Dirk Nowitzki vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Dirk Nowitzki 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 and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Arvydas Sabonis.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Dirk Nowitzki has better scoring stats than Arvydas Sabonis in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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 21 NBA regular seasons played, Dirk Nowitzki averages 8.7 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (20.7 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 25,931 points more (31,560 vs. 5,629).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +8.7 | 21 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 7 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +25,931 | 21 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 7 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Dirk Nowitzki has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+13.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,046).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +13.2 | 15 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 7 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +3,046 | 15 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20 | +20 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +795 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +1076 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 297 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +1050 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 459 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +2 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 46 | +46 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +103 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 6 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +107 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 35 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +96 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 49 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 2 | +2 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +8.7 | +2.9 | +6.7 | +3.0 | +1.0 | +2.5 | +5.2 | +2.0 | +1.8 | +9.3 | +14 | +1,052 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 32.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +25,931 | +9,087 | +19,574 | +3.0 | +1,846 | +4,795 | +5.2 | +5,911 | +6,549 | +9.3 | +14 | +1,052 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 2,082 | 4,160 | 50.0 | 136 | 415 | 32.8 | 1,329 | 1,690 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 8.4 | 18.2 | 46.2 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 36.5 | 7.4 | 8.3 | 89.2 | 15 | 145 |
| difference: | +13.2 | +4.0 | +8.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +1.9 | +4.6 | +4.3 | +4.4 | +9.0 | +8 | +94 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 45.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 31.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | 1,220 | 2,642 | 46.2 | 149 | 408 | 36.5 | 1,074 | 1,204 | 89.2 | 15 | 145 |
| difference: | +3,046 | +998 | +2,151 | +1.0 | +134 | +361 | +4.6 | +916 | +1,007 | +9.0 | +8 | +94 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 222 | 491 | 45.2 | 15 | 47 | 31.9 | 158 | 197 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 14 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 21, from 2006 to 2019—he averaged 20.5 points in a total of 1,000 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 26.6 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 23.6 | +23.6 | 1996 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | +11.3 | 1997 | 4 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 14 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 92 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.7 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |