C.J. McCollum vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and C.J. McCollum 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.
Gary Payton is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by C.J. McCollum.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that C.J. McCollum has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Gary Payton 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 |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 12 NBA regular seasons played, C.J. McCollum averages 3.3 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (19.6 points against 16.3). On the other hand Gary Payton scored a total of 6,399 points more than C.J. McCollum (21,813 vs. 15,414).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| C.J. McCollum | 19.6 | +3.3 | 12 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| C.J. McCollum | 15,414 | 12 | |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | +6,399 | 17 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason C.J. McCollum has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+6.1 points per game) while Gary Payton scored more points (+811).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| C.J. McCollum | 20.1 | +6.1 | 10 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| C.J. McCollum | 1,344 | 10 | |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | +811 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 2 | +2 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 405 | |||
| Gary Payton | 515 | +110 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 677 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | +358 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 764 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +540 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 23 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +8 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 2 | +2 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 40 | |||
| Gary Payton | 47 | +7 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 57 | |||
| Gary Payton | 92 | +35 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 62 | |||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +88 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 5 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 4 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 19.6 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 45.3 | 2.5 | 6.4 | 39.7 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 79.9 | 12 | 787 |
| difference: | +3.3 | +1.0 | +2.5 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +3.7 | +8.0 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +7.0 | +5 | +548 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 15,414 | 5,871 | 12,966 | 45.3 | 1,989 | 5,011 | 39.7 | 1,683 | 2,107 | 79.9 | 12 | 787 |
| difference: | +6,399 | +2,837 | +5,732 | +1.3 | +857 | +1,441 | +8.0 | +1,582 | +2,373 | +7.0 | +5 | +548 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 20.1 | 7.7 | 17.8 | 43.3 | 2.2 | 6.1 | 36.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 76.6 | 10 | 67 |
| difference: | +6.1 | +2.1 | +5.2 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +5.3 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +6.0 | +5 | +87 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| C.J. McCollum | 1,344 | 517 | 1,194 | 43.3 | 150 | 408 | 36.8 | 160 | 209 | 76.6 | 10 | 67 |
| difference: | +811 | +338 | +744 | +0.8 | +13 | +27 | +5.3 | +148 | +227 | +6.0 | +5 | +87 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Gary Payton's additional seasons: | ||||
* Gary Payton played 4 seasons more than C.J. McCollum in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 17, 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. |
Playoffs
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| C.J. McCollum | 22.2 | +22.2 | 2022 | 6 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| C.J. McCollum | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| C.J. McCollum | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 18.5 | +18.5 | 2003 | 6 |
Gary Payton's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Gary Payton played in 4 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 7.0 points in a total of 54 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 10.3 ppg and his lowest 0. |