Damian Lillard vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Damian Lillard 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 Damian Lillard are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 54,158 points—. Damian Lillard 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 Dirk Nowitzki scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while Damian Lillard has a better scoring average in the regular season. 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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 4.4 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (25.1 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 8,962 points more than Damian Lillard (31,560 vs. 22,598).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | +4.4 | 13 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 13 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +8,962 | 21 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Dirk Nowitzki has a better career point average than Damian Lillard (+0.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,948).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | 10 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +0.1 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 10 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,948 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 5 | +5 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 650 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +211 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 882 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +491 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 900 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +609 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +13 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 46 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +63 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 66 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +76 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 67 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +78 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | 8.1 | 18.4 | 43.9 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 37.1 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
| difference: | +4.4 | +0.8 | +2.8 | +3.2 | +1.8 | +5.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +2.0 | +8 | +622 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 7,266 | 16,568 | 43.9 | 2,804 | 7,556 | 37.1 | 5,262 | 5,853 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
| difference: | +8,962 | +3,903 | +7,166 | +3.2 | +822 | +2,346 | +0.9 | +1,978 | +2,386 | +2.0 | +8 | +622 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | 8.0 | 19.5 | 40.9 | 3.3 | 8.9 | 36.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
| difference: | +0.1 | +0.4 | +1.3 | +5.3 | +2.3 | +6.1 | +0.3 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +0.1 | +5 | +77 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 541 | 1,324 | 40.9 | 222 | 603 | 36.8 | 411 | 460 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
| difference: | +1,948 | +679 | +1,318 | +5.3 | +73 | +195 | +0.3 | +663 | +744 | +0.1 | +5 | +77 |
| 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 8 seasons more than Damian Lillard in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 21, from 2012 to 2019—he averaged 16.6 points in a total of 529 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 | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | 22.9 | +22.9 | 2014 | 11 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2009 | 10 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 21.4 points in a total of 21 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 26.8 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |