Damian Lillard vs. Steve Nash: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Steve Nash 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 is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Steve Nash.

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 Steve Nash 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 10.8 points more than Steve Nash in his 18 seasons (25.1 points against 14.3), and he also scored a total of 5,211 points more (22,598 vs. 17,387).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Damian Lillard 25.1
+10.8
13
Steve Nash 14.3
18

Total Points

Seasons
Damian Lillard 22,598
+5,211
13
Steve Nash 17,387
18

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Damian Lillard has a better career point average than Steve Nash (+7.9 points per game) while Steve Nash scored more points (+357).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Damian Lillard 25.2
+7.9
10
Steve Nash 17.3
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Damian Lillard 1,715
10
Steve Nash 2,072
+357
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

70+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 1
+1
Steve Nash 0

60+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 5
+5
Steve Nash 0

50+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 15
+15
Steve Nash 0

40+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 60
+58
Steve Nash 2

30+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 265
+226
Steve Nash 39

20+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 650
+341
Steve Nash 309

10+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 882
+7
Steve Nash 875

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Damian Lillard 900
Steve Nash 1,177
+277

0 Point Games (games without points)

Damian Lillard 0
Steve Nash 40
+40

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 2
+2
Steve Nash 0

40+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 4
+3
Steve Nash 1

30+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 23
+14
Steve Nash 9

20+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 46
Steve Nash 48
+2

10+ Point Games

Damian Lillard 66
Steve Nash 103
+37

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Damian Lillard 67
Steve Nash 115
+48

0 Point Games (games without points)

Damian Lillard 1
Steve Nash 5
+4

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+10.8+2.9+7.8+5.2+1.7+5.2+5.7+3.3+3.7+0.5+5+317
Steve Nash 14.3 5.2 10.6 49.0 1.4 3.2 42.8 2.5 2.8 90.4 18 1,217

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:+5,211+945+3,676+5.2+1,119+3,617+5.7+2,202+2,469+0.5+5+317
Steve Nash 17,387 6,321 12,892 49.0 1,685 3,939 42.8 3,060 3,384 90.4 18 1,217

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:+7.9+1.8+6.3+6.4+1.8+5.2+3.8+2.7+3.1+0.7+2+52
Steve Nash 17.3 6.2 13.2 47.3 1.5 3.7 40.6 3.3 3.7 90.0 12 120

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:+357+208+260+6.4+44+165+3.8+15+20+0.7+2+52
Steve Nash 2,072 749 1,584 47.3 178 438 40.6 396 440 90.0 12 120

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 19.0
+15.7
201382
Steve Nash 3.3
199765

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 20.7
+11.6
201482
Steve Nash 9.1
199876

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 21.0
+13.1
201582
Steve Nash 7.9
199940

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 25.1
+16.5
201675
Steve Nash 8.6
200056

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 27.0
+11.4
201775
Steve Nash 15.6
200170

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 26.9
+9.0
201873
Steve Nash 17.9
200282

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 25.8
+8.1
201980
Steve Nash 17.7
200382

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 30.0
+15.5
202066
Steve Nash 14.5
200478

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 28.8
+13.3
202167
Steve Nash 15.5
200575

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 24.0
+5.2
202229
Steve Nash 18.8
200679

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 32.2
+13.6
202358
Steve Nash 18.6
200776

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 24.3
+7.4
202473
Steve Nash 16.9
200881

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 24.9
+9.2
202558
Steve Nash 15.7
200974

Steve Nash's additional seasons:

* Steve Nash played 5 seasons more than Damian Lillard in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2010 to 2014—he averaged 14.0 points in a total of 283 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.5 ppg and his lowest 6.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20130
Steve Nash 1.3
+1.3
19974

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 22.9
+17.4
201411
Steve Nash 5.5
19984

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 21.6
+21.6
20155
Steve Nash -
DNP
19990

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 26.5
+26.5
201611
Steve Nash -
DNP
20000

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 27.8
+14.2
20174
Steve Nash 13.6
200110

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 18.5
20184
Steve Nash 19.5
+1.0
20028

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 26.9
+10.8
201916
Steve Nash 16.1
200320

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 24.3
+10.7
20204
Steve Nash 13.6
20045

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 34.3
+10.4
20216
Steve Nash 23.9
200515

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20220
Steve Nash 20.4
+20.4
200620

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20230
Steve Nash 18.9
+18.9
200711

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 31.3
+15.1
20244
Steve Nash 16.2
20085

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Damian Lillard 7.0
+7.0
20253
Steve Nash -
DNP
20090

Steve Nash's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Steve Nash played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 17.2 points in a total of 18 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 12.5.