Dirk Nowitzki vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton 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 and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 53,373 points—. 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 has better scoring stats than Gary Payton 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 4.4 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (20.7 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 9,747 points more (31,560 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +4.4 | 21 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +9,747 | 21 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
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 Gary Payton (+11.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,508).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +11.3 | 15 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,508 | 15 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +346 | ||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +338 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +205 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +18 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +62 | ||
| Gary Payton | 47 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +50 | ||
| Gary Payton | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | |||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +5 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +4 | ||
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: | +4.4 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +6.3 | +2.4 | +2.0 | +15.0 | +4 | +187 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
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: | +9,747 | +2,461 | +5,036 | +0.5 | +850 | +1,640 | +6.3 | +3,975 | +3,759 | +15.0 | +4 | +187 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
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: | +11.3 | +2.8 | +5.6 | +2.1 | +0.1 | +5.0 | +5.4 | +5.5 | +18.6 | +9 | ||
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
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: | +1,508 | +365 | +704 | +2.1 | +12 | +27 | +5.0 | +766 | +768 | +18.6 | +9 | |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 3 seasons more than Gary Payton in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 21, from 2017 to 2019—he averaged 11.4 points in a total of 182 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 14.2 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 7.6 | +7.6 | 1992 | 8 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 19.7 | +19.7 | 2007 | 6 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2009 | 10 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 7.8 | +7.8 | 2004 | 22 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki didn't play in the postseason. |