Cross-era · careers 5 years apart

James Worthy vs Dirk Nowitzki

James Worthy 1982-1993 · Forward Dirk Nowitzki 1998-2018 · Forward

James Worthy (1982-1993) and Dirk Nowitzki (1998-2018) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 5 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Dirk Nowitzki was the higher-volume scorer (20.7 points per game to 17.6); adjusted for era they scored at 1.70× and 2.17× their league average respectively; Dirk Nowitzki was the more efficient scorer (57.7% true shooting to 55.9%). Dirk Nowitzki holds the edge on accolades — 1 MVP, 1 championship, 1 Finals MVP and the #25 all-time ranking to James Worthy's #53.

Career averages

James WorthyStatDirk Nowitzki
17.6 Points / game 20.7
5.1 Rebounds / game 7.5
3.0 Assists / game 2.4
1.1 Steals / game 0.8
0.7 Blocks / game 0.8
52.1% Field goal % 46.6%
24.1% 3-point % 37.9%
76.9% Free throw % 87.4%
55.9% True shooting % 57.7%
926 Games played 1,522

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

James WorthyStatDirk Nowitzki
1.70× Points vs era avg 2.17×
1.23× Rebounds vs era avg 1.82×
1.23× Assists vs era avg 1.14×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in James Worthy's era.

James WorthyStatDirk Nowitzki
— Offensive rating 105.9
— Defensive rating 105.4
— Net rating 0.6
— Usage % 0.2%
— Assist % 0.1%
— Rebound % 0.1%

Playoff averages

James WorthyStatDirk Nowitzki
21.1 Points / game 25.3
5.2 Rebounds / game 10.0
3.2 Assists / game 2.5
1.3 Steals / game 1.0
0.7 Blocks / game 0.9
55.0% Field goal % 46.1%
24.3% 3-point % 36.2%
71.6% Free throw % 89.2%
143 Playoff games 145

Accolades

James WorthyStatDirk Nowitzki
0 MVP awards 1
1 Finals MVP 1
3 Championships 1
7 All-Star selections 14
0 All-NBA 1st Team 4
#53 All-time GOAT rank #25

More comparisons

Want a different matchup? Use the interactive comparison tool.