Donovan Mitchell vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson and Donovan Mitchell 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.

Donovan Mitchell has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Klay Thompson.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Donovan Mitchell has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Klay Thompson scored more total points in both stages. 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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Donovan Mitchell averages 5.6 points more than Klay Thompson in his 12 seasons (24.7 points against 19.1). On the other hand Klay Thompson scored a total of 3,216 points more than Donovan Mitchell (16,536 vs. 13,320).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Donovan Mitchell 24.7
+5.6
8
Klay Thompson 19.1
12

Total Points

Seasons
Donovan Mitchell 13,320
8
Klay Thompson 16,536
+3,216
12

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Donovan Mitchell has a better career point average than Klay Thompson (+9.1 points per game) while Klay Thompson scored more points (+1,249).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Donovan Mitchell 28.3
+9.1
8
Klay Thompson 19.2
9

Total Points

Playoffs
Donovan Mitchell 1,783
8
Klay Thompson 3,032
+1,249
9

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

70+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 1
+1
Klay Thompson 0

60+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 1
Klay Thompson 1

50+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 1
Klay Thompson 4
+3

40+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 28
+10
Klay Thompson 18

30+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 157
+79
Klay Thompson 78

20+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 390
Klay Thompson 392
+2

10+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 519
Klay Thompson 764
+245

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Donovan Mitchell 539
Klay Thompson 860
+321

0 Point Games (games without points)

Donovan Mitchell 0
Klay Thompson 5
+5

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 3
+3
Klay Thompson 0

40+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 7
+6
Klay Thompson 1

30+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 31
+14
Klay Thompson 17

20+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 51
Klay Thompson 75
+24

10+ Point Games

Donovan Mitchell 62
Klay Thompson 143
+81

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Donovan Mitchell 63
Klay Thompson 158
+95

0 Point Games (games without points)

Donovan Mitchell 0
Klay Thompson 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Donovan Mitchell 24.7 8.8 19.5 44.9 3.0 8.2 36.6 4.2 5.0 84.0 8 539
difference:+5.6+1.7+3.7+0.2+0.1+0.6+4.5+2.4+2.9+2.0+4+326
Klay Thompson 19.1 7.1 15.8 45.1 3.1 7.6 41.1 1.8 2.1 86.0 12 865

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Donovan Mitchell 13,320 4,720 10,512 44.9 1,618 4,419 36.6 2,262 2,692 84.0 8 539
difference:+3,216+1,435+3,147+0.2+1,079+2,144+4.5+733+914+2.0+4+326
Klay Thompson 16,536 6,155 13,659 45.1 2,697 6,563 41.1 1,529 1,778 86.0 12 865

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Donovan Mitchell 28.3 9.8 22.3 44.0 3.2 8.9 35.5 5.6 6.7 82.5 8 63
difference:+9.1+2.7+5.9+0.4+1.1+5.0+3.8+4.6+2.0+1+95
Klay Thompson 19.2 7.1 16.4 43.6 3.2 7.8 40.5 1.8 2.1 84.5 9 158

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Donovan Mitchell 1,783 617 1,403 44.0 199 561 35.5 350 424 82.5 8 63
difference:+1,249+509+1,182+0.4+302+676+5.0+71+94+2.0+1+95
Klay Thompson 3,032 1,126 2,585 43.6 501 1,237 40.5 279 330 84.5 9 158

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 20.5
+8.0
201879
Klay Thompson 12.5
201266

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 23.8
+7.2
201977
Klay Thompson 16.6
201382

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 24.0
+5.6
202069
Klay Thompson 18.4
201481

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 26.4
+4.7
202153
Klay Thompson 21.7
2015NBA Champion77

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 25.9
+3.8
202267
Klay Thompson 22.1
201680

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 28.3
+6.0
202368
Klay Thompson 22.3
2017NBA Champion78

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 26.6
+6.6
202455
Klay Thompson 20.0
2018NBA Champion73

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 24.0
+2.5
202571
Klay Thompson 21.5
201978

Klay Thompson's additional seasons:

* Klay Thompson played 4 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 12, from 2022 to 2025—he averaged 18.2 points in a total of 250 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 21.9 ppg and his lowest 14.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 24.4
+24.4
201811
Klay Thompson -
DNP
20120

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 21.4
+6.2
20195
Klay Thompson 15.2
201312

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 36.3
+19.9
20207
Klay Thompson 16.4
20147

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 32.3
+13.7
202110
Klay Thompson 18.6
2015NBA Champion21

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 25.5
+1.2
20226
Klay Thompson 24.3
201624

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 23.2
+8.2
20235
Klay Thompson 15.0
2017NBA Champion17

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 29.6
+10.0
202410
Klay Thompson 19.6
2018NBA Champion21

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Donovan Mitchell 29.6
+8.9
20259
Klay Thompson 20.7
201921

Klay Thompson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Klay Thompson played in two Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 18.9 points in a total of 35 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19 ppg and his lowest 18.5.