Steve Francis vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Francis, 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 Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Steve Francis played 9 years in the NBA, 12 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Steve Francis had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, 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
Steve Francis	9	1	1999-00 to 2007-08
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


Rookie Season
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1999-00	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First 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		%
Steve Francis	77	36.1	18.0	2.0	3.3	5.3	6.6	1.5	0.4	4.0	3.0	6.5	14.5	.445	1.4	4.0	.345	3.7	4.7	.786
difference:	+30	+15.7	+9.8	+1.1	+0.7	+1.9	+5.6	+0.9	+0.2	-2.4	-0.8	+3.6	+7.4	+.040	+1.1	+2.6	+.139	+1.6	+2.0	+.013
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 Steve Francis nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2000-01	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	80	39.9	19.9	2.4	4.5	6.9	6.5	1.8	0.4	3.3	3.4	6.9	15.2	.451	1.7	4.2	.396	4.5	5.5	.817
difference:	+2	+4.1	+2.4	+1.2	+0.7	+0.4	+4.0	+1.0	+0.4	-1.6	-0.3	+0.6	+1.6	+.010	+0.3	+0.5	+.017	+1.0	+1.3	+.013
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
* Neiher Steve Francis nor Dirk Nowitzki played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2001-02	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	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		%
Steve Francis	57	41.1	21.6	1.8	5.2	7.0	6.4	1.2	0.4	3.9	3.0	7.4	17.7	.417	1.2	3.7	.324	5.7	7.4	.773
difference:	+25	+3.0	+0.2	+0.3	+2.5	+2.2	+4.3	+0.2	+0.8	-2.0		+0.2	+2.5	+.057	+0.6	+1.1	+.063	+0.2	+0.8	+.065
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		%
Steve Francis	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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2002-03	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	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		%
Steve Francis	81	41.0	21.0	2.0	4.2	6.2	6.2	1.7	0.5	3.7	3.1	7.0	16.2	.435	1.0	3.0	.354	5.9	7.3	.800
difference:	+5	+3.0	+2.4	+0.4	+4.2	+3.7	+3.8	+0.6	+0.5	-1.8	-0.2	+0.9	+0.4	+.042	+0.8	+1.6	+.043	+0.1	+0.5	+.053
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		%
Steve Francis	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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2003-04	2002-03
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Steve Francis	79	40.4	16.6	1.5	4.0	5.5	6.2	1.8	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.7	14.1	.403	0.9	3.2	.292	4.3	5.5	.775
difference:	+1	+1.4	+8.5	+0.5	+4.9	+4.4	+3.2	+0.4	+0.6	-1.8	-0.7	+2.9	+4.5	+.060	+1.0	+1.7	+.087	+1.7	+1.4	+.106
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		%
Steve Francis	5	44.6	19.2	1.2	7.2	8.4	7.6	1.4	0.2	4.2	3.6	6.0	14.0	.429	1.4	3.4	.412	5.8	8.0	.725
difference:	+12	+2.1	+6.1	+0.3	+3.4	+3.1	+5.4	+0.2	+0.7	-1.8	-0.5	+2.8	+4.4	+.050	+0.2	+0.2	+.031	+0.3	+1.4	+.187
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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2004-05	2003-04
Team	Orlando Magic	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	78	38.2	21.3	1.6	4.2	5.8	7.0	1.4	0.4	4.1	3.5	7.2	17.1	.423	0.5	1.6	.299	6.4	7.8	.823
difference:	+1	+0.3	+0.5	+0.4	+3.3	+2.9	+4.3	+0.2	+1.0	-2.3	-0.7	+0.7	+0.1	+.039	+0.8	+2.2	+.042	+1.6	+2.3	+.054
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2005-06	2004-05
Team	Orlando Magic, New York Knicks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Steve Francis	70	34.2	14.4	1.1	3.1	4.1	4.9	1.1	0.2	3.1	2.9	4.8	10.9	.435	0.4	1.2	.301	4.5	5.7	.787
difference:	+8	+4.5	+11.7	+0.1	+5.4	+5.6	+1.8	+0.1	+1.3	-0.8	-0.1	+3.7	+7.6	+.024	+0.8	+1.7	+.098	+3.4	+3.4	+.082
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		%
Steve Francis	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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2006-07	2005-06
Team	New York Knicks	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Steve Francis	44	28.1	11.3	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.9	0.9	0.3	2.3	2.9	3.2	7.8	.408	1.0	2.5	.378	4.0	4.8	.829
difference:	+37	+10.0	+15.3	+0.6	+4.8	+5.4	+1.1	+0.2	+0.7	-0.4	-0.9	+6.1	+11.5	+.072	+0.4	+0.8	+.028	+2.7	+2.6	+.072
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		%
Steve Francis	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
	Steve Francis	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	2007-08	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	10	19.9	5.5	0.8	1.5	2.3	3.0	0.9	0.5	1.4	2.5	1.9	5.7	.333	0.4	1.7	.235	1.3	2.3	.565
difference:	+68	+16.3	+19.1	+0.8	+5.8	+6.6	+0.4	+0.2	+0.3	-0.7	-0.3	+6.7	+11.5	+.169	+0.5	+0.5	+.181	+5.1	+4.8	+.339
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		%
Steve Francis	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 Steve Francis 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 Steve Francis, 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

Steve Francis vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Francis, 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

Additional Years