Cade Cunningham vs. Tim Duncan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Tim Duncan 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Tim Duncan is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Cade Cunningham has one of the highest career 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 Cade Cunningham has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Tim Duncan 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 5 NBA regular seasons played, Cade Cunningham averages 3.1 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (22.1 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 21,797 points more than Cade Cunningham (26,496 vs. 4,699).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Cade Cunningham 22.1
+3.1
5
Tim Duncan 19.0
19

Total Points

Seasons
Cade Cunningham 4,699
5
Tim Duncan 26,496
+21,797
19

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Cade Cunningham has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+4.4 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+5,022).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Cade Cunningham 25.0
+4.4
1
Tim Duncan 20.6
18

Total Points

Playoffs
Cade Cunningham 150
1
Tim Duncan 5,172
+5,022
18

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 0
Tim Duncan 1
+1

40+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 4
Tim Duncan 5
+1

30+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 45
Tim Duncan 122
+77

20+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 135
Tim Duncan 639
+504

10+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 195
Tim Duncan 1,256
+1061

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Cade Cunningham 213
Tim Duncan 1,390
+1177

0 Point Games (games without points)

Cade Cunningham 0
Tim Duncan 2
+2

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 0
Tim Duncan 4
+4

30+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 1
Tim Duncan 36
+35

20+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 6
Tim Duncan 137
+131

10+ Point Games

Cade Cunningham 6
Tim Duncan 232
+226

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Cade Cunningham 6
Tim Duncan 250
+244

0 Point Games (games without points)

Cade Cunningham 0
Tim Duncan 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+3.1+0.9+4.1+6.1+1.9+5.6+15.7+0.7+1.9+15.5+14+1,179
Tim Duncan 19.0 7.4 14.6 50.6 0.0 0.1 17.9 4.2 6.1 69.6 19 1,392

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:+21,797+8,517+16,359+6.1+377+1,042+15.7+5,140+7,580+15.5+14+1,179
Tim Duncan 26,496 10,285 20,334 50.6 30 168 17.9 5,896 8,468 69.6 19 1,392

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:+4.4+1.3+5.8+7.5+0.8+4.6+3.6+1.0+14.4+17+245
Tim Duncan 20.6 7.9 15.7 50.1 0.0 0.1 14.3 4.8 7.0 68.9 18 251

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:+5,022+1,920+3,810+7.5+7+3.6+1,182+1,724+14.4+17+245
Tim Duncan 5,172 1,975 3,939 50.1 5 35 14.3 1,217 1,766 68.9 18 251

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 17.4
202264
Tim Duncan 21.1
+3.7
199882

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 19.9
202312
Tim Duncan 21.7
+1.8
1999NBA Champion50

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 22.7
202462
Tim Duncan 23.2
+0.5
200074

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 26.1
+3.9
202570
Tim Duncan 22.2
200182

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 22.2
20265
Tim Duncan 25.5
+3.3
200282

Tim Duncan's additional seasons:

* Tim Duncan played 14 seasons more than Cade Cunningham in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 6 to 19, from 2003 to 2016—he averaged 17.7 points in a total of 1,022 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.3 ppg and his lowest 8.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham -
DNP
20220
Tim Duncan 20.7
+20.7
19989

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham -
DNP
20230
Tim Duncan 23.2
+23.2
1999NBA Champion17

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham -
DNP
20240
Tim Duncan -
DNP
20000

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham 25.0
+0.6
20256
Tim Duncan 24.4
200113

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Cade Cunningham -
DNP *
20260
Tim Duncan 27.6
+27.6
20029
* season in progress

Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 14 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 14 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 203 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.8 ppg and his lowest 5.9.