Joel Embiid vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Joel Embiid, 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.

Joel Embiid played 9 years in the NBA, 12 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, 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.

Rookie Season
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2016-17	1998-99
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
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		%
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783
difference:	+16	+5.0	+12.0	+1.1	+3.3	+4.4	+1.1	+0.3	+1.9	-2.2	-1.4	+3.6	+6.7	+.061	+0.9	+1.8	+.161	+4.1	+5.2	+.010
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
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Joel Embiid nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2017-18	1999-00
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769
difference:	+19	+5.5	+5.4	+1.1	+3.5	+4.5	+0.7	+0.2	+1.0	-2.0	-0.2	+1.8	+3.2	+.022	+0.4	+0.3	+.071	+2.2	+3.2	+.061
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2018-19	2000-01
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804
difference:	+18	+4.4	+5.7	+1.0	+3.4	+4.4	+1.6	+0.3	+0.7	-1.6	-0.3	+1.9	+3.5	+.010	+0.6	+0.7	+.087	+2.7	+3.5	+.034
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		%
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822
difference:	+1	+9.5	+3.2	+0.5	+1.8	+2.4	+2.0	+0.4	+1.5	-2.2	-0.6	+0.7	+1.8	+.005	+0.2	+1.1	+.025	+1.6	+1.2	+.061
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2019-20	2001-02
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East 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		%
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807
difference:	+25	+8.5	+0.4	+1.2	+0.5	+1.7	+0.6	+0.2	+0.3	-1.2	-0.5	+0.4	+0.9		+0.7	+1.2	+.066	+1.1	+1.7	+.046
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		%
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814
difference:	+4	+8.3	+1.6	+0.7	+1.5	+0.8	+1.0	+0.5	+0.5	-1.0	-1.1	+0.6	+2.0	+.014	+1.0	+0.5	+.321	+3.9	+5.5	+.064
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2020-21	2002-03
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859
difference:	+29	+7.9	+3.4	+1.2	+0.5	+0.7	+0.2	+0.4	+0.4	-1.2	-0.2	+0.4	+1.0	+.050	+0.8	+1.9	+.002	+3.2	+3.8	+.022
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		%
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835
difference:	+6	+10.0	+2.8	+0.6	+1.5	+1.0	+1.2	+0.2	+0.6	-1.4	-0.1	+0.4	+0.5	+.034	+0.1	+0.1	+.053	+2.2	+3.3	+.077
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2021-22	2003-04
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814
difference:	+9	+4.1	+8.8	+0.9	+2.1	+3.0	+1.5	+0.1	+0.1	-1.3	-0.1	+1.9	+2.6	+.037	+0.1	+0.1	+.030	+4.8	+6.3	+.063
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		%
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820
difference:	+5	+3.7	+3.0	+0.5	+0.6	+1.1	+0.7	+1.0	+1.8	-2.0	-0.2	+1.2	+3.9	+.034	+0.7	+0.3	+.255	+0.1	+0.5	+.037
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2022-23	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857
difference:	+12	+4.1	+7.0	+0.5	+0.1	+0.5	+1.1	+0.2	+0.2	-1.1	-0.3	+2.5	+1.6	+.089	+0.2	+0.1	+.069	+2.1	+2.6	+.012
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		%
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905
difference:	+4	+5.2		+0.1	+0.2	+0.3	+0.6	+0.7	+1.2	-1.4	-0.2	+0.6	+2.7	+.029	+0.2	+0.8	+.154	+1.3	+0.8	+.076
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2023-24	2005-06
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883
difference:	+42	+4.5	+8.1	+1.0	+1.0	+2.0	+2.8	+0.5	+0.7	-1.9	-0.9	+2.2	+2.5	+.049		+0.3	+.018	+3.5	+4.2	+.018
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		%
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859
difference:	+17	+1.4	+6.0	+1.2	+1.9	+0.9	+2.8	+0.1	+0.9	-2.1	-0.5	+1.3	+4.0	+.024	+1.2	+3.6	+.010	+2.3	+3.0	+.036
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
	Joel Embiid	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2024-25	2006-07
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Joel Embiid	19	30.2	23.8	1.9	6.3	8.2	4.5	0.7	0.9	3.3	2.2	7.4	16.6	.444	1.2	4.1	.299	7.8	8.9	.882
difference:	+59	+6.0	+0.8	+0.3	+1.0	+0.7	+1.1		+0.1	-1.2		+1.2	+0.6	+.058	+0.3	+1.9	+.117	+1.4	+1.8	+.022
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		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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 Joel Embiid 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 Joel Embiid, 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