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?
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 | ||||
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 |
Years | 15 | 21 | 13 | 15 |
Michael Jordan vs. Dirk Nowitzki | ||||
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: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 5th | 6th | 1 | 32,292 vs. 31,560 | 732 |
Rebounds | 141st | 27th | 114 | 6,672 vs. 11,489 | 4,817 |
Assists | 52nd | 160th | 108 | 5,633 vs. 3,651 | 1,982 |
Steals | 4th | 95th | 91 | 2,514 vs. 1,210 | 1,304 |
Blocks | 126th | 55th | 71 | 893 vs. 1,281 | 388 |
Offensive Rebounds | 177th | 236th | 59 | 1,668 vs. 1,468 | 200 |
Defensive Rebounds | 93rd | 6th | 87 | 5,004 vs. 10,021 | 5,017 |
Field Goals Made | 5th | 8th | 3 | 12,192 vs. 11,169 | 1,023 |
Field Goals Attempted | 5th | 8th | 3 | 24,537 vs. 23,734 | 803 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | 20th | +280 | 581 vs. 1,982 | 1,401 |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 21st | +279 | 1,778 vs. 5,210 | 3,432 |
Free Throws Made | 7th | 9th | 2 | 7,327 vs. 7,240 | 87 |
Free Throws Attempted | 12th | 18th | 6 | 8,772 vs. 8,239 | 533 |
Games and Years: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 108th | 5th | 103 | 1,072 vs. 1,522 | 450 |
Seasons | 133rd | 3rd | 130 | 15 vs. 21 | 6 |
Triple-Doubles: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 20th | 202nd | 182 | 28 vs. 2 | 26 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 2nd | 61st | 59 | 173 vs. 20 | 153 |
50+ point games | 2nd | 49th | 47 | 31 vs. 2 | 29 |
60+ point games | 4th | - | 4 vs. 0 | 4 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 2nd | 18th | 16 | 5,987 vs. 3,663 | 2,324 |
Rebounds | 40th | 24th | 16 | 1,152 vs. 1,446 | 294 |
Assists | 13th | 105th | 92 | 1,022 vs. 360 | 662 |
Steals | 3rd | 55th | 52 | 376 vs. 149 | 227 |
Blocks | 34th | 53rd | 19 | 158 vs. 129 | 29 |
Offensive Rebounds | 36th | 83rd | 47 | 305 vs. 212 | 93 |
Defensive Rebounds | 32nd | 7th | 25 | 847 vs. 1,234 | 387 |
Field Goals Made | 3rd | 21st | 18 | 2,188 vs. 1,220 | 968 |
Field Goals Attempted | 3rd | 21st | 18 | 4,497 vs. 2,642 | 1,855 |
3-Pointers Made | 63rd | 62nd | 1 | 148 vs. 149 | 1 |
3-Pointers Attempted | 52nd | 63rd | 11 | 446 vs. 408 | 38 |
Free Throws Made | 2nd | 10th | 8 | 1,463 vs. 1,074 | 389 |
Free Throws Attempted | 3rd | 14th | 11 | 1,766 vs. 1,204 | 562 |
Games and Years: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 19th | 54th | 35 | 179 vs. 145 | 34 |
Playoffs | 45th | 17th | 28 | 13 vs. 15 | 2 |
Triple-Doubles: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 31st | +300th | 2 vs. 0 | 2 | |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 1st | 20th | 19 | 38 vs. 7 | 31 |
50+ point games | 1st | 9th | 8 | 8 vs. 1 | 7 |
60+ point games | 1st | - | 1 vs. 0 | 1 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 1st | 58th | 57 | 30.12 vs. 20.74 | 9.39 |
Rebounds per game | +300th | 180th | +120 | 6.22 vs. 7.55 | 1.32 |
Assists per game | 108th | +300th | +192 | 5.25 vs. 2.40 | 2.86 |
Steals per game | 3rd | +300th | +297 | 2.35 vs. 0.80 | 1.55 |
Blocks per game | 233rd | 226th | 7 | 0.83 vs. 0.84 | 0.01 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | +300th | +300th | 1.56 vs. 0.96 | 0.59 | |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 186th | 53rd | 133 | 4.67 vs. 6.58 | 1.92 |
Field Goals Made per game | 2nd | 89th | 87 | 11.37 vs. 7.34 | 4.03 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 2nd | 101st | 99 | 22.89 vs. 15.59 | 7.30 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | 268th | +32 | 0.54 vs. 1.30 | 0.76 |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | 208th | +92 | 1.66 vs. 3.42 | 1.76 |
Free Throws Made per game | 10th | 70th | 60 | 6.83 vs. 4.76 | 2.08 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 19th | 106th | 87 | 8.18 vs. 5.41 | 2.77 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Dirk Nowitzki | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 1st | 28th | 27 | 33.45 vs. 25.26 | 8.18 |
Rebounds per game | 278th | 61st | 217 | 6.44 vs. 9.97 | 3.54 |
Assists per game | 69th | +300th | +231 | 5.71 vs. 2.48 | 3.23 |
Steals per game | 11th | 276th | 265 | 2.10 vs. 1.03 | 1.07 |
Blocks per game | 195th | 188th | 7 | 0.88 vs. 0.89 | 0.01 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | +300th | +300th | 1.70 vs. 1.46 | 0.24 | |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 184th | 11th | 173 | 4.73 vs. 8.51 | 3.78 |
Field Goals Made per game | 1st | 51st | 50 | 12.22 vs. 8.41 | 3.81 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 2nd | 58th | 56 | 25.12 vs. 18.22 | 6.90 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.83 vs. 1.03 | 0.20 | |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 2.49 vs. 2.81 | 0.32 | |
Free Throws Made per game | 3rd | 10th | 7 | 8.17 vs. 7.41 | 0.77 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 8th | 23rd | 15 | 9.87 vs. 8.30 | 1.56 |
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.