Cade Cunningham vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cade Cunningham 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cade Cunningham have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has better scoring stats than Cade Cunningham in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 2.5 points more than Cade Cunningham in his 5 seasons (24.6 points against 22.1), and he also scored a total of 6,769 points more (11,468 vs. 4,699).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Cade Cunningham | 22.1 | 5 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.6 | +2.5 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Cade Cunningham | 4,699 | 5 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 11,468 | +6,769 | 8 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Cade Cunningham | 0 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than Cade Cunningham (+0.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,036).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Cade Cunningham | 25.0 | 1 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +0.8 | 4 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Cade Cunningham | 150 | 1 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | +1,036 | 4 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 5 | +5 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 135 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 318 | +183 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 195 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 426 | +231 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 213 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 465 | +252 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 6 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | +28 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 6 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | +35 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 6 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | +40 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 22.1 | 8.3 | 18.7 | 44.5 | 1.9 | 5.7 | 33.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 85.1 | 5 | 213 |
| difference: | +2.5 | +0.3 | +1.6 | +5.6 | +0.6 | +1.9 | +1.7 | +2.6 | +2.8 | +1.0 | +3 | +254 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.6 | 8.6 | 17.1 | 50.1 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 35.3 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 86.1 | 8 | 467 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 4,699 | 1,768 | 3,975 | 44.5 | 407 | 1,210 | 33.6 | 756 | 888 | 85.1 | 5 | 213 |
| difference: | +6,769 | +2,238 | +4,019 | +5.6 | +214 | +549 | +1.7 | +2,079 | +2,403 | +1.0 | +3 | +254 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 11,468 | 4,006 | 7,994 | 50.1 | 621 | 1,759 | 35.3 | 2,835 | 3,291 | 86.1 | 8 | 467 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 25.0 | 9.2 | 21.5 | 42.6 | 0.8 | 4.7 | 17.9 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 83.3 | 1 | 6 |
| difference: | +0.8 | +0.3 | +2.4 | +4.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +17.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +2.6 | +3 | +40 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 46.8 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 35.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Cade Cunningham | 150 | 55 | 129 | 42.6 | 5 | 28 | 17.9 | 35 | 42 | 83.3 | 1 | 6 |
| difference: | +1,036 | +356 | +749 | +4.2 | +66 | +175 | +17.1 | +258 | +299 | +2.6 | +3 | +40 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 411 | 878 | 46.8 | 71 | 203 | 35.0 | 293 | 341 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | 17.4 | +6.6 | 2022 | 64 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 10.8 | 2019 | 82 | |
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's additional seasons: | ||||
* Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played 3 seasons more than Cade Cunningham in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 6 to 8, from 2024 to 2026—he averaged 31.5 points in a total of 156 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 34.8 ppg and his lowest 30.1. In those 3 extra years over Cade Cunningham, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won 1 scoring title. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2019 | 6 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2020 | 7 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | 25.0 | +25.0 | 2025 | 6 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Cade Cunningham | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in two Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 30.0 points in a total of 33 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 30.2 ppg and his lowest 29.9. |