Joel Embiid vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Joel Embiid 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 while Joel Embiid has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Dirk Nowitzki scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while Joel Embiid has a better scoring average in the regular season. 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 9 NBA regular seasons played, Joel Embiid averages 7 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (27.7 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 19,037 points more than Joel Embiid (31,560 vs. 12,523).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 27.7 | +7.0 | 9 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 12,523 | 9 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +19,037 | 21 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Joel Embiid | 2 |  +2 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Dirk Nowitzki has a better career point average than Joel Embiid (+0.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,194).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 24.9 | 7 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +0.4 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 1,469 | 7 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +2,194 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 362 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +499 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 443 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +930 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 451 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +1058 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +12 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 42 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +67 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 58 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +84 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 59 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +86 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 27.7 | 9.1 | 18.2 | 50.1 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 33.9 | 8.3 | 10.0 | 82.8 | 9 | 452 |
| difference: | +7.0 | +1.8 | +2.6 | +3.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +4.1 | +3.5 | +4.6 | +5.1 | +12 | +1,070 |
| 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 | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 12,523 | 4,117 | 8,212 | 50.1 | 532 | 1,568 | 33.9 | 3,757 | 4,538 | 82.8 | 9 | 452 |
| difference: | +19,037 | +7,052 | +15,522 | +3.1 | +1,450 | +3,642 | +4.1 | +3,483 | +3,701 | +5.1 | +12 | +1,070 |
| 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 | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 24.9 | 7.9 | 17.2 | 45.9 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 28.9 | 8.0 | 9.7 | 82.8 | 7 | 59 |
| difference: | +0.4 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +1.0 | +7.6 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +6.4 | +8 | +86 |
| 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 | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1,469 | 466 | 1,015 | 45.9 | 65 | 225 | 28.9 | 472 | 570 | 82.8 | 7 | 59 |
| difference: | +2,194 | +754 | +1,627 | +0.3 | +84 | +183 | +7.6 | +602 | +634 | +6.4 | +8 | +86 |
| 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 Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 12 seasons more than Joel Embiid 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 game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 21.4 | +21.4 | 2018 | 8 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 19.7 | +19.7 | 2007 | 6 |
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. |