Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 7 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 3.7 points more than Dirk Nowitzki in his 21 seasons (24.4 points against 20.7). On the other hand Dirk Nowitzki scored a total of 20,266 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31,560 vs. 11,294).

Points Per Game			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.4	+3.7	7
Dirk Nowitzki	20.7		21

Total Points			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	11,294		7
Dirk Nowitzki	31,560	+20,266	21

Scoring Titles
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	1	+1
Dirk Nowitzki	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	10.8	+2.6	2019	82
Dirk Nowitzki	8.2		1999	47

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	19.0	+1.5	2020	70
Dirk Nowitzki	17.5		2000	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	23.7	+1.9	2021	35
Dirk Nowitzki	21.8		2001	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.5	+1.1	2022	56
Dirk Nowitzki	23.4		2002	76

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	31.4	+6.3	2023	68
Dirk Nowitzki	25.1		2003	80

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.1	+8.3	2024	75
Dirk Nowitzki	21.8		2004	77

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.7	+6.6	2025	76
Dirk Nowitzki	26.1		2005	78

Dirk Nowitzki's additional seasons:

* Dirk Nowitzki played 14 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 21, from 2006 to 2019—he averaged 20.5 points in a total of 1,000 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
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	13.7	+13.7	2019	6
Dirk Nowitzki	-	DNP	1999	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	16.3	+16.3	2020	7
Dirk Nowitzki	-	DNP	2000	0

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2021	0
Dirk Nowitzki	23.4	+23.4	2001	10

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2022	0
Dirk Nowitzki	28.4	+28.4	2002	8

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2023	0
Dirk Nowitzki	25.3	+25.3	2003	17

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.2	+3.6	2024	10
Dirk Nowitzki	26.6		2004	5

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	29.9	+6.2	2025	23
Dirk Nowitzki	23.7		2005	13

Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs:

* During his 14 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 92 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.7 ppg and his lowest 19.1.