Dirk Nowitzki vs. Jermaine O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Jermaine O'Neal 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 Jermaine O'Neal.
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 Jermaine O'Neal 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 7.5 points more than Jermaine O'Neal in his 18 seasons (20.7 points against 13.2), and he also scored a total of 18,251 points more (31,560 vs. 13,309).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +7.5 | 21 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13.2 | 18 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +18,251 | 21 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13,309 | 18 | |
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 Jermaine O'Neal (+13.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,539).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +13.7 | 15 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 11.6 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +2,539 | 15 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 1,124 | 14 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +595 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 266 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +754 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 619 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +559 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 950 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | |||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 61 | +48 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +85 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 24 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +90 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 52 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +63 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 82 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 15 | +15 | ||
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: | +7.5 | +2.2 | +4.7 | +0.4 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +23.3 | +1.8 | +1.2 | +16.4 | +3 | +511 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13.2 | 5.1 | 10.9 | 46.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 71.5 | 18 | 1,011 |
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: | +18,251 | +6,025 | +12,709 | +0.4 | +1,968 | +5,115 | +23.3 | +4,233 | +4,031 | +16.4 | +3 | +511 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13,309 | 5,144 | 11,025 | 46.7 | 14 | 95 | 14.7 | 3,007 | 4,208 | 71.5 | 18 | 1,011 |
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: | +13.7 | +4.1 | +8.2 | +3.6 | +1.0 | +2.6 | +36.5 | +4.3 | +4.0 | +17.4 | +1 | +48 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 11.6 | 4.3 | 10.0 | 42.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 71.8 | 14 | 97 |
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: | +2,539 | +807 | +1,672 | +3.6 | +149 | +392 | +36.5 | +776 | +789 | +17.4 | +1 | +48 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 1,124 | 413 | 970 | 42.6 | 0 | 16 | 0.0 | 298 | 415 | 71.8 | 14 | 97 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
- Dirk Nowitzki played 2 seasons more than Jermaine O'Neal in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 20 to 21, from 2018 to 2019—he averaged 10.2 points in a total of 128 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0.0 | 1997 | 2 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0.0 | 1998 | 1 | |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2009 | 10 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.7 | +26.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 4.2 | +4.2 | 2010 | 5 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 21.2 | +21.2 | 2015 | 5 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.4 | +20.4 | 2016 | 5 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 19 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 6.0 | +6.0 | 2014 | 7 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki didn't play in the postseason. |