Dirk Nowitzki vs. Tony Parker: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Tony Parker 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.

Dirk Nowitzki is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Tony Parker.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Dirk Nowitzki has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Tony Parker scored more points in the postseason. 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 21 NBA regular seasons played, Dirk Nowitzki averages 5.2 points more than Tony Parker in his 18 seasons (20.7 points against 15.5), and he also scored a total of 12,087 points more (31,560 vs. 19,473).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Dirk Nowitzki 20.7
+5.2
21
Tony Parker 15.5
18

Total Points

Seasons
Dirk Nowitzki 31,560
+12,087
21
Tony Parker 19,473
18

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Dirk Nowitzki has a better career point average than Tony Parker (+7.4 points per game) while Tony Parker scored more points (+382).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+7.4
15
Tony Parker 17.9
17

Total Points

Playoffs
Dirk Nowitzki 3,663
15
Tony Parker 4,045
+382
17

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 2
+1
Tony Parker 1

40+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 20
+17
Tony Parker 3

30+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 245
+187
Tony Parker 58

20+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 861
+477
Tony Parker 384

10+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 1,373
+403
Tony Parker 970

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dirk Nowitzki 1,509
+268
Tony Parker 1,241

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dirk Nowitzki 13
Tony Parker 13

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 1
+1
Tony Parker 0

40+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 7
+5
Tony Parker 2

30+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 46
+29
Tony Parker 17

20+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 109
+16
Tony Parker 93

10+ Point Games

Dirk Nowitzki 142
Tony Parker 193
+51

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dirk Nowitzki 145
Tony Parker 223
+78

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dirk Nowitzki 0
Tony Parker 3
+3

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:+5.2+1.1+3.0+2.1+0.9+2.1+5.6+2.1+1.8+12.8+3+268
Tony Parker 15.5 6.2 12.6 49.1 0.4 1.3 32.4 2.7 3.6 75.1 18 1,254

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:+12,087+3,392+7,904+2.1+1,463+3,607+5.6+3,840+3,714+12.8+3+268
Tony Parker 19,473 7,777 15,830 49.1 519 1,603 32.4 3,400 4,525 75.1 18 1,254

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:+7.4+1.3+2.7+0.1+0.5+1.1+5.6+4.3+4.1+16.1+2+81
Tony Parker 17.9 7.1 15.5 46.1 0.5 1.7 30.9 3.1 4.2 73.1 17 226

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:+382+393+859+0.1+30+23+5.6+374+246+16.1+2+81
Tony Parker 4,045 1,613 3,501 46.1 119 385 30.9 700 958 73.1 17 226

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 8.2
199947
Tony Parker 9.2
+1.0
200277

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 17.5
+2.0
200082
Tony Parker 15.5
2003NBA Champion82

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+7.1
200182
Tony Parker 14.7
200475

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+6.8
200276
Tony Parker 16.6
2005NBA Champion80

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.1
+6.2
200380
Tony Parker 18.9
200680

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+3.2
200477
Tony Parker 18.6
2007NBA Champion77

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.1
+7.3
200578
Tony Parker 18.8
200869

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+4.6
200681
Tony Parker 22.0
200972

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 24.6
+8.6
200778
Tony Parker 16.0
201056

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.6
+6.1
200877
Tony Parker 17.5
201178

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.9
+7.6
200981
Tony Parker 18.3
201260

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.0
+4.7
201081
Tony Parker 20.3
201366

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.0
+6.3
2011NBA Champion73
Tony Parker 16.7
2014NBA Champion68

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.6
+7.2
201262
Tony Parker 14.4
201568

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 17.3
+5.4
201353
Tony Parker 11.9
201672

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.7
+11.6
201480
Tony Parker 10.1
201763

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 17.3
+9.6
201577
Tony Parker 7.7
201855

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 18.3
+8.8
201675
Tony Parker 9.5
201956

Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons:

* Dirk Nowitzki played 3 seasons more than Tony Parker 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 gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
19990
Tony Parker 15.5
+15.5
200210

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
20000
Tony Parker 14.7
+14.7
2003NBA Champion24

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+5.0
200110
Tony Parker 18.4
200410

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 28.4
+11.2
20028
Tony Parker 17.2
2005NBA Champion23

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+4.2
200317
Tony Parker 21.1
200613

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+5.8
20045
Tony Parker 20.8
2007NBA Champion20

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 23.7
+1.3
200513
Tony Parker 22.4
200817

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 27.0
200623
Tony Parker 28.6
+1.6
20095

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 19.7
+2.4
20076
Tony Parker 17.3
201010

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.8
+7.1
20085
Tony Parker 19.7
20116

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.8
+6.7
200910
Tony Parker 20.1
201214

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.7
+6.1
20106
Tony Parker 20.6
201321

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 27.7
+10.3
2011NBA Champion21
Tony Parker 17.4
2014NBA Champion23

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 26.8
+15.9
20124
Tony Parker 10.9
20157

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
20130
Tony Parker 10.4
+10.4
201610

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 19.1
+3.2
20147
Tony Parker 15.9
20178

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 21.2
+14.6
20155
Tony Parker 6.6
20185

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Dirk Nowitzki 20.4
+20.4
20165
Tony Parker -
DNP
20190

Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs:

* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki didn't play in the postseason.