Lin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2018-19	2006-07
Team	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks 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		%
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838
difference:	+4	+16.8	+15.0	+1.3	+5.2	+6.5	+0.3	+0.1	+0.6	-0.4	-0.3	+5.4	+9.9	+.062	+0.2	+0.3	+.122	+4.0	+4.3	+.066
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+2	+36.4	+18.6	+4.2	+6.8	+10.9	+1.8	+1.7	+1.3	-1.7	-3.0	+5.7	+14.6	+.161	+0.6	+2.9	+.289	+6.5	+7.8	+.160
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

Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Jeremy Lin 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 Jeremy Lin, 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