Paul George vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Paul George 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 and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Paul George.
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 Paul George 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 0.2 points more than Paul George in his 16 seasons (20.7 points against 20.5), and he also scored a total of 12,639 points more (31,560 vs. 18,921).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Paul George | 20.5 | 16 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +0.2 | 21 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Paul George | 18,921 | 16 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +12,639 | 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 Paul George (+4.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,247).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Paul George | 21.2 | 11 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +4.1 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Paul George | 2,416 | 11 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +1,247 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 497 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +364 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 814 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +559 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul George | 915 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +594 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul George | 7 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +6 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 69 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +40 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 99 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +43 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul George | 114 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +31 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul George | 20.5 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 43.9 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 38.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 85.3 | 16 | 922 |
| difference: | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +3.1 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +2.6 | +5 | +600 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 18,921 | 6,473 | 14,732 | 43.9 | 2,386 | 6,216 | 38.4 | 3,589 | 4,207 | 85.3 | 16 | 922 |
| difference: | +12,639 | +4,696 | +9,002 | +3.1 | +404 | +1,006 | +0.4 | +3,651 | +4,032 | +2.6 | +5 | +600 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 21.2 | 6.8 | 16.2 | 42.3 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 35.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
| difference: | +4.1 | +1.6 | +2.0 | +3.9 | +1.4 | +4.1 | +1.3 | +2.3 | +2.1 | +6.6 | +4 | +31 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 2,416 | 779 | 1,842 | 42.3 | 276 | 783 | 35.2 | 582 | 705 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
| difference: | +1,247 | +441 | +800 | +3.9 | +127 | +375 | +1.3 | +492 | +499 | +6.6 | +4 | +31 |
| 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 5 seasons more than Paul George in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 17 to 21, from 2015 to 2019—he averaged 14.3 points in a total of 334 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.3 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | 6.0 | +6.0 | 2011 | 5 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | 9.7 | +9.7 | 2012 | 11 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +25.3 | 2003 | 17 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.7 | +26.7 | 2010 | 6 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.7 | +27.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 19.1 | +19.1 | 2014 | 7 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.8 points in a total of 10 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 20.4. |