Penny Hardaway vs. Dirk Nowitzki: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Penny Hardaway 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 Penny Hardaway, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1994 to 2008, 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.

Penny Hardaway vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki
Points
+300th
6th
174th
18th
Rebounds
+300th
27th
+300th
24th
Assists
179th
163rd
87th
105th
Steals
128th
96th
87th
55th
Blocks
+300th
56th
190th
53rd
Years1421815

Penny Hardaway vs. Dirk Nowitzki
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki
Points
275th
59th
85th
28th
Rebounds
+300th
181st
+300th
61st
Assists
126th
+300th
52nd
+300th
Steals
55th
+300th
20th
276th
Blocks
+300th
228th
268th
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:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
+300th
6th
+294 10,684 vs. 31,56020,876
Rebounds
+300th
27th
+273 3,146 vs. 11,4898,343
Assists
179th
163rd
16 3,525 vs. 3,651126
Steals
128th
96th
32 1,125 vs. 1,21085
Blocks
+300th
56th
+244 312 vs. 1,281969
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
237th
+63 975 vs. 1,468493
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
6th
+294 2,171 vs. 10,0217,850
Field Goals Made
+300th
8th
+292 3,995 vs. 11,1697,174
Field Goals Attempted
+300th
8th
+292 8,731 vs. 23,73415,003
3-Pointers Made
+300th
20th
+280 503 vs. 1,9821,479
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
23rd
+277 1,591 vs. 5,2103,619
Free Throws Made
+300th
9th
+291 2,191 vs. 7,2405,049
Free Throws Attempted
+300th
18th
+282 2,831 vs. 8,2395,408

Games and Years:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
5th
+295 704 vs. 1,522818
Seasons
194th
3rd
191 14 vs. 217

Triple-Doubles:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
109th
205th
96 5 vs. 23

Rankings by Points Scored:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
+300th
62nd
+238 1 vs. 2019
50+ point games
-
50th
0 vs. 22
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
174th
18th
156 1,304 vs. 3,6632,359
Rebounds
+300th
24th
+276 303 vs. 1,4461,143
Assists
87th
105th
18 394 vs. 36034
Steals
87th
55th
32 119 vs. 14930
Blocks
190th
53rd
137 48 vs. 12981
Offensive Rebounds
252nd
83rd
169 101 vs. 212111
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
7th
+293 202 vs. 1,2341,032
Field Goals Made
185th
21st
164 456 vs. 1,220764
Field Goals Attempted
183rd
21st
162 1,018 vs. 2,6421,624
3-Pointers Made
113rd
62nd
51 101 vs. 14948
3-Pointers Attempted
128th
63rd
65 266 vs. 408142
Free Throws Made
147th
10th
137 291 vs. 1,074783
Free Throws Attempted
147th
14th
133 390 vs. 1,204814

Games and Years:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
54th
+246 64 vs. 14581
Playoffs
+300th
17th
+283 8 vs. 157

Triple-Doubles:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
39th
+300th
1 vs. 01

Rankings by Points Scored:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
55th
20th
35 2 vs. 75
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
275th
59th
216 15.18 vs. 20.745.56
Rebounds per game
+300th
181st
+119 4.47 vs. 7.553.08
Assists per game
126th
+300th
+174 5.01 vs. 2.402.61
Steals per game
55th
+300th
+245 1.60 vs. 0.800.80
Blocks per game
+300th
228th
+72 0.44 vs. 0.840.40
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.38 vs. 0.960.42
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
54th
+246 3.08 vs. 6.583.50
Field Goals Made per game
292nd
91st
201 5.67 vs. 7.341.66
Field Goals Attempted per game
292nd
102nd
190 12.40 vs. 15.593.19
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
271st
+29 0.71 vs. 1.300.59
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
216th
+84 2.26 vs. 3.421.16
Free Throws Made per game
256th
69th
187 3.11 vs. 4.761.64
Free Throws Attempted per game
264th
107th
157 4.02 vs. 5.411.39

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Penny Hardaway Dirk Nowitzki Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
85th
28th
57 20.38 vs. 25.264.89
Rebounds per game
+300th
61st
+239 4.73 vs. 9.975.24
Assists per game
52nd
+300th
+248 6.16 vs. 2.483.67
Steals per game
20th
276th
256 1.86 vs. 1.030.83
Blocks per game
268th
188th
80 0.75 vs. 0.890.14
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
1.58 vs. 1.460.12
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
11th
+289 3.16 vs. 8.515.35
Field Goals Made per game
116th
51st
65 7.13 vs. 8.411.29
Field Goals Attempted per game
112nd
58th
54 15.91 vs. 18.222.31
3-Pointers Made per game
131st
+300th
+169 1.58 vs. 1.030.55
3-Pointers Attempted per game
152nd
+300th
+148 4.16 vs. 2.811.34
Free Throws Made per game
107th
10th
97 4.55 vs. 7.412.86
Free Throws Attempted per game
96th
23rd
73 6.09 vs. 8.302.21

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.