Paul Arizin vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Arizin, 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.

Paul Arizin played 10 years in the NBA, 11 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Paul Arizin had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, 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
Paul Arizin	10	8	1950-51 to 1961-62
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


Rookie Season
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1950-51	1998-99
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Paul Arizin	65	-	17.2	-	-	9.8	2.1	-	-	-	4.4	5.4	13.3	.407	-	-	-	6.4	8.1	.793
difference:	+18		+9.0			+6.4	+1.1				-2.2	+2.5	+6.2	+.002				+4.3	+5.4	+.020
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Arizin	2	-	20.5	-	-	10.0	1.5	-	-	-	5.0	7.0	13.5	.519	-	-	-	6.5	8.0	.813
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1951-52	1999-00
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	66	44.5	25.4	-	-	11.3	2.6	-	-	-	3.8	8.3	18.5	.448	-	-	-	8.8	10.7	.818
difference:	+16	+8.7	+7.9			+4.8	+0.1				-0.7	+2.0	+4.9	+.013				+5.3	+6.5	+.012
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		%
Paul Arizin	3	40.0	25.7	-	-	12.7	2.7	-	-	-	5.7	8.0	17.7	.453	-	-	-	9.7	11.0	.879
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Paul Arizin didn't play in 1952-53 and 1953-54.


Season 3
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1954-55	2000-01
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Paul Arizin	72	41.0	21.0	-	-	9.4	2.9	-	-	-	3.8	7.3	18.4	.399	-	-	-	6.3	8.1	.776
difference:	+10	+2.9	+0.8			+0.2	+0.8				-0.8	+0.1	+3.2	+.075				+0.8	+1.5	+.062
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		%
Paul Arizin	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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1955-56	2001-02
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Paul Arizin	72	37.8	24.2	-	-	7.5	2.6	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	19.1	.448	-	-	-	7.0	8.7	.810
difference:	+4	+0.2	+0.8			+2.4	+0.2				-1.0	+0.7	+2.5	+.029				+1.2	+1.9	+.043
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		%
Paul Arizin	10	40.9	28.9	-	-	8.4	2.9	-	-	-	3.1	10.3	22.9	.450	-	-	-	8.3	9.9	.838
difference:	+2	+3.7	+0.5			+4.7	+0.6				-0.3	+1.2	+2.4	+.005				+0.2	+0.6	+.040
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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1956-57	2002-03
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div 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		%
Paul Arizin	71	39.0	25.6	-	-	7.9	2.1	-	-	-	3.9	8.6	20.4	.422	-	-	-	8.3	10.0	.829
difference:	+9		+0.5			+2.0	+0.9				-1.3		+1.8	+.041				+2.3	+3.1	+.052
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		%
Paul Arizin	2	11.0	4.5	-	-	4.0	0.5	-	-	-	1.5	1.5	4.0	.375	-	-	-	1.5	2.5	.600
difference:	+15	+31.5	+20.8			+7.5	+1.7				-1.6	+7.3	+14.4	+.104				+4.6	+4.1	+.312
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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1957-58	2003-04
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Paul Arizin	68	35.0	20.7	-	-	7.4	2.0	-	-	-	3.5	7.1	18.1	.393	-	-	-	6.5	8.0	.809
difference:	+9	+2.9	+1.1			+1.3	+0.7				-0.7	+0.8	+1.1	+.069				+1.7	+2.5	+.068
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		%
Paul Arizin	8	38.6	23.5	-	-	7.8	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	8.3	21.1	.391	-	-	-	7.0	9.0	.778
difference:	+3	+3.6	+3.1			+4.0	+0.6				-0.1	+0.7	+1.1	+.059				+0.2	+0.6	+.079
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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1958-59	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	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		%
Paul Arizin	70	40.0	26.4	-	-	9.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.9	.431	-	-	-	8.4	10.3	.813
difference:	+8	+1.3	+0.3			+0.6	+1.4				-1.0	+0.5	+2.4	+.028				+0.5	+1.2	+.056
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		%
Paul Arizin	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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1959-60	2005-06
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Finals	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		%
Paul Arizin	72	36.4	22.3	-	-	8.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	8.2	19.4	.424	-	-	-	5.8	7.3	.798
difference:	+9	+1.7	+4.3			+0.4	+0.5				-1.7	+1.1	+0.1	+.056				+0.9	+0.1	+.103
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		%
Paul Arizin	9	41.2	26.3	-	-	9.6	3.7	-	-	-	3.2	9.3	21.7	.431	-	-	-	7.7	8.8	.873
difference:	+14	+1.5	+0.7			+2.1	+0.8				-0.4	+0.8	+3.5	+.037				+1.2	+1.2	+.022
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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1960-61	2006-07
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Paul Arizin	79	37.2	23.2	-	-	8.6	2.4	-	-	-	4.2	8.2	19.4	.425	-	-	-	6.7	8.1	.833
difference:	+1	+1.0	+1.4			+0.3	+1.0				-2.0	+0.4	+2.2	+.077				+0.3	+1.0	+.071
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		%
Paul Arizin	3	41.7	22.3	-	-	8.7	4.0	-	-	-	5.7	7.3	22.3	.328	-	-	-	7.7	11.0	.697
difference:	+3	+1.9	+2.6			+2.6	+1.7				-2.4	+1.3	+6.6	+.055				+0.7	+2.7	+.143
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
	Paul Arizin	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1961-62	2007-08
Team	Philadelphia Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost East Div Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Arizin	78	35.7	21.9	-	-	6.8	2.6	-	-	-	3.9	7.8	19.1	.410	-	-	-	6.2	7.7	.805
difference:	+1	+0.3	+1.7			+1.8	+0.9				-1.3	+0.4	+2.0	+.069					+0.6	+.074
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Arizin	12	38.3	23.2	-	-	6.7	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	7.9	21.1	.375	-	-	-	7.3	8.5	.863
difference:	+7	+3.9	+3.6			+5.3	+1.8				-1.1	+0.7	+2.9	+.098				+1.1	+1.9	+.055
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


Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 11 seasons more than Paul Arizin in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 21, from 2009 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 11 extra years over Paul Arizin, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 7 All-Star Game

Paul Arizin vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Arizin, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years