Shawn Kemp vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Kemp 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 Shawn Kemp.
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 Shawn Kemp 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 6.1 points more than Shawn Kemp in his 14 seasons (20.7 points against 14.6), and he also scored a total of 16,213 points more (31,560 vs. 15,347).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 14 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +6.1 | 21 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 14 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +16,213 | 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 Shawn Kemp (+8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,141).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 10 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +8.0 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 10 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +2,141 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 305 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +556 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 751 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +622 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,014 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +495 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 37 | +24 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 39 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +70 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 72 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +70 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 86 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +59 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 2 | +2 | ||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 5.2 | 10.7 | 48.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 27.7 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
| difference: | +6.1 | +2.1 | +4.9 | +1.8 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +10.3 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +13.8 | +7 | +471 |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 5,505 | 11,278 | 48.8 | 33 | 119 | 27.7 | 4,304 | 5,805 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
| difference: | +16,213 | +5,664 | +12,456 | +1.8 | +1,949 | +5,091 | +10.3 | +2,936 | +2,434 | +13.8 | +7 | +471 |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 5.8 | 11.7 | 49.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 20.0 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
| difference: | +8.0 | +2.6 | +6.5 | +3.6 | +1.0 | +2.6 | +16.5 | +1.8 | +1.3 | +9.5 | +5 | +57 |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 514 | 1,032 | 49.8 | 3 | 15 | 20.0 | 491 | 616 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
| difference: | +2,141 | +706 | +1,610 | +3.6 | +146 | +393 | +16.5 | +583 | +588 | +9.5 | +5 | +57 |
| 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 7 seasons more than Shawn Kemp in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 21, from 2013 to 2019—he averaged 15.9 points in a total of 467 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 | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1990 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | 13.2 | +13.2 | 1991 | 5 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2009 | 10 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.7 | +26.7 | 2010 | 6 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 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. |