DeMarcus Cousins vs. LeBron James: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of LeBron James and DeMarcus Cousins 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.

LeBron James 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 DeMarcus Cousins.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that LeBron James has better scoring stats than DeMarcus Cousins 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 22 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 7.4 points more than DeMarcus Cousins in his 11 seasons (27.0 points against 19.6), and he also scored a total of 29,382 points more (42,184 vs. 12,802).

Points Per Game			Seasons
DeMarcus Cousins	19.6		11
LeBron James	27.0	+7.4	22

Total Points			Seasons
DeMarcus Cousins	12,802		11
LeBron James	42,184	+29,382	22

Scoring Titles
DeMarcus Cousins	0
LeBron James	1	+1

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	14.1		2011	81
LeBron James	20.9	+6.8	2004	79

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	18.1		2012	64
LeBron James	27.2	+9.1	2005	80

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	17.1		2013	75
LeBron James	31.4	+14.3	2006	79

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	22.7		2014	71
LeBron James	27.3	+4.6	2007	78

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	24.1		2015	59
LeBron James	30.0	+5.9	2008	75

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	26.9		2016	65
LeBron James	28.4	+1.5	2009	81

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	27.0		2017	72
LeBron James	29.7	+2.7	2010	76

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	27.0	+0.3	2017	72
LeBron James	26.7		2011	79

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	25.2		2018	48
LeBron James	27.1	+1.9	2012	62

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	16.3		2019	30
LeBron James	26.8	+10.5	2013	76

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	8.9		2021	41
LeBron James	27.1	+18.2	2014	77

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	9.0		2022	48
LeBron James	25.3	+16.3	2015	69

LeBron James' additional seasons:

* LeBron James played 10 seasons more than DeMarcus Cousins in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 13 to 22, from 2016 to 2025—he averaged 26.5 points in a total of 651 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 24.4.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2011	0
LeBron James	-	DNP	2004	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2012	0
LeBron James	-	DNP	2005	0

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2013	0
LeBron James	30.8	+30.8	2006	13

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2014	0
LeBron James	25.1	+25.1	2007	20

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2015	0
LeBron James	28.2	+28.2	2008	13

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2016	0
LeBron James	35.3	+35.3	2009	14

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2017	0
LeBron James	29.1	+29.1	2010	11

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2017	0
LeBron James	23.7	+23.7	2011	21

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	-	DNP	2018	0
LeBron James	30.3	+30.3	2012	23

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	7.6		2019	8
LeBron James	25.9	+18.3	2013	23

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	7.6		2021	7
LeBron James	27.4	+19.8	2014	20

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	10.6		2022	5
LeBron James	30.1	+19.5	2015	20

LeBron James' additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 28.7 points in a total of 114 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 34 ppg and his lowest 23.3.