Bob Cousy vs. Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Bob Cousy and Dirk Nowitzki all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Bob Cousy, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1951 to 1970, and Dirk Nowitzki, with 21 seasons played from 1999 to 2019, stand among the league's historical elite.

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Bob Cousy vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki
Points
108th
6th
68th
18th
Rebounds
+300th
27th
174th
24th
Assists
22nd
163rd
20th
105th
Steals
n/a
96th
n/a
55th
Blocks
n/a
56th
n/a
53rd
Years14211315

Bob Cousy vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki
Points
127th
59th
134th
28th
Rebounds
+300th
181st
+300th
61st
Assists
23rd
+300th
10th
+300th
Steals
n/a
+300th
n/a
276th
Blocks
n/a
228th
n/a
188th

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
108th
6th
102 16,960 vs. 31,56014,600
Rebounds
+300th
27th
+273 4,786 vs. 11,4896,703
Assists
22nd
163rd
141 6,955 vs. 3,6513,304
Steals
n/a
96th
0 vs. 1,210
Blocks
n/a
56th
0 vs. 1,281
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
237th
0 vs. 1,468
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
6th
0 vs. 10,021
Field Goals Made
124th
8th
116 6,168 vs. 11,1695,001
Field Goals Attempted
46th
8th
38 16,468 vs. 23,7347,266
3-Pointers Made
n/a
20th
0 vs. 1,982
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
23rd
0 vs. 5,210
Free Throws Made
54th
9th
45 4,624 vs. 7,2402,616
Free Throws Attempted
56th
18th
38 5,756 vs. 8,2392,483

Games and Years:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
238th
5th
233 924 vs. 1,522598
Seasons
194th
3rd
191 14 vs. 217

Triple-Doubles:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
14th
205th
191 33 vs. 231

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
223rd
62nd
161 3 vs. 2017
50+ point games
-
50th
0 vs. 22
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
68th
18th
50 2,018 vs. 3,6631,645
Rebounds
174th
24th
150 546 vs. 1,446900
Assists
20th
105th
85 937 vs. 360577
Steals
n/a
55th
0 vs. 149
Blocks
n/a
53rd
0 vs. 129
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
83rd
0 vs. 212
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
7th
0 vs. 1,234
Field Goals Made
85th
21st
64 689 vs. 1,220531
Field Goals Attempted
45th
21st
24 2,016 vs. 2,642626
3-Pointers Made
n/a
62nd
0 vs. 149
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
63rd
0 vs. 408
Free Throws Made
39th
10th
29 640 vs. 1,074434
Free Throws Attempted
41st
14th
27 799 vs. 1,204405

Games and Years:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
131st
54th
77 109 vs. 14536
Playoffs
45th
17th
28 13 vs. 152

Triple-Doubles:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
31st
+300th
2 vs. 02

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
78th
20th
58 1 vs. 76
50+ point games
9th
9th
0 1 vs. 10
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
127th
59th
68 18.35 vs. 20.742.38
Rebounds per game
+300th
181st
+119 5.18 vs. 7.552.37
Assists per game
23rd
+300th
+277 7.53 vs. 2.405.13
Steals per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.80
Blocks per game
n/a
228th
0.00 vs. 0.84
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.96
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
54th
0.00 vs. 6.58
Field Goals Made per game
165th
91st
74 6.68 vs. 7.340.66
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
102nd
66 17.82 vs. 15.592.23
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
271st
0.00 vs. 1.30
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
216th
0.00 vs. 3.42
Free Throws Made per game
52nd
69th
17 5.00 vs. 4.760.25
Free Throws Attempted per game
62nd
107th
45 6.23 vs. 5.410.82

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
134th
28th
106 18.51 vs. 25.266.75
Rebounds per game
+300th
61st
+239 5.01 vs. 9.974.96
Assists per game
10th
+300th
+290 8.60 vs. 2.486.11
Steals per game
n/a
276th
0.00 vs. 1.03
Blocks per game
n/a
188th
0.00 vs. 0.89
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 1.46
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
11th
0.00 vs. 8.51
Field Goals Made per game
180th
51st
129 6.32 vs. 8.412.09
Field Goals Attempted per game
54th
58th
4 18.50 vs. 18.220.27
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 1.03
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 2.81
Free Throws Made per game
39th
10th
29 5.87 vs. 7.411.54
Free Throws Attempted per game
42nd
23rd
19 7.33 vs. 8.300.97

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.