Paolo Banchero vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Paolo Banchero 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 while Paolo Banchero 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 Paolo Banchero has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Dirk Nowitzki scored more total points in both stages. 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 4 NBA regular seasons played, Paolo Banchero averages 1.7 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (22.4 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 27,013 points more than Paolo Banchero (31,560 vs. 4,547).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Paolo Banchero | 22.4 | +1.7 | 4 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Paolo Banchero | 4,547 | 4 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +27,013 | 21 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Paolo Banchero has a better career point average than Dirk Nowitzki (+2.7 points per game) while Dirk Nowitzki scored more points (+3,327).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Paolo Banchero | 28.0 | +2.7 | 2 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Paolo Banchero | 336 | 2 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +3,327 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 133 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +728 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 195 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +1178 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 203 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +1306 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +13 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 10 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +99 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 11 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +131 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 12 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +133 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 22.4 | 7.7 | 17.4 | 44.4 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 31.7 | 5.5 | 7.6 | 73.1 | 4 | 203 |
| difference: | +1.7 | +0.4 | +1.8 | +2.7 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +6.3 | +0.7 | +2.2 | +14.8 | +17 | +1,319 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 4,547 | 1,566 | 3,527 | 44.4 | 294 | 927 | 31.7 | 1,121 | 1,534 | 73.1 | 4 | 203 |
| difference: | +27,013 | +9,603 | +20,207 | +2.7 | +1,688 | +4,283 | +6.3 | +6,119 | +6,705 | +14.8 | +17 | +1,319 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 28.0 | 10.2 | 22.8 | 44.7 | 2.3 | 5.6 | 41.8 | 5.3 | 7.5 | 71.1 | 2 | 12 |
| difference: | +2.7 | +1.8 | +4.6 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +2.8 | +5.3 | +2.1 | +0.8 | +18.1 | +13 | +133 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paolo Banchero | 336 | 122 | 273 | 44.7 | 28 | 67 | 41.8 | 64 | 90 | 71.1 | 2 | 12 |
| difference: | +3,327 | +1,098 | +2,369 | +1.5 | +121 | +341 | +5.3 | +1,010 | +1,114 | +18.1 | +13 | +133 |
| 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 17 seasons more than Paolo Banchero in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 5 to 21, from 2003 to 2019—he averaged 21.2 points in a total of 1,235 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 26.6 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paolo Banchero | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paolo Banchero | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2024 | 7 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paolo Banchero | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 28.4 | +28.4 | 2002 | 8 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 17 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 13 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 25.2 points in a total of 127 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.7 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |