Jamal Murray vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Jamal Murray 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 Jamal Murray.

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 Jamal Murray 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 21 NBA regular seasons played, Dirk Nowitzki averages 2.6 points more than Jamal Murray in his 9 seasons (20.7 points against 18.1), and he also scored a total of 21,595 points more (31,560 vs. 9,965).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Jamal Murray 18.1
9
Dirk Nowitzki 20.7
+2.6
21

Total Points

Seasons
Jamal Murray 9,965
9
Dirk Nowitzki 31,560
+21,595
21

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 Jamal Murray (+1.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,787).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Jamal Murray 23.7
5
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+1.6
15

Total Points

Playoffs
Jamal Murray 1,876
5
Dirk Nowitzki 3,663
+1,787
15

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 2
Dirk Nowitzki 2

40+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 7
Dirk Nowitzki 20
+13

30+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 58
Dirk Nowitzki 245
+187

20+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 233
Dirk Nowitzki 861
+628

10+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 457
Dirk Nowitzki 1,373
+916

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jamal Murray 544
Dirk Nowitzki 1,509
+965

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jamal Murray 7
Dirk Nowitzki 13
+6

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 2
+1
Dirk Nowitzki 1

40+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 6
Dirk Nowitzki 7
+1

30+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 19
Dirk Nowitzki 46
+27

20+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 49
Dirk Nowitzki 109
+60

10+ Point Games

Jamal Murray 77
Dirk Nowitzki 142
+65

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jamal Murray 79
Dirk Nowitzki 145
+66

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jamal Murray 0
Dirk Nowitzki 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jamal Murray 18.1 6.7 14.6 45.6 2.1 5.6 38.1 2.6 3.0 87.1 9 551
difference:+2.6+0.6+1.0+1.5+0.8+2.2+0.1+2.2+2.4+0.8+12+971
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

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jamal Murray 9,965 3,675 8,061 45.6 1,184 3,109 38.1 1,431 1,642 87.1 9 551
difference:+21,595+7,494+15,673+1.5+798+2,101+0.1+5,809+6,597+0.8+12+971
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

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jamal Murray 23.7 8.8 19.4 45.7 2.6 6.8 38.3 3.5 3.8 90.4 5 79
difference:+1.6+0.4+1.2+0.5+1.6+4.0+1.8+3.9+4.5+1.2+10+66
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3 8.4 18.2 46.2 1.0 2.8 36.5 7.4 8.3 89.2 15 145

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jamal Murray 1,876 698 1,529 45.7 206 538 38.3 274 303 90.4 5 79
difference:+1,787+522+1,113+0.5+57+130+1.8+800+901+1.2+10+66
Dirk Nowitzki 3,663 1,220 2,642 46.2 149 408 36.5 1,074 1,204 89.2 15 145

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 9.9
+1.7
201782
Dirk Nowitzki 8.2
199947

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 16.7
201881
Dirk Nowitzki 17.5
+0.8
200082

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 18.2
201975
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+3.6
200182

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 18.5
202059
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+4.9
200276

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 21.2
202148
Dirk Nowitzki 25.1
+3.9
200380

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 20.0
2023NBA Champion65
Dirk Nowitzki 21.8
+1.8
200477

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 21.2
202459
Dirk Nowitzki 26.1
+4.9
200578

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 21.4
202567
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+5.2
200681

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 22.8
202615
Dirk Nowitzki 24.6
+1.8
200778

Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons:

* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Jamal Murray 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
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20170
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
19990

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20180
Dirk Nowitzki -
DNP
20000

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 21.3
201914
Dirk Nowitzki 23.4
+2.1
200110

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 26.5
202019
Dirk Nowitzki 28.4
+1.9
20028

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20210
Dirk Nowitzki 25.3
+25.3
200317

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 26.1
2023NBA Champion20
Dirk Nowitzki 26.6
+0.5
20045

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 20.6
202412
Dirk Nowitzki 23.7
+3.1
200513

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray 21.8
202514
Dirk Nowitzki 27.0
+5.2
200623

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Jamal Murray -
DNP *
20260
Dirk Nowitzki 19.7
+19.7
20076
* season in progress

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.