Michael Jordan vs. Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Michael Jordan 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 Michael Jordan, with a career spanning 15 seasons from 1985 to 2003, 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.

Michael Jordan vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki
Points
5th
6th
2nd
18th
Rebounds
141st
27th
40th
24th
Assists
52nd
160th
13th
105th
Steals
4th
95th
3rd
55th
Blocks
126th
55th
34th
53rd
Years15211315

Michael Jordan vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki
Points
1st
58th
1st
28th
Rebounds
+300th
180th
278th
61st
Assists
108th
+300th
69th
+300th
Steals
3rd
+300th
11th
276th
Blocks
233rd
226th
195th
188th

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:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
5th
6th
1 32,292 vs. 31,560732
Rebounds
141st
27th
114 6,672 vs. 11,4894,817
Assists
52nd
160th
108 5,633 vs. 3,6511,982
Steals
4th
95th
91 2,514 vs. 1,2101,304
Blocks
126th
55th
71 893 vs. 1,281388
Offensive Rebounds
177th
236th
59 1,668 vs. 1,468200
Defensive Rebounds
93rd
6th
87 5,004 vs. 10,0215,017
Field Goals Made
5th
8th
3 12,192 vs. 11,1691,023
Field Goals Attempted
5th
8th
3 24,537 vs. 23,734803
3-Pointers Made
+300th
20th
+280 581 vs. 1,9821,401
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
21st
+279 1,778 vs. 5,2103,432
Free Throws Made
7th
9th
2 7,327 vs. 7,24087
Free Throws Attempted
12th
18th
6 8,772 vs. 8,239533

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
108th
5th
103 1,072 vs. 1,522450
Seasons
133rd
3rd
130 15 vs. 216

Triple-Doubles:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
20th
202nd
182 28 vs. 226

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
2nd
61st
59 173 vs. 20153
50+ point games
2nd
49th
47 31 vs. 229
60+ point games
4th
-
4 vs. 04
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
18th
16 5,987 vs. 3,6632,324
Rebounds
40th
24th
16 1,152 vs. 1,446294
Assists
13th
105th
92 1,022 vs. 360662
Steals
3rd
55th
52 376 vs. 149227
Blocks
34th
53rd
19 158 vs. 12929
Offensive Rebounds
36th
83rd
47 305 vs. 21293
Defensive Rebounds
32nd
7th
25 847 vs. 1,234387
Field Goals Made
3rd
21st
18 2,188 vs. 1,220968
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
21st
18 4,497 vs. 2,6421,855
3-Pointers Made
63rd
62nd
1 148 vs. 1491
3-Pointers Attempted
52nd
63rd
11 446 vs. 40838
Free Throws Made
2nd
10th
8 1,463 vs. 1,074389
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
14th
11 1,766 vs. 1,204562

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
19th
54th
35 179 vs. 14534
Playoffs
45th
17th
28 13 vs. 152

Triple-Doubles:

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

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
1st
20th
19 38 vs. 731
50+ point games
1st
9th
8 8 vs. 17
60+ point games
1st
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
58th
57 30.12 vs. 20.749.39
Rebounds per game
+300th
180th
+120 6.22 vs. 7.551.32
Assists per game
108th
+300th
+192 5.25 vs. 2.402.86
Steals per game
3rd
+300th
+297 2.35 vs. 0.801.55
Blocks per game
233rd
226th
7 0.83 vs. 0.840.01
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.56 vs. 0.960.59
Defensive Rebounds per game
186th
53rd
133 4.67 vs. 6.581.92
Field Goals Made per game
2nd
89th
87 11.37 vs. 7.344.03
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
101st
99 22.89 vs. 15.597.30
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
268th
+32 0.54 vs. 1.300.76
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
208th
+92 1.66 vs. 3.421.76
Free Throws Made per game
10th
70th
60 6.83 vs. 4.762.08
Free Throws Attempted per game
19th
106th
87 8.18 vs. 5.412.77

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
28th
27 33.45 vs. 25.268.18
Rebounds per game
278th
61st
217 6.44 vs. 9.973.54
Assists per game
69th
+300th
+231 5.71 vs. 2.483.23
Steals per game
11th
276th
265 2.10 vs. 1.031.07
Blocks per game
195th
188th
7 0.88 vs. 0.890.01
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.70 vs. 1.460.24
Defensive Rebounds per game
184th
11th
173 4.73 vs. 8.513.78
Field Goals Made per game
1st
51st
50 12.22 vs. 8.413.81
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
58th
56 25.12 vs. 18.226.90
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.83 vs. 1.030.20
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
2.49 vs. 2.810.32
Free Throws Made per game
3rd
10th
7 8.17 vs. 7.410.77
Free Throws Attempted per game
8th
23rd
15 9.87 vs. 8.301.56

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.