John Collins vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and John Collins, 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.

John Collins played 9 years in the NBA, 12 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. John Collins had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, 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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2017-18	1998-99
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second 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		%
John Collins	74	24.1	10.5	2.4	4.9	7.3	1.3	0.6	1.1	1.4	2.9	4.2	7.4	.576	0.2	0.6	.340	1.8	2.5	.715
difference:	+27	+3.7	+2.3	+1.5	+2.3	+3.9	+0.3		+0.5	-0.2	-0.7	+1.3	+0.3	+.171	+0.1	+0.8	+.134	+0.3	+0.2	+.058
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 John Collins nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2019-20	2000-01
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Playoffs	Did not play	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		%
John Collins	41	33.2	21.6	2.8	7.3	10.1	1.5	0.8	1.6	1.8	3.4	8.6	14.8	.583	1.4	3.6	.401	2.9	3.7	.800
difference:	+41	+4.9	+0.2	+1.3	+0.4	+0.9	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4	-0.1	-0.4	+1.4	+0.4	+.109	+0.4	+1.2	+.014	+2.6	+2.9	+.038
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		%
John Collins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2020-21	2001-02
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
John Collins	63	29.3	17.6	1.9	5.5	7.4	1.2	0.5	1.0	1.3	3.1	6.8	12.2	.556	1.3	3.3	.399	2.7	3.2	.833
difference:	+13	+8.7	+5.8	+0.3	+2.9	+2.5	+1.2	+0.6		-0.6	-0.2	+1.1	+4.4	+.079	+0.5	+1.3	+.002	+3.1	+3.6	+.020
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		%
John Collins	18	32.0	13.9	2.0	6.7	8.7	0.9	0.4	0.6	1.3	3.3	5.6	10.1	.549	1.1	3.1	.357	1.7	2.0	.833
difference:	+10	+12.6	+14.5	+0.1	+4.3	+4.4	+1.4	+1.6	+0.2	-1.5	-0.1	+3.5	+10.4	+.104	+0.9	+0.4	+.214	+6.4	+7.3	+.045
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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2021-22	2002-03
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
John Collins	54	30.8	16.2	1.7	6.1	7.8	1.8	0.6	1.0	1.1	3.0	6.3	11.9	.526	1.2	3.3	.364	2.5	3.1	.793
difference:	+26	+8.2	+8.9	+0.7	+2.8	+2.1	+1.2	+0.8		-0.8	-0.4	+2.3	+6.7	+.063	+0.7	+1.6	+.015	+3.5	+3.8	+.088
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		%
John Collins	5	24.4	9.4	0.4	4.2	4.6	1.2	0.4	0.2	1.0	2.4	3.8	7.8	.487	0.8	2.2	.364	1.0	2.0	.500
difference:	+12	+18.1	+15.9	+0.5	+6.4	+6.9	+1.0	+0.8	+0.7	-1.4	-0.7	+5.0	+10.6	+.008	+0.8	+1.4	+.079	+5.1	+4.6	+.412
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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2022-23	2003-04
Team	Atlanta Hawks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks 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		%
John Collins	71	30.0	13.1	1.1	5.4	6.5	1.2	0.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	5.1	10.0	.508	1.0	3.4	.292	2.0	2.5	.803
difference:	+6	+7.9	+8.7	+0.1	+2.1	+2.2	+1.5	+0.6	+0.4	-0.7	-0.3	+2.8	+7.0	+.046	+0.3	+0.4	+.049	+2.8	+3.0	+.074
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		%
John Collins	6	27.3	11.3	1.2	3.2	4.3	0.8	0.3	1.0	1.5	2.2	4.3	10.0	.433	1.8	5.3	.344	0.8	1.0	.833
difference:	+1	+14.9	+15.3	+1.4	+6.0	+7.5	+0.6	+1.1	+1.6	-0.3	-1.0	+4.7	+10.0	+.017	+0.4	+2.3	+.123	+6.4	+7.4	+.024
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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2023-24	2004-05
Team	Utah Jazz	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		%
John Collins	68	28.0	15.1	2.3	6.1	8.5	1.1	0.6	0.9	1.4	2.8	5.8	11.0	.532	1.3	3.4	.371	2.2	2.7	.795
difference:	+10	+10.7	+11.0	+1.1	+2.4	+1.2	+2.0	+0.6	+0.6	-0.9		+2.7	+7.5	+.073	+0.1	+0.5	+.028	+5.7	+6.4	+.074
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		%
John Collins	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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2024-25	2005-06
Team	Utah Jazz	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		%
John Collins	40	30.5	19.0	2.2	6.0	8.2	2.0	1.0	1.0	2.6	2.9	7.0	13.3	.527	1.5	3.7	.399	3.5	4.1	.848
difference:	+41	+7.6	+7.6	+0.8	+1.6	+0.8	+0.8	+0.3		-0.7	-0.9	+2.3	+6.0	+.047	+0.1	+0.4	+.007	+3.2	+3.3	+.053
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		%
John Collins	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
	John Collins	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2025-26	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play (season in progress)	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		%
John Collins	30	26.9	12.3	1.3	3.5	4.7	0.9	0.9	0.7	1.5	2.5	4.8	9.3	.511	1.0	3.0	.337	1.8	2.2	.818
difference:	+48	+9.3	+12.3	+0.3	+3.8	+4.2	+2.5	+0.2	+0.1	-0.6	-0.3	+3.8	+7.9	+.009	+0.1	+0.8	+.079	+4.6	+4.9	+.086
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		%
John Collins	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 John Collins 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 John Collins, 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