Anthony Davis vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Anthony Davis 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 is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Anthony Davis has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Anthony Davis 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, Anthony Davis averages 3.4 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (24.1 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 12,478 points more than Anthony Davis (31,560 vs. 19,082).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Anthony Davis | 24.1 | +3.4 | 14 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Anthony Davis | 19,082 | 14 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +12,478 | 21 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Anthony Davis has a better career point average than Dirk Nowitzki (+0.8 points per game) while Dirk Nowitzki scored more points (+2,097).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Anthony Davis | 26.1 | +0.8 | 6 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Anthony Davis | 1,566 | 6 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +2,097 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 537 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +324 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 735 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +638 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 789 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +720 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 3 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +10 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 46 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +63 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 58 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +84 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 59 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +86 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 24.1 | 9.0 | 17.3 | 52.2 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 29.5 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 79.4 | 14 | 792 |
| difference: | +3.4 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +5.2 | +0.8 | +1.8 | +8.5 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +8.5 | +7 | +730 |
| 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 | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 19,082 | 7,139 | 13,664 | 52.2 | 378 | 1,280 | 29.5 | 4,426 | 5,577 | 79.4 | 14 | 792 |
| difference: | +12,478 | +4,030 | +10,070 | +5.2 | +1,604 | +3,930 | +8.5 | +2,814 | +2,662 | +8.5 | +7 | +730 |
| 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 | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 26.1 | 9.6 | 17.7 | 54.2 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 31.3 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 84.0 | 6 | 60 |
| difference: | +0.8 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +8.0 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +5.2 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +5.2 | +9 | +85 |
| 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 | ||||
| Anthony Davis | 1,566 | 574 | 1,059 | 54.2 | 36 | 115 | 31.3 | 382 | 455 | 84.0 | 6 | 60 |
| difference: | +2,097 | +646 | +1,583 | +8.0 | +113 | +293 | +5.2 | +692 | +749 | +5.2 | +9 | +85 |
| 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 ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 6 seasons more than Anthony Davis in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 21, from 2014 to 2019—he averaged 15.7 points in a total of 414 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 | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 28.4 | +28.4 | 2002 | 8 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +25.3 | 2003 | 17 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 23.7 | +23.7 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.7 | +27.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2012 | 4 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Anthony Davis | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 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. |