Allen Iverson vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Allen Iverson to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.

Allen Iverson and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 46,181 points—. Allen Iverson is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Allen Iverson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Gary Payton scored more points in the postseason. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Allen Iverson averages 10.4 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (26.7 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 2,555 points more (24,368 vs. 21,813).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Allen Iverson	26.7	+10.4	14
Gary Payton	16.3		17

Total Points			Seasons
Allen Iverson	24,368	+2,555	14
Gary Payton	21,813		17

Scoring Titles
Allen Iverson	4	+4
Gary Payton	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	23.5	+16.3	1997	76
Gary Payton	7.2		1991	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	22.0	+12.6	1998	80
Gary Payton	9.4		1992	81

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	26.8	+13.3	1999	48
Gary Payton	13.5		1993	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	28.4	+11.9	2000	70
Gary Payton	16.5		1994	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	31.1	+10.5	2001	71
Gary Payton	20.6		1995	82

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	31.4	+12.1	2002	60
Gary Payton	19.3		1996	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	27.6	+5.8	2003	82
Gary Payton	21.8		1997	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	26.4	+7.2	2004	48
Gary Payton	19.2		1998	82

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	30.7	+9.0	2005	75
Gary Payton	21.7		1999	50

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	33.0	+8.8	2006	72
Gary Payton	24.2		2000	82

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	26.3	+3.2	2007	65
Gary Payton	23.1		2001	79

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	26.4	+4.3	2008	82
Gary Payton	22.1		2002	82

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	17.5		2009	57
Gary Payton	20.4	+2.9	2003	80

Season 14	Points per game		Year	Games
Allen Iverson	13.8		2010	28
Gary Payton	20.4	+6.6	2003	80

Gary Payton's additional seasons:

* Gary Payton played 4 seasons more than Allen Iverson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 18, from 2004 to 2007—he averaged 9.9 points in a total of 308 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 14.6 ppg and his lowest 5.3.