Michael Jordan vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Jordan 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
Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 63,852 points—. MJ is also the all-time leader in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Michael Jordan has better scoring stats than Dirk Nowitzki 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 9.4 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (30.1 points against 20.7), and he also scored a total of 732 points more (32,292 vs. 31,560).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | +9.4 | 15 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | +732 | 15 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | 21 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Michael Jordan | 10 |  +10 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Michael Jordan has a better career point average than Dirk Nowitzki (+8.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,324).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | +8.1 | 13 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | +2,324 | 13 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 4 | +4 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 926 | +65 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,059 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +314 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +437 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +13 | ||
Playoffs
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 173 | +64 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +37 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +34 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | 11.4 | 22.9 | 49.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 32.7 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 83.5 | 15 | 1,072 |
| difference: | +9.4 | +4.1 | +7.3 | +2.6 | +0.8 | +1.7 | +5.3 | +2.0 | +2.8 | +4.4 | +6 | +450 |
| 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 | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | 12,192 | 24,537 | 49.7 | 581 | 1,778 | 32.7 | 7,327 | 8,772 | 83.5 | 15 | 1,072 |
| difference: | +732 | +1,023 | +803 | +2.6 | +1,401 | +3,432 | +5.3 | +87 | +533 | +4.4 | +6 | +450 |
| 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 | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | 12.2 | 25.1 | 48.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 33.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
| difference: | +8.1 | +3.8 | +6.9 | +2.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +3.3 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +6.4 | +2 | +34 |
| 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 | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | 2,188 | 4,497 | 48.7 | 148 | 446 | 33.2 | 1,463 | 1,766 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
| difference: | +2,324 | +968 | +1,855 | +2.5 | +1 | +38 | +3.3 | +389 | +562 | +6.4 | +2 | +34 |
| 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
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 28.2 | +20.0 | 1985 | 82 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 8.2 | 1999 | 47 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 22.7 | +5.2 | 1986 | 18 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 17.5 | 2000 | 82 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 37.1 | +15.3 | 1987 | 82 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 21.8 | 2001 | 82 | |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dirk Nowitzki played 6 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 21, from 2014 to 2019—he averaged 15.7 points in a total of 414 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 | |
| Michael Jordan | 29.3 | +29.3 | 1985 | 4 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 43.7 | +43.7 | 1986 | 3 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 35.7 | +12.3 | 1987 | 3 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 23.4 | 2001 | 10 | |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2012 | 4 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 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. |