Buddy Hield vs. J.R. Smith: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of J.R. Smith and Buddy Hield 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Buddy Hield has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while J.R. Smith scored more total points in both stages. 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.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 10 NBA regular seasons played, Buddy Hield averages 2.4 points more than J.R. Smith in his 16 seasons (14.8 points against 12.4). On the other hand J.R. Smith scored a total of 1,196 points more than Buddy Hield (12,148 vs. 10,952).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Buddy Hield 14.8
+2.4
10
J.R. Smith 12.4
16

Total Points

Seasons
Buddy Hield 10,952
10
J.R. Smith 12,148
+1,196
16

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Buddy Hield has a better career point average than J.R. Smith (+0.1 points per game) while J.R. Smith scored more points (+1,321).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Buddy Hield 10.8
+0.1
2
J.R. Smith 10.7
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Buddy Hield 172
2
J.R. Smith 1,493
+1,321
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 2
J.R. Smith 4
+2

30+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 17
J.R. Smith 24
+7

20+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 193
+33
J.R. Smith 160

10+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 551
J.R. Smith 604
+53

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Buddy Hield 726
J.R. Smith 932
+206

0 Point Games (games without points)

Buddy Hield 16
J.R. Smith 45
+29

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 1
+1
J.R. Smith 0

20+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 3
J.R. Smith 14
+11

10+ Point Games

Buddy Hield 8
J.R. Smith 77
+69

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Buddy Hield 13
J.R. Smith 130
+117

0 Point Games (games without points)

Buddy Hield 3
J.R. Smith 10
+7

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Buddy Hield 14.8 5.3 12.4 43.2 2.9 7.4 39.5 1.1 1.3 85.9 10 742
difference:+2.4+0.8+1.7+1.4+0.9+2.1+2.2+0.4+0.7+12.6+6+235
J.R. Smith 12.4 4.5 10.7 41.9 2.0 5.3 37.3 1.5 2.0 73.3 16 977

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Buddy Hield 10,952 3,968 9,182 43.2 2,168 5,485 39.5 848 987 85.9 10 742
difference:+1,196+412+1,283+1.4+238+307+2.2+610+1,003+12.6+6+235
J.R. Smith 12,148 4,380 10,465 41.9 1,930 5,178 37.3 1,458 1,990 73.3 16 977

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Buddy Hield 10.8 3.7 8.9 41.5 2.4 5.6 43.3 0.9 1.0 93.8 2 16
difference:+0.1+0.4+1.8+0.3+0.1+6.6+0.3+0.6+23.2+10+124
J.R. Smith 10.7 3.7 9.3 39.7 2.1 5.7 36.7 1.2 1.6 70.6 12 140

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Buddy Hield 172 59 142 41.5 39 90 43.3 15 16 93.8 2 16
difference:+1,321+460+1,164+1.8+255+711+6.6+146+212+23.2+10+124
J.R. Smith 1,493 519 1,306 39.7 294 801 36.7 161 228 70.6 12 140

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 10.6
+0.3
201782
J.R. Smith 10.3
200576

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 10.6
+2.9
201782
J.R. Smith 7.7
200655

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 13.5
+0.5
201880
J.R. Smith 13.0
200763

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 20.7
+8.4
201982
J.R. Smith 12.3
200874

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 19.2
+4.0
202072
J.R. Smith 15.2
200981

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 16.6
+1.2
202171
J.R. Smith 15.4
201075

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 15.6
+3.3
202281
J.R. Smith 12.3
201179

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 16.8
+4.3
202380
J.R. Smith 12.5
201235

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 12.1
202484
J.R. Smith 18.1
+6.0
201380

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 12.1
202484
J.R. Smith 14.5
+2.4
201474

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 11.1
202582
J.R. Smith 12.1
+1.0
201570

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 7.9
202628
J.R. Smith 12.4
+4.5
2016NBA Champion77

J.R. Smith's additional seasons:

* J.R. Smith played 4 seasons more than Buddy Hield in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 13 to 16, from 2017 to 2020—he averaged 8.0 points in a total of 138 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 8.6 ppg and his lowest 2.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20170
J.R. Smith -
DNP
20050

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20170
J.R. Smith -
DNP
20060

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20180
J.R. Smith 4.5
+4.5
20074

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20190
J.R. Smith 18.3
+18.3
20084

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20200
J.R. Smith 14.9
+14.9
200916

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20210
J.R. Smith 11.2
+11.2
20106

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20220
J.R. Smith 9.8
+9.8
20115

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP
20230
J.R. Smith 12.2
+12.2
20125

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 5.5
20244
J.R. Smith 14.3
+8.8
201311

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 5.5
+5.5
20244
J.R. Smith -
DNP
20140

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield 12.5
202512
J.R. Smith 12.8
+0.3
201518

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Buddy Hield -
DNP *
20260
J.R. Smith 11.5
+11.5
2016NBA Champion21
* season in progress

J.R. Smith's additional Playoffs:

* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, J.R. Smith played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 7.1 points in a total of 50 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 8.7 ppg and his lowest 2.

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