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.

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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 7 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 4.8 points more than DeMarcus Cousins in his 11 seasons (24.4 points against 19.6). On the other hand DeMarcus Cousins scored a total of 1,508 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (12,802 vs. 11,294).

Points Per Game			Seasons
DeMarcus Cousins	19.6		11
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.4	+4.8	7

Total Points			Seasons
DeMarcus Cousins	12,802	+1,508	11
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	11,294		7

Scoring Titles
DeMarcus Cousins	0
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	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	+3.3	2011	81
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	10.8		2019	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	18.1		2012	64
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	19.0	+0.9	2020	70

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	17.1		2013	75
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	23.7	+6.6	2021	35

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	22.7		2014	71
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.5	+1.8	2022	56

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	24.1		2015	59
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	31.4	+7.3	2023	68

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	26.9		2016	65
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.1	+3.2	2024	75

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
DeMarcus Cousins	27.0		2017	72
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.7	+5.7	2025	76

DeMarcus Cousins' additional seasons:

* DeMarcus Cousins played 5 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 12, from 2018 to 2022—he averaged 13.6 points in a total of 215 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25.2 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

DeMarcus Cousins' additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 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.