DeMarcus Cousins vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has one of the highest career point averages in NBA 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while DeMarcus Cousins scored more points in the regular season. 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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 5.2 points more than DeMarcus Cousins in his 11 seasons (24.8 points against 19.6). On the other hand DeMarcus Cousins scored a total of 787 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (12,802 vs. 12,015).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 19.6 | 11 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | +5.2 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 12,802 | +787 | 11 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 8 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 0 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than DeMarcus Cousins (+17.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,019).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 8.4 | 3 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +17.4 | 4 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 167 | 3 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | +1,019 | 4 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 316 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 335 | +19 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 542 | +99 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 443 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 650 | +168 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 482 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 4 | +2 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 | +1 | ||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 22 | +22 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | +34 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 8 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | +33 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 20 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | +26 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 19.6 | 7.0 | 15.2 | 46.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 33.1 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 73.7 | 11 | 654 |
| difference: | +5.2 | +1.6 | +2.0 | +4.4 | +0.7 | +1.8 | +2.9 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +12.6 | +3 | +170 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | 8.6 | 17.2 | 50.3 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 36.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 12,802 | 4,562 | 9,924 | 46.0 | 426 | 1,288 | 33.1 | 3,252 | 4,411 | 73.7 | 11 | 654 |
| difference: | +787 | +381 | +1,618 | +4.4 | +237 | +554 | +2.9 | +262 | +945 | +12.6 | +3 | +170 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 4,181 | 8,306 | 50.3 | 663 | 1,842 | 36.0 | 2,990 | 3,466 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 8.4 | 3.0 | 6.2 | 47.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 39.3 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 70.4 | 3 | 20 |
| difference: | +17.4 | +5.9 | +12.9 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +3.0 | +4.3 | +4.5 | +4.7 | +15.5 | +1 | +26 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 46.8 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 35.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 167 | 59 | 124 | 47.6 | 11 | 28 | 39.3 | 38 | 54 | 70.4 | 3 | 20 |
| difference: | +1,019 | +352 | +754 | +0.8 | +60 | +175 | +4.3 | +255 | +287 | +15.5 | +1 | +26 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 411 | 878 | 46.8 | 71 | 203 | 35.0 | 293 | 341 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 14.1 | +3.3 | 2011 | 81 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 10.8 | 2019 | 82 | |
DeMarcus Cousins' additional seasons: | ||||
* DeMarcus Cousins played 4 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 12, from 2019 to 2022—he averaged 10.3 points in a total of 167 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.3 ppg and his lowest 8.9. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2019 | 6 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2020 | 7 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 30.2 | +30.2 | 2024 | 10 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 29.9 | +29.9 | 2025 | 23 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
DeMarcus Cousins' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, DeMarcus Cousins played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 8.8 points in a total of 25 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 10.6 ppg and his lowest 7.6. |