Category profile
- Dominance
- 85
- Peak
- 88
- Longevity
- 94
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 88
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8.2 | |
| 1999 | 17.5 | |
| 2000 | 21.8 | |
| 2001 | 23.4 | |
| 2002 | 25.1 | |
| 2003 | 21.8 | |
| 2004 | 26.1 | |
| 2005 | 26.6 | |
| 2006 | 24.6 | |
| 2007 | 23.6 | |
| 2008 | 25.9 | |
| 2009 | 23 | |
| 2010 | 21.6 | |
| 2011 | 17.3 | |
| 2012 | 21.8 | |
| 2013 | 21.7 | |
| 2014 | 18.3 | |
| 2015 | 18.3 | |
| 2016 | 14.2 | |
| 2017 | 12 | |
| 2018 | 7.3 |
Data sources
- NBA
- Basketball Reference
- FIBA
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Dirk Nowitzki ranks #15 in Basketball
Dirk Nowitzki ranks 15th among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 78th of 1063 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.1 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 85, Peak 88, Longevity 94, Honours 86, Statistics 88. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 399 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1998–2019 with 21 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 2005, which sets the Peak component at 88. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes nba titles 1, mvp awards 1, finals mvp 1, all-star selections 14.
Immediately ahead sits Stephen Curry on 90.0, a gap of 1.9 points. Directly behind is Moses Malone on 88.5. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Dirk Nowitzki GOAT Score explained
- Dominance85/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Dirk stood above the field while competing. Scored 85/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak88/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 2005. Scored 88/100.
- Longevity94/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 21 years of competition and 21 recorded seasons. Scored 94/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics88/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 88/100.
Top Dirk comparisons
Dirk Nowitzki — frequently asked
- Is Dirk Nowitzki the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Dirk Nowitzki ranks 15th in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 88.1, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is Dirk Nowitzki's GOAT Score?
- 88.1 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 85 (25%), Peak 88 (20%), Longevity 94 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 88 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Dirk Nowitzki rank all time?
- 78th of 1063 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 15th within Basketball.
- Dirk Nowitzki vs Stephen Curry: who ranks higher?
- Stephen Curry, on 90.0 against Dirk Nowitzki's 88.1 — a margin of 1.9 points.