Pau Gasol vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol 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 and Pau Gasol are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 52,454 points—. 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 Dirk Nowitzki has better scoring stats than Pau Gasol 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 21 NBA regular seasons played, Dirk Nowitzki averages 3.7 points more than Pau Gasol in his 18 seasons (20.7 points against 17.0), and he also scored a total of 10,666 points more (31,560 vs. 20,894).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Pau Gasol | 17.0 | 18 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +3.7 | 21 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Pau Gasol | 20,894 | 18 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +10,666 | 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 Pau Gasol (+9.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,565).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Pau Gasol | 15.4 | 12 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +9.9 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Pau Gasol | 2,098 | 12 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,565 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 454 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +407 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 1,070 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +303 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 1,215 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +294 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 11 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 37 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +72 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 112 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +30 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 135 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +10 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 1 | +1 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 17.0 | 6.5 | 12.8 | 50.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 36.8 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 75.3 | 18 | 1,226 |
| difference: | +3.7 | +0.8 | +2.8 | +3.7 | +1.2 | +3.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +12.6 | +3 | +296 |
| 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 | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 20,894 | 7,980 | 15,729 | 50.7 | 179 | 486 | 36.8 | 4,755 | 6,311 | 75.3 | 18 | 1,226 |
| difference: | +10,666 | +3,189 | +8,005 | +3.7 | +1,803 | +4,724 | +1.2 | +2,485 | +1,928 | +12.6 | +3 | +296 |
| 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 | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 15.4 | 6.0 | 11.8 | 50.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 29.7 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 74.1 | 12 | 136 |
| difference: | +9.9 | +2.4 | +6.4 | +4.6 | +0.9 | +2.5 | +6.8 | +4.0 | +3.7 | +15.1 | +3 | +9 |
| 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 | ||||
| Pau Gasol | 2,098 | 812 | 1,600 | 50.8 | 11 | 37 | 29.7 | 463 | 625 | 74.1 | 12 | 136 |
| difference: | +1,565 | +408 | +1,042 | +4.6 | +138 | +371 | +6.8 | +611 | +579 | +15.1 | +3 | +9 |
| 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 1 season more than Pau Gasol in the NBA. In that year—his season 21 in 2019—he averaged 7.3 points in a total of 51 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2004 | 5 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.7 | +27.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.4 | +20.4 | 2016 | 5 |
Season 19 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 20 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Pau Gasol | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Dirk Nowitzki didn't play in the postseason. |