Julius Erving vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Julius Erving, 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings

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.

Julius Erving played 11 years in the NBA, 10 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, 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.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Julius Erving 11 11 1976-77 to 1986-87
Dirk Nowitzki 21 15 1998-99 to 2018-19

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

Rookie Season

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1976-771998-99
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 82 35.9 21.6 2.3 6.1 8.5 3.7 1.9 1.4 - 3.1 8.4 16.7 .499 - - - 4.9 6.3 .777
difference:+35+15.5+13.4+1.4+3.5+5.1+2.7+1.3+0.8-0.9+5.5+9.6+.094+2.8+3.6+.004
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 19 39.9 27.3 2.2 4.3 6.4 4.5 2.2 1.2 - 2.4 10.7 20.5 .523 - - - 5.8 7.1 .821
Dirk Nowitzki DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1977-781999-00
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 74 32.8 20.6 2.4 4.1 6.5 3.8 1.8 1.3 3.2 2.8 8.3 16.4 .502 - - - 4.1 4.9 .845
difference:+8+3.0+3.1+1.2+1.1+1.3+1.0+0.5-1.5-0.3+2.0+2.8+.041+0.6+0.7+.015
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 10 35.8 21.8 4.0 5.7 9.7 4.0 1.5 1.8 3.5 3.0 8.8 18.0 .489 - - - 4.2 5.6 .750
Dirk Nowitzki DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1978-792000-01
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf SemisMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 78 35.9 23.1 2.5 4.7 7.2 4.6 1.7 1.3 4.0 2.7 9.2 18.7 .491 - - - 4.8 6.4 .745
difference:+4+2.2+1.3+1.0+3.0+2.0+2.5+0.7+0.1-2.1-0.3+2.0+3.5+.017+0.7+0.2+.093
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 9 41.3 25.4 3.2 4.6 7.8 5.9 2.0 1.9 4.2 2.4 9.9 19.1 .517 - - - 5.7 7.4 .761
difference:+1+1.4+2.0+1.8+2.1+0.3+4.5+0.9+1.1-2.8-1.3+3.0+2.8+.094+2.6+2.0+.122
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1979-802001-02
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 78 36.1 26.9 2.8 4.6 7.4 4.6 2.2 1.8 3.6 2.7 10.7 20.7 .519 0.1 0.3 .200 5.4 6.8 .787
difference:+2+1.9+3.5+1.2+3.8+2.5+2.2+1.1+0.8-1.7-0.2+2.8+4.1+.042+1.7+4.3+.197+0.4+.066
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 18 38.6 24.4 1.7 5.8 7.6 4.4 2.0 2.1 3.1 3.1 9.2 18.8 .488 0.1 0.5 .222 6.0 7.6 .794
difference:+10+6.0+4.0+0.4+5.2+5.5+2.1+1.3-0.3-0.3+0.1+1.7+.043+1.9+3.0+.349+2.1+1.7+.084
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1980-812002-03
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsMavericks Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 82 35.0 24.6 3.0 5.0 8.0 4.4 2.1 1.8 3.2 2.8 9.7 18.6 .521 0.0 0.2 .222 5.1 6.5 .787
difference:+2+4.0+0.5+2.0+3.9+1.9+1.4+0.7+0.8-1.3-0.2+1.1+.058+1.9+4.7+.157+0.9+0.4+.094
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 16 37.0 22.9 3.3 3.9 7.1 3.4 1.4 2.6 3.4 3.4 8.9 18.8 .475 0.0 0.1 .000 5.1 6.7 .757
difference:+1+5.5+2.4+2.4+6.7+4.4+1.2+0.2+1.7-1.0-0.3+0.1+0.4+.004+1.6+3.5+.443+1.0+0.1+.155
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1981-822003-04
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsMavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 81 34.4 24.4 2.7 4.2 6.9 3.9 2.0 1.7 2.6 2.8 9.6 17.6 .546 0.0 0.1 .273 5.1 6.7 .763
difference:+4+3.5+2.6+1.5+3.3+1.8+1.2+0.8+0.3-0.8+1.7+0.6+.084+1.3+3.7+.068+0.3+1.2+.114
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 21 37.1 22.0 2.7 4.7 7.4 4.7 1.8 1.8 3.2 2.6 8.0 15.4 .519 0.0 0.3 .167 5.9 7.9 .752
difference:+16+5.1+4.6+0.1+4.5+4.4+3.3+0.4+0.8-2.0-0.6+1.0+4.6+.069+1.4+2.7+.300+1.3+0.5+.105
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1982-832004-05
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 72 33.6 21.4 2.4 4.4 6.8 3.7 1.6 1.8 2.7 2.8 8.4 16.3 .517 0.0 0.1 .286 4.6 6.0 .759
difference:+6+5.1+4.7+1.2+4.1+2.9+0.6+0.4+0.3-0.4+0.1+2.2+.058+1.2+2.8+.113+3.3+3.1+.110
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 13 37.9 18.4 2.5 5.2 7.6 3.4 1.2 2.1 3.0 3.2 7.3 16.2 .450 0.0 0.1 .000 3.8 5.2 .721
difference:+4.6+5.3+0.6+3.0+2.5+0.1+0.2+0.5-0.5+0.6+3.5+.048+0.8+2.2+.333+3.3+3.3+.108
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1983-842005-06
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf 1st RdMavericks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 77 34.8 22.4 2.5 4.4 6.9 4.0 1.8 1.8 3.0 2.8 8.8 17.2 .512 0.1 0.3 .333 4.7 6.3 .754
difference:+4+3.3+4.2+1.1+3.2+2.1+1.2+1.1+0.8-1.1-0.8+0.5+2.1+.032+1.3+3.0+.073+2.0+1.1+.147
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 5 38.8 18.2 1.8 4.6 6.4 5.0 1.6 1.2 4.2 2.8 7.2 15.2 .474 0.0 0.2 .000 3.8 4.4 .864
difference:+18+3.9+8.8+0.2+5.0+5.3+2.1+0.5+0.6-2.1+1.3+3.0+.006+1.0+2.7+.343+5.1+5.6+.031
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

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1984-852006-07
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsMavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 78 32.5 20.0 2.2 3.1 5.3 3.0 1.7 1.4 2.7 2.6 7.8 15.8 .494 0.0 0.2 .214 4.3 5.7 .765
difference:+3.7+4.6+0.6+4.2+3.6+0.4+1.0+0.6-0.6-0.4+0.8+1.4+.008+0.9+2.0+.202+2.1+1.4+.139
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 13 33.4 17.1 2.2 3.4 5.6 3.7 1.9 0.8 2.8 2.6 6.5 14.4 .449 0.0 0.1 .000 4.2 4.8 .857
difference:+7+6.4+2.6+2.0+3.8+5.7+1.4+0.1+0.5-0.5-0.7+0.5+1.3+.066+0.7+3.1+.211+2.8+3.5+.017
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

Season 10

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1985-862007-08
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf SemisMavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 74 33.4 18.1 2.3 2.7 5.0 3.4 1.5 1.1 2.9 2.6 7.0 14.7 .480 0.1 0.4 .281 3.9 5.0 .785
difference:+3+2.6+5.5+1.1+4.6+3.6+0.1+0.8+0.2-0.8+1.2+2.4+.001+0.9+2.5+.078+2.3+2.1+.094
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 12 36.1 17.7 2.2 3.7 5.8 4.2 0.9 1.3 3.3 2.7 6.8 15.0 .450 0.2 0.9 .182 4.0 5.4 .738
difference:+7+6.1+9.1+0.2+6.3+6.2+0.2+0.7+0.1-1.3-0.1+1.8+3.2+.023+1.0+2.7+.151+4.4+5.0+.070
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

Season 11

Julius Erving Dirk Nowitzki
Season 1986-872008-09
Team Philadelphia 76ersDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf 1st RdMavericks Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 60 32.0 16.8 1.9 2.5 4.4 3.2 1.3 1.6 2.6 2.3 6.7 14.2 .471 0.2 0.9 .264 3.2 3.9 .813
difference:+21+5.7+9.1+0.8+4.8+4.0+0.8+0.5+0.8-0.7-0.1+2.9+5.8+.008+0.6+1.2+.095+2.8+2.8+.077
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Julius Erving 5 36.0 18.2 2.8 2.2 5.0 3.4 1.4 1.2 1.8 3.8 6.8 16.4 .415 0.4 1.2 .333 4.2 5.0 .840
difference:+5+3.4+8.6+1.6+6.7+5.1+0.3+0.5+0.4-0.5-1.7+2.0+0.6+.103+0.2+0.9+.047+4.4+4.3+.085
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

Additional Years

* Dirk Nowitzki played 10 seasons more than Julius Erving in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 12 to 21, from 2010 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 10 extra years over Julius Erving, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 6 All-Star Game