John Havlicek vs. Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare John Havlicek 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 / Stats Rankings

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where John Havlicek, with a career spanning 16 seasons from 1963 to 1978, 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.

John Havlicek vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki
Points
19th
6th
15th
18th
Rebounds
82nd
27th
37th
24th
Assists
40th
160th
28th
105th
Steals
+300th
95th
253rd
55th
Blocks
+300th
55th
+300th
53rd
Years16211315

John Havlicek vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki
Points
56th
58th
57th
28th
Rebounds
+300th
180th
232nd
61st
Assists
148th
+300th
120th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
215th
276th
Blocks
+300th
226th
+300th
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.
* Some years in John Havlicek's career don't have data for these stats.

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:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
19th
6th
13 26,395 vs. 31,5605,165
Rebounds
82nd
27th
55 8,007 vs. 11,4893,482
Assists
40th
160th
120 6,114 vs. 3,6512,463
Steals
+300th
95th
+205 476 vs. 1,210734
Blocks
+300th
55th
+245 117 vs. 1,2811,164
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
236th
+64 610 vs. 1,468858
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
6th
+294 1,389 vs. 10,0218,632
Field Goals Made
13th
8th
5 10,513 vs. 11,169656
Field Goals Attempted
7th
8th
1 23,930 vs. 23,734196
3-Pointers Made
n/a
20th
0 vs. 1,982
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
21st
0 vs. 5,210
Free Throws Made
32nd
9th
23 5,369 vs. 7,2401,871
Free Throws Attempted
36th
18th
18 6,589 vs. 8,2391,650

Games and Years:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
32nd
5th
27 1,270 vs. 1,522252
Seasons
87th
3rd
84 16 vs. 215

Triple-Doubles:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
18th
202nd
184 31 vs. 229

Rankings by Points Scored:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
88th
61st
27 12 vs. 208
50+ point games
-
49th
0 vs. 22
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
15th
18th
3 3,776 vs. 3,663113
Rebounds
37th
24th
13 1,186 vs. 1,446260
Assists
28th
105th
77 825 vs. 360465
Steals
253rd
55th
198 60 vs. 14989
Blocks
+300th
53rd
+247 16 vs. 129113
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
83rd
+217 79 vs. 212133
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
7th
+293 199 vs. 1,2341,035
Field Goals Made
13th
21st
8 1,451 vs. 1,220231
Field Goals Attempted
11th
21st
10 3,329 vs. 2,642687
3-Pointers Made
n/a
62nd
0 vs. 149
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
63rd
0 vs. 408
Free Throws Made
15th
10th
5 874 vs. 1,074200
Free Throws Attempted
19th
14th
5 1,046 vs. 1,204158

Games and Years:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
24th
54th
30 172 vs. 14527
Playoffs
45th
17th
28 13 vs. 152

Triple-Doubles:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
12th
+300th
5 vs. 05

Rankings by Points Scored:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
20th
8 5 vs. 72
50+ point games
9th
9th
0 1 vs. 10
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
56th
58th
2 20.78 vs. 20.740.05
Rebounds per game
+300th
180th
+120 6.30 vs. 7.551.24
Assists per game
148th
+300th
+152 4.81 vs. 2.402.42
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
1.21 vs. 0.800.41
Blocks per game
+300th
226th
+74 0.30 vs. 0.840.55
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.54 vs. 0.960.58
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
53rd
+247 3.52 vs. 6.583.07
Field Goals Made per game
42nd
89th
47 8.28 vs. 7.340.94
Field Goals Attempted per game
20th
101st
81 18.84 vs. 15.593.25
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
268th
0.00 vs. 1.30
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
208th
0.00 vs. 3.42
Free Throws Made per game
105th
70th
35 4.23 vs. 4.760.53
Free Throws Attempted per game
121st
106th
15 5.19 vs. 5.410.23

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

John Havlicek Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
57th
28th
29 21.95 vs. 25.263.31
Rebounds per game
232nd
61st
171 6.90 vs. 9.973.08
Assists per game
120th
+300th
+180 4.80 vs. 2.482.31
Steals per game
215th
276th
61 1.13 vs. 1.030.10
Blocks per game
+300th
188th
+112 0.30 vs. 0.890.59
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.49 vs. 1.460.03
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
11th
+289 3.75 vs. 8.514.76
Field Goals Made per game
48th
51st
3 8.44 vs. 8.410.02
Field Goals Attempted per game
40th
58th
18 19.35 vs. 18.221.13
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
75th
10th
65 5.08 vs. 7.412.33
Free Throws Attempted per game
98th
23rd
75 6.08 vs. 8.302.22

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 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 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.