Sam Jones vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Sam Jones, 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.

Sam Jones played 12 years in the NBA, 9 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Sam Jones had the first of his seasons in 1957-58, 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.

Season 2
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1958-59	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	71	20.6	10.7	-	-	6.0	1.4	-	-	-	1.4	4.3	9.9	.434	-	-	-	2.1	2.8	.770
difference:	+11	+15.2	+6.8			+0.5	+1.1				-1.7	+2.0	+3.7	+.027				+1.4	+1.4	+.060
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		%
Sam Jones	11	17.5	10.3	-	-	5.7	1.5	-	-	-	1.3	3.6	9.8	.370	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.846
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1959-60	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	74	20.4	11.9	-	-	5.1	1.7	-	-	-	1.4	4.8	10.6	.454	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.764
difference:	+8	+17.7	+9.9			+4.1	+0.4				-1.6	+2.4	+4.6	+.020				+3.2	+3.6	+.074
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		%
Sam Jones	13	15.2	8.2	-	-	3.2	1.4	-	-	-	1.2	3.5	9.0	.385	-	-	-	1.3	1.6	.810
difference:	+3	+24.7	+15.2			+4.9					-2.5	+3.4	+7.3	+.038				+7.0	+7.8	+.073
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1960-61	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	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		%
Sam Jones	78	26.0	15.0	-	-	5.4	2.8	-	-	-	1.9	6.2	13.7	.449	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.787
difference:	+2	+12.0	+8.4			+4.5	+0.4				-1.0	+1.7	+2.9	+.028				+3.1	+3.4	+.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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	10	25.8	13.1	-	-	5.4	2.2	-	-	-	2.2	5.0	11.2	.446	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.886
difference:	+2	+18.8	+15.3			+7.7	+0.1				-1.2	+4.1	+9.3	+.001				+5.0	+5.8	+.008
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1961-62	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	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		%
Sam Jones	78	30.6	18.4	-	-	5.9	3.0	-	-	-	1.9	7.6	16.5	.464	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.818
difference:	+2	+8.4	+6.7			+4.0					-0.7	+1.0	+2.1	+.001				+2.9	+3.1	+.063
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		%
Sam Jones	14	36.0	20.6	-	-	7.1	3.1	-	-	-	2.1	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.700
difference:	+3	+6.5	+4.7			+4.4	+0.9				-1.0		+1.4	+.035				+3.1	+2.3	+.212
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1962-63	2003-04
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	76	30.6	19.7	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.1	8.2	17.2	.476	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.793
difference:	+1	+7.3	+2.1			+3.5	+0.5				-0.7	+0.3	+0.2	+.014				+1.4	+1.2	+.084
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		%
Sam Jones	13	34.6	23.8	-	-	6.2	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	9.2	19.1	.484	-	-	-	5.3	6.4	.831
difference:	+8	+7.6	+2.8			+5.6	+1.1					+0.2	+0.9	+.034				+1.9	+2.0	+.026
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1963-64	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	76	31.3	19.4	-	-	4.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.1	17.9	.450	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	.783
difference:	+2	+7.4	+6.7			+5.1	+0.4				-0.3	+0.4	+0.6	+.009				+4.6	+4.9	+.086
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		%
Sam Jones	10	35.6	23.2	-	-	4.7	2.3	-	-	-	2.4	9.1	18.0	.506	-	-	-	5.0	6.8	.735
difference:	+3	+6.9	+0.5			+5.4	+1.0				-0.8	+1.2	+1.7	+.104				+2.1	+1.7	+.094
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1964-65	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	80	36.1	25.9	-	-	5.1	2.8	-	-	-	2.2	10.3	22.7	.452	-	-	-	5.4	6.5	.820
difference:	+1	+2.0	+0.7			+3.9					-0.2	+1.0	+3.4	+.028				+1.3	+0.9	+.081
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		%
Sam Jones	12	41.3	28.6	-	-	4.6	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	11.3	24.5	.459	-	-	-	6.1	7.0	.869
difference:	+11	+1.4	+1.6			+7.1	+0.4				-0.5	+2.8	+6.3	+.009				+2.8	+3.0	+.026
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1965-66	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Sam Jones	67	32.2	23.5	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.5	9.3	19.9	.469	-	-	-	4.9	6.1	.799
difference:	+11	+4.0	+1.1			+3.7	+0.2				-0.3	+0.7	+2.7	+.033				+1.5	+1.0	+.105
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		%
Sam Jones	17	35.4	24.8	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.1	20.2	.449	-	-	-	6.7	8.0	.838
difference:	+11	+4.4	+5.1			+6.2	+0.8				-0.5	+3.1	+4.5	+.066				+0.3	+0.3	+.002
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1966-67	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
Sam Jones	72	32.3	22.1	-	-	4.7	3.0	-	-	-	2.7	8.9	19.5	.454	-	-	-	4.4	5.2	.857
difference:	+5	+3.7	+1.5			+3.9	+0.5				-0.1	+0.7	+2.4	+.025				+1.8	+1.9	+.022
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		%
Sam Jones	9	36.2	26.7	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.0	.459	-	-	-	5.6	6.4	.862
difference:	+4	+6.0	+0.1			+6.9	+0.9				-0.7	+2.0	+4.8	+.014				+2.8	+4.0	+.054
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
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1967-68	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	73	33.0	21.3	-	-	4.9	3.0	-	-	-	2.5	8.5	18.5	.461	-	-	-	4.3	5.2	.827
difference:	+8	+4.7	+4.6			+3.5	+0.6				-0.3	+1.1	+1.5	+.018				+1.7	+1.5	+.063
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	19	36.1	20.5	-	-	3.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	8.5	19.3	.441	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.786
difference:	+9	+3.3	+6.3			+6.7	+0.5				-1.0	+0.3	+2.3	+.077				+5.1	+4.9	+.139
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

Season 12
	Sam Jones	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1968-69	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	70	26.0	16.3	-	-	3.8	2.6	-	-	-	1.7	7.1	15.8	.450	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.783
difference:	+11	+11.5	+8.7			+3.9	+0.1				-0.9	+1.8	+2.7	+.031				+4.5	+4.5	+.132
Dirk Nowitzki	81	37.5	25.0	1.0	6.7	7.7	2.7	0.9	1.0	1.8	2.6	8.9	18.5	.481	0.6	1.5	.421	6.6	7.2	.915
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Jones	18	28.6	16.8	-	-	3.2	2.1	-	-	-	2.5	6.9	16.4	.419	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.797
difference:	+12	+10.2	+9.9			+5.0	+0.9					+2.8	+1.3	+.128				+3.6	+3.2	+.155
Dirk Nowitzki	6	38.8	26.7	1.2	7.0	8.2	3.0	0.8	0.7	1.7	2.5	9.7	17.7	.547	0.7	1.2	.571	6.7	7.0	.952

Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 9 seasons more than Sam Jones in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 21, from 2011 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Sam Jones, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 5 All-Star Game