Kobe Bryant vs. Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kobe Bryant 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Kobe Bryant, with a career spanning 20 seasons from 1997 to 2016, 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, and 3-pointers made as a bonus) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Kobe Bryant vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki
Points
4th
6th
4th
18th
Rebounds
118th
27th
42nd
24th
Assists
36th
163rd
12th
105th
Steals
17th
96th
6th
55th
Blocks
213rd
56th
42nd
53rd
3-Pointers Made
30th
20th
11th
62nd
Years20211515

Kobe Bryant vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki
Points
16th
59th
24th
28th
Rebounds
+300th
181st
+300th
61st
Assists
160th
+300th
125th
+300th
Steals
97th
+300th
97th
276th
Blocks
+300th
228th
+300th
188th
3-Pointers Made
245th
271st
197th
+300th

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:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
4th
6th
2 33,643 vs. 31,5602,083
Rebounds
118th
27th
91 7,047 vs. 11,4894,442
Assists
36th
163rd
127 6,306 vs. 3,6512,655
Steals
17th
96th
79 1,944 vs. 1,210734
Blocks
213rd
56th
157 640 vs. 1,281641
Offensive Rebounds
228th
237th
9 1,499 vs. 1,46831
Defensive Rebounds
63rd
6th
57 5,548 vs. 10,0214,473
Field Goals Made
6th
8th
2 11,719 vs. 11,169550
Field Goals Attempted
4th
8th
4 26,200 vs. 23,7342,466
3-Pointers Made
30th
20th
10 1,827 vs. 1,982155
3-Pointers Attempted
18th
23rd
5 5,546 vs. 5,210336
Free Throws Made
5th
9th
4 8,378 vs. 7,2401,138
Free Throws Attempted
6th
18th
12 10,011 vs. 8,2391,772

Games and Years:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
16th
5th
11 1,346 vs. 1,522176
Seasons
8th
3rd
5 20 vs. 211

Triple-Doubles:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
25th
205th
180 21 vs. 219

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
3rd
62nd
59 122 vs. 20102
50+ point games
3rd
50th
47 25 vs. 223
60+ point games
2nd
-
6 vs. 06
70+ point games
2nd
-
1 vs. 01

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
4th
18th
14 5,640 vs. 3,6631,977
Rebounds
42nd
24th
18 1,119 vs. 1,446327
Assists
12th
105th
93 1,040 vs. 360680
Steals
6th
55th
49 310 vs. 149161
Blocks
42nd
53rd
11 144 vs. 12915
Offensive Rebounds
68th
83rd
15 230 vs. 21218
Defensive Rebounds
25th
7th
18 889 vs. 1,234345
Field Goals Made
5th
21st
16 2,014 vs. 1,220794
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
21st
19 4,499 vs. 2,6421,857
3-Pointers Made
11th
62nd
51 292 vs. 149143
3-Pointers Attempted
8th
63rd
55 882 vs. 408474
Free Throws Made
3rd
10th
7 1,320 vs. 1,074246
Free Throws Attempted
7th
14th
7 1,617 vs. 1,204413

Games and Years:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
54th
47 220 vs. 14575
Playoffs
17th
17th
0 15 vs. 150

Triple-Doubles:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
20th
14 13 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:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
16th
59th
43 24.99 vs. 20.744.26
Rebounds per game
+300th
181st
+119 5.24 vs. 7.552.31
Assists per game
160th
+300th
+140 4.68 vs. 2.402.29
Steals per game
97th
+300th
+203 1.44 vs. 0.800.65
Blocks per game
+300th
228th
+72 0.48 vs. 0.840.37
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.11 vs. 0.960.15
Defensive Rebounds per game
279th
54th
225 4.12 vs. 6.582.46
Field Goals Made per game
26th
91st
65 8.71 vs. 7.341.37
Field Goals Attempted per game
16th
102nd
86 19.47 vs. 15.593.87
3-Pointers Made per game
245th
271st
26 1.36 vs. 1.300.06
3-Pointers Attempted per game
132nd
216th
84 4.12 vs. 3.420.70
Free Throws Made per game
19th
69th
50 6.22 vs. 4.761.47
Free Throws Attempted per game
28th
107th
79 7.44 vs. 5.412.02

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kobe Bryant Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
24th
28th
4 25.64 vs. 25.260.37
Rebounds per game
+300th
61st
+239 5.09 vs. 9.974.89
Assists per game
125th
+300th
+175 4.73 vs. 2.482.24
Steals per game
97th
276th
179 1.41 vs. 1.030.38
Blocks per game
+300th
188th
+112 0.65 vs. 0.890.24
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.05 vs. 1.460.42
Defensive Rebounds per game
268th
11th
257 4.04 vs. 8.514.47
Field Goals Made per game
30th
51st
21 9.15 vs. 8.410.74
Field Goals Attempted per game
20th
58th
38 20.45 vs. 18.222.23
3-Pointers Made per game
197th
+300th
+103 1.33 vs. 1.030.30
3-Pointers Attempted per game
163rd
+300th
+137 4.01 vs. 2.811.20
Free Throws Made per game
34th
10th
24 6.00 vs. 7.411.41
Free Throws Attempted per game
41st
23rd
18 7.35 vs. 8.300.95

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.