Damian Lillard vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Damian Lillard 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.
Damian Lillard and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 44,411 points—. Damian Lillard 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 Damian Lillard 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.
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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 8.8 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (25.1 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 785 points more (22,598 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | +8.8 | 13 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | +785 | 13 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Damian Lillard has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+11.2 points per game) while Gary Payton scored more points (+440).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | +11.2 | 10 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 10 | |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | +440 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 5 | +5 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 15 | +15 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 650 | +135 | ||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 882 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | +153 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 900 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +404 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +31 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 2 | +2 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 4 | +4 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 46 | |||
| Gary Payton | 47 | +1 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 66 | |||
| Gary Payton | 92 | +26 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 67 | |||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +83 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | 8.1 | 18.4 | 43.9 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 37.1 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
| difference: | +8.8 | +1.6 | +4.4 | +2.7 | +2.3 | +5.7 | +5.4 | +3.4 | +3.1 | +17.0 | +4 | +435 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 7,266 | 16,568 | 43.9 | 2,804 | 7,556 | 37.1 | 5,262 | 5,853 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
| difference: | +785 | +1,442 | +2,130 | +2.7 | +1,672 | +3,986 | +5.4 | +1,997 | +1,373 | +17.0 | +4 | +435 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | 8.0 | 19.5 | 40.9 | 3.3 | 8.9 | 36.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
| difference: | +11.2 | +2.4 | +6.9 | +3.3 | +2.4 | +6.1 | +5.3 | +4.0 | +4.0 | +18.7 | +5 | +86 |
| 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 | ||||
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 541 | 1,324 | 40.9 | 222 | 603 | 36.8 | 411 | 460 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
| difference: | +440 | +314 | +614 | +3.3 | +85 | +168 | +5.3 | +103 | +24 | +18.7 | +5 | +86 |
| 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 Damian Lillard 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
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | 34.3 | +34.3 | 2021 | 6 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 25.8 | +25.8 | 2000 | 5 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
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. |