DeMarcus Cousins vs. Zion Williamson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Zion Williamson 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
Zion Williamson 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 in the regular season Zion Williamson has a better scoring average and DeMarcus Cousins scored more points, and since Zion Williamson didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that DeMarcus Cousins has better playoff stats. 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: |
|
Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 5 NBA regular seasons played, Zion Williamson averages 5.1 points more than DeMarcus Cousins in his 11 seasons (24.7 points against 19.6). On the other hand DeMarcus Cousins scored a total of 7,523 points more than Zion Williamson (12,802 vs. 5,279).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 19.6 | 11 | |
| Zion Williamson | 24.7 | +5.1 | 5 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 12,802 | +7,523 | 11 |
| Zion Williamson | 5,279 | 5 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Zion Williamson didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously DeMarcus Cousins has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 8.4 | +8.4 | 3 |
| Zion Williamson | 0 | 0 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 167 | +167 | 3 |
| Zion Williamson | 0 | 0 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 2 | +2 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 316 | +148 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 168 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 542 | +332 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 210 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 650 | +436 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 214 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| DeMarcus Cousins | 4 | +4 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 0 | |||
Playoffs
Zion Williamson didn't play in the NBA postseason, so DeMarcus Cousins' point thresholds are omited here.
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: | +5.1 | +2.5 | +1.0 | +12.9 | +0.6 | +1.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +4.8 | +6 | +440 |
| Zion Williamson | 24.7 | 9.5 | 16.2 | 58.9 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 32.7 | 5.4 | 7.9 | 68.9 | 5 | 214 |
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: | +7,523 | +2,521 | +6,456 | +12.9 | +394 | +1,190 | +0.4 | +2,087 | +2,721 | +4.8 | +6 | +440 |
| Zion Williamson | 5,279 | 2,041 | 3,468 | 58.9 | 32 | 98 | 32.7 | 1,165 | 1,690 | 68.9 | 5 | 214 |
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: | +8.4 | +3.0 | +6.2 | +47.6 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +39.3 | +1.9 | +2.7 | +70.4 | +3 | +20 |
| Zion Williamson | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
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: | +167 | +59 | +124 | +47.6 | +11 | +28 | +39.3 | +38 | +54 | +70.4 | +3 | +20 |
| Zion Williamson | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
DeMarcus Cousins' additional seasons: | ||||
* DeMarcus Cousins played 6 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 6 to 11, from 2016 to 2022—he averaged 20.3 points in a total of 304 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 27 ppg and his lowest 8.9. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| DeMarcus Cousins | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
DeMarcus Cousins' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, DeMarcus Cousins played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 8.4 points in a total of 20 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 10.6 ppg and his lowest 7.6. |