Cross-era · careers 25 years apart
Dirk Nowitzki vs Jerry West
Dirk Nowitzki (1998-2018) and Jerry West (1960-1973) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 25 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Jerry West was the higher-volume scorer (27.0 points per game to 20.7); adjusted for era they scored at 2.17× and 2.34× their league average respectively; Dirk Nowitzki was the more efficient scorer (57.7% true shooting to 55.0%). Jerry West holds the edge on accolades — 1 championship, 1 Finals MVP and the #23 all-time ranking to Dirk Nowitzki's #25.
Career averages
| Dirk Nowitzki | Stat | Jerry West |
|---|
| 20.7 |
Points / game |
27.0 |
| 7.5 |
Rebounds / game |
5.8 |
| 2.4 |
Assists / game |
6.7 |
| 0.8 |
Steals / game |
0.1 |
| 0.8 |
Blocks / game |
0.0 |
| 46.6% |
Field goal % |
47.4% |
| 37.9% |
3-point % |
0.0% |
| 87.4% |
Free throw % |
81.4% |
| 57.7% |
True shooting % |
55.0% |
| 1,522 |
Games played |
932 |
Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)
| Dirk Nowitzki | Stat | Jerry West |
|---|
| 2.17× |
Points vs era avg |
2.34× |
| 1.82× |
Rebounds vs era avg |
0.99× |
| 1.14× |
Assists vs era avg |
2.97× |
Advanced metrics
Advanced stats weren't tracked in Jerry West's era.
| Dirk Nowitzki | Stat | Jerry West |
|---|
| 105.9 |
Offensive rating |
— |
| 105.4 |
Defensive rating |
— |
| 0.6 |
Net rating |
— |
| 0.2% |
Usage % |
— |
| 0.1% |
Assist % |
— |
| 0.1% |
Rebound % |
— |
Playoff averages
| Dirk Nowitzki | Stat | Jerry West |
|---|
| 25.3 |
Points / game |
29.1 |
| 10.0 |
Rebounds / game |
5.6 |
| 2.5 |
Assists / game |
6.3 |
| 1.0 |
Steals / game |
0.0 |
| 0.9 |
Blocks / game |
0.0 |
| 46.1% |
Field goal % |
46.6% |
| 36.2% |
3-point % |
0.0% |
| 89.2% |
Free throw % |
79.1% |
| 145 |
Playoff games |
153 |
Accolades
| Dirk Nowitzki | Stat | Jerry West |
|---|
| 1 |
MVP awards |
0 |
| 1 |
Finals MVP |
1 |
| 1 |
Championships |
1 |
| 14 |
All-Star selections |
12 |
| 4 |
All-NBA 1st Team |
10 |
| #25 |
All-time GOAT rank |
#23 |