Dirk Nowitzki vs. Domantas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Domantas 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.

Player comparisons:
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 Domantas 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 Domantas 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 21 NBA regular seasons played, Dirk Nowitzki averages 4.6 points more than Domantas Sabonis in his 9 seasons (20.7 points against 16.1), and he also scored a total of 21,159 points more (31,560 vs. 10,401).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Dirk Nowitzki 20.7
+4.6
21
Domantas Sabonis 16.1
9

Total Points

Seasons
Dirk Nowitzki 31,560
+21,159
21
Domantas Sabonis 10,401
9

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 Domantas Sabonis (+13.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,423).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+13.3
15
Domantas Sabonis 12.0
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Dirk Nowitzki 3,663
+3,423
15
Domantas Sabonis 240
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 2
+2
Domantas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 20
+19
Domantas Sabonis 1

30+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 245
+217
Domantas Sabonis 28

20+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 861
+654
Domantas Sabonis 207

10+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 1,373
+861
Domantas Sabonis 512

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dirk Nowitzki 1,509
+871
Domantas Sabonis 638

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dirk Nowitzki 13
+5
Domantas Sabonis 8

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 1
+1
Domantas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 7
+7
Domantas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 46
+46
Domantas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 109
+105
Domantas Sabonis 4

10+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 142
+130
Domantas Sabonis 12

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dirk Nowitzki 145
+126
Domantas Sabonis 19

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dirk Nowitzki 0
Domantas Sabonis 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+4.6+1.0+4.4+8.9+0.8+2.0+3.3+1.8+1.3+15.0+12+876
Domantas Sabonis 16.1 6.3 11.2 56.0 0.5 1.4 34.7 3.0 4.1 72.9 9 646

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:+21,159+7,101+16,468+8.9+1,672+4,317+3.3+5,285+5,559+15.0+12+876
Domantas Sabonis 10,401 4,068 7,266 56.0 310 893 34.7 1,955 2,680 72.9 9 646

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:+13.3+3.5+8.5+4.1+0.8+1.9+18.9+5.2+5.1+22.0+11+125
Domantas Sabonis 12.0 4.9 9.7 50.3 0.2 0.9 17.6 2.2 3.2 67.2 4 20

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:+3,423+1,123+2,449+4.1+146+391+18.9+1,031+1,140+22.0+11+125
Domantas Sabonis 240 97 193 50.3 3 17 17.6 43 64 67.2 4 20

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 8.2
+2.3
199947
Domantas Sabonis 5.9
201781

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 17.5
+5.9
200082
Domantas Sabonis 11.6
201874

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+7.7
200182
Domantas Sabonis 14.1
201974

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+4.9
200276
Domantas Sabonis 18.5
202062

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.1
+4.8
200380
Domantas Sabonis 20.3
202162

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+2.9
200477
Domantas Sabonis 18.9
202262

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.1
+7.0
200578
Domantas Sabonis 19.1
202379

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+7.2
200681
Domantas Sabonis 19.4
202482

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 24.6
+5.5
200778
Domantas Sabonis 19.1
202570

Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons:

* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Domantas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 10 to 21, from 2008 to 2019—he averaged 19.5 points in a total of 841 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25.9 ppg and his lowest 7.3.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
19990
Domantas Sabonis 2.0
+2.0
20172

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
20000
Domantas Sabonis 12.4
+12.4
20187

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+14.9
200110
Domantas Sabonis 8.5
20194

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 28.4
+28.4
20028
Domantas Sabonis -
DNP
20200

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+25.3
200317
Domantas Sabonis -
DNP
20210

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+26.6
20045
Domantas Sabonis -
DNP
20220

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.7
+7.3
200513
Domantas Sabonis 16.4
20237

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 27.0
+27.0
200623
Domantas Sabonis -
DNP
20240

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 19.7
+19.7
20076
Domantas Sabonis -
DNP
20250

Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs:

* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 8 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 63 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.7 ppg and his lowest 19.1.

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