Rick Barry vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Barry, 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.

Rick Barry played 10 years in the NBA, 11 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Rick Barry had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, 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
Rick Barry	10	7	1965-66 to 1979-80
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1965-66	1998-99
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Rick Barry	80	37.4	25.7	-	-	10.6	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	9.3	21.2	.439	-	-	-	7.1	8.3	.862
difference:	+33	+17.0	+17.5			+7.2	+1.2				-1.5	+6.4	+14.1	+.034				+5.0	+5.6	+.089
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 Rick Barry nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1966-67	1999-00
Team	San Francisco Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Rick Barry	78	40.7	35.6	-	-	9.2	3.6	-	-	-	3.3	13.0	28.7	.451	-	-	-	9.7	10.9	.884
difference:	+4	+4.9	+18.1			+2.7	+1.1				-0.2	+6.7	+15.1	+.010				+6.2	+6.7	+.054
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		%
Rick Barry	15	40.9	34.7	-	-	7.5	3.9	-	-	-	3.3	13.1	32.6	.403	-	-	-	8.5	10.5	.809
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Rick Barry didn't play in 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72.


Season 3
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1972-73	2000-01
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Rick Barry	82	37.5	22.3	-	-	8.9	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	9.0	19.9	.452	-	-	-	4.4	4.8	.902
difference:		+0.6	+0.5			+0.3	+2.8					+1.8	+4.7	+.022				+1.1	+1.8	+.064
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		%
Rick Barry	11	26.5	16.4	-	-	4.9	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	5.9	14.9	.396	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.909
difference:	+1	+13.4	+7.0			+3.2	+0.8					+1.0	+1.4	+.027				+3.8	+4.4	+.026
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1973-74	2001-02
Team	Golden State 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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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rick Barry	80	36.5	25.1	1.3	5.5	6.8	6.1	2.1	0.5	-	3.3	10.0	21.8	.456	-	-	-	5.2	5.8	.899
difference:	+4	+1.5	+1.7	+0.3	+2.9	+3.1	+3.7	+1.0	+0.5		-0.4	+2.1	+5.2	+.021				+0.6	+1.0	+.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		%
Rick Barry	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1974-75	2002-03
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Rick Barry	80	40.4	30.6	1.2	4.6	5.7	6.2	2.9	0.4	-	2.8	12.9	27.7	.464	-	-	-	4.9	5.5	.904
difference:		+1.4	+5.5	+0.2	+4.3	+4.2	+3.2	+1.5	+0.6		-0.2	+4.3	+9.1	+.001				+1.1	+1.4	+.023
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		%
Rick Barry	17	42.7	28.2	1.3	4.2	5.5	6.1	2.9	0.9	-	3.0	11.1	25.1	.444	-	-	-	5.9	6.5	.918
difference:		+0.2	+2.9	+0.4	+6.4	+6.0	+3.9	+1.7			-0.1	+2.3	+6.7	+.035				+0.2	+0.1	+.006
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1975-76	2003-04
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf 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		%
Rick Barry	81	38.5	21.0	0.9	5.2	6.1	6.1	2.5	0.3	-	2.7	8.7	20.0	.435	-	-	-	3.5	3.8	.923
difference:	+4	+0.6	+0.8	+0.3	+2.3	+2.6	+3.4	+1.3	+1.1		-0.1	+0.8	+3.0	+.027				+1.3	+1.7	+.046
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		%
Rick Barry	13	40.9	24.0	1.5	4.9	6.5	6.5	2.9	1.1	-	3.1	9.7	22.2	.436	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	.882
difference:	+8	+1.3	+2.6	+1.1	+4.3	+5.3	+5.1	+1.5	+1.5		-0.1	+0.7	+2.2	+.014				+2.6	+3.2	+.025
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1976-77	2004-05
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West 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		%
Rick Barry	79	36.8	21.8	0.9	4.4	5.3	6.0	2.2	0.7	-	2.5	8.6	19.6	.440	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.916
difference:	+1	+1.9	+4.3	+0.3	+4.1	+4.4	+2.9	+1.0	+0.8		-0.3	+0.1	+1.1	+.019				+3.4	+4.1	+.047
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		%
Rick Barry	10	41.5	28.4	2.5	3.4	5.9	4.7	1.7	0.7	-	3.2	12.2	26.2	.466	-	-	-	4.0	4.4	.909
difference:	+3	+1.0	+4.7	+0.6	+4.8	+4.2	+1.4	+0.3	+0.9			+4.3	+6.5	+.064				+3.1	+4.1	+.080
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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1977-78	2005-06
Team	Golden State Warriors	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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		%
Rick Barry	82	36.9	23.1	0.9	4.6	5.5	5.4	1.9	0.5	2.7	2.3	9.3	20.6	.451	-	-	-	4.6	5.0	.924
difference:	+1	+1.2	+3.5	+0.5	+3.0	+3.5	+2.6	+1.2	+0.5	-0.8	-0.3		+1.3	+.029				+2.1	+2.4	+.023
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		%
Rick Barry	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
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1978-79	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Rick Barry	80	32.1	13.5	0.5	3.0	3.5	6.3	1.2	0.5	2.5	2.4	5.8	12.5	.461	-	-	-	2.0	2.1	.947
difference:	+2	+4.1	+11.1	+1.1	+4.3	+5.4	+2.9	+0.5	+0.3	-0.4	-0.2	+2.8	+4.7	+.041				+4.4	+5.0	+.043
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		%
Rick Barry	2	32.5	12.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	4.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	4.0	12.5	.320	-	-	-	4.0	4.0	1.000
difference:	+4	+7.3	+7.7	+3.2	+4.2	+7.3	+2.2	+1.8	+0.3	-1.3	-0.7	+2.0	+3.2	+.063				+3.0	+4.3	+.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


Season 10
	Rick Barry	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1979-80	2007-08
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Rick Barry	72	25.2	12.0	0.7	2.5	3.3	3.7	1.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	4.5	10.7	.422	1.0	3.1	.330	2.0	2.1	.935
difference:	+5	+10.8	+11.6	+0.5	+4.8	+5.3	+0.2	+0.4	+0.5		-0.1	+3.7	+6.4	+.057		+0.2	+.029	+4.2	+5.0	+.056
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		%
Rick Barry	6	13.2	5.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.7	1.8	2.0	5.5	.364	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+1	+29.0	+21.3	+2.0	+9.0	+11.0	+1.5		+1.2	-0.3	-0.8	+6.6	+12.7	+.109	+0.7	+1.6	+.083	+7.4	+9.4	+.192
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 Rick Barry 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 Rick Barry, 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

Rick Barry vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Barry, 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