Kyrie Irving vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Kyrie Irving 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 Kyrie Irving 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 Kyrie Irving 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 14 NBA regular seasons played, Kyrie Irving averages 3 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (23.7 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 13,127 points more than Kyrie Irving (31,560 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | +3.0 | 14 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +13,127 | 21 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Dirk Nowitzki has a better career point average than Kyrie Irving (+2.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,452).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 7 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +2.3 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,452 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +326 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +634 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +732 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +11 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +43 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +50 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +49 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +3.0 | +1.4 | +2.8 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +2.7 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +7 | +743 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +13,127 | +4,382 | +9,421 | +0.4 | +106 | +447 | +1.4 | +4,257 | +4,879 | +0.9 | +7 | +743 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +2.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.3 | +3.2 | +2.7 | +3.7 | +4.1 | +0.9 | +8 | +49 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +1,452 | +405 | +861 | +0.4 | +76 | +166 | +2.7 | +718 | +801 | +0.9 | +8 | +49 |
| 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 ChampionRegular Season
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 7 seasons more than Kyrie Irving in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 21, from 2013 to 2019—he averaged 15.9 points in a total of 467 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 21.7 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 23.4 | +23.4 | 2001 | 10 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 23.7 | +23.7 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 19.7 | +19.7 | 2007 | 6 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.7 | +26.7 | 2010 | 6 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2012 | 4 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.1 points in a total of 17 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |