Yao Ming vs. Dirk Nowitzki: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dirk Nowitzki and Yao Ming 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 Yao Ming.
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 Yao Ming 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 1.7 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (20.7 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 22,313 points more (31,560 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 8 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 20.7 | +1.7 | 21 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 | +22,313 | 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 Yao Ming (+5.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,108).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 4 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 25.3 | +5.5 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 3,663 | +3,108 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 861 | +629 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,373 | +933 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1,509 | +1026 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 13 | +10 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 1 | +1 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 7 | +7 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 109 | +94 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 142 | +116 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 145 | +117 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Dirk Nowitzki | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 7.0 | 13.3 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
| difference: | +1.7 | +0.3 | +2.3 | +5.4 | +1.3 | +3.4 | +18.0 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +4.6 | +13 | +1,036 |
| 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 | ||||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 3,380 | 6,445 | 52.4 | 2 | 10 | 20.0 | 2,485 | 2,984 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
| difference: | +22,313 | +7,789 | +17,289 | +5.4 | +1,980 | +5,200 | +18.0 | +4,755 | +5,255 | +4.6 | +13 | +1,036 |
| 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 | ||||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 7.0 | 13.4 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | 5.9 | 7.1 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
| difference: | +5.5 | +1.4 | +4.8 | +5.7 | +1.0 | +2.8 | +36.5 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +5.9 | +11 | +117 |
| 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 | ||||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
| difference: | +3,108 | +1,025 | +2,266 | +5.7 | +149 | +408 | +36.5 | +909 | +1,006 | +5.9 | +11 | +117 |
| 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 13 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 21, from 2007 to 2019—he averaged 19.9 points in a total of 919 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25.9 ppg and his lowest 7.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | 15.0 | +15.0 | 2004 | 5 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 28.4 | +28.4 | 2002 | 8 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2004 | 5 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2006 | 23 |
Dirk Nowitzki's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 13 additional NBA seasons, Dirk Nowitzki played in 9 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 24.8 points in a total of 69 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.7 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |