Allen Iverson vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Allen Iverson to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Dirk Nowitzki and Allen Iverson are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 55,928 points—. Allen Iverson is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Allen Iverson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Dirk Nowitzki scored more total points in both stages. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.
On this page we compare: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Allen Iverson averages 6 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (26.7 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 7,192 points more than Allen Iverson (31,560 vs. 24,368).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | +6.0 | 14 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | 14 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +7,192 | 21 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Allen Iverson | 4 |  +4 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Allen Iverson has a better career point average than Dirk Nowitzki (+4.4 points per game) while Dirk Nowitzki scored more points (+1,552).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | +4.4 | 8 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 8 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,552 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 700 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +161 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 883 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +490 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 914 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +595 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +13 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 61 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +48 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +71 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +74 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | 9.3 | 21.8 | 42.5 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 31.3 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
| difference: | +6.0 | +2.0 | +6.2 | +4.5 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +6.7 | +2.2 | +3.5 | +9.9 | +7 | +608 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 7.3 | 15.6 | 47.1 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 38.0 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 87.9 | 21 | 1,522 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | 8,467 | 19,906 | 42.5 | 1,059 | 3,383 | 31.3 | 6,375 | 8,168 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
| difference: | +7,192 | +2,702 | +3,828 | +4.5 | +923 | +1,827 | +6.7 | +865 | +71 | +9.9 | +7 | +608 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | 11,169 | 23,734 | 47.1 | 1,982 | 5,210 | 38.0 | 7,240 | 8,239 | 87.9 | 21 | 1,522 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | 10.6 | 26.5 | 40.1 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 32.7 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
| difference: | +4.4 | +2.2 | +8.3 | +6.1 | +0.7 | +2.5 | +3.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +12.8 | +7 | +74 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 8.4 | 18.2 | 46.2 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 36.5 | 7.4 | 8.3 | 89.2 | 15 | 145 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 755 | 1,882 | 40.1 | 123 | 376 | 32.7 | 478 | 626 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
| difference: | +1,552 | +465 | +760 | +6.1 | +26 | +32 | +3.8 | +596 | +578 | +12.8 | +7 | +74 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | 1,220 | 2,642 | 46.2 | 149 | 408 | 36.5 | 1,074 | 1,204 | 89.2 | 15 | 145 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 7 seasons more than Allen Iverson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 21, from 2013 to 2019—he averaged 15.9 points in a total of 467 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 21.7 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1997 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2006 | 23 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.7 | +27.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2012 | 4 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.1 points in a total of 17 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |