Dwight Howard vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Dwight Howard 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Dwight Howard has better scoring stats than Arvydas Sabonis 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.

On this page we compare:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 18 NBA regular seasons played, Dwight Howard averages 3.7 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (15.7 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 13,856 points more (19,485 vs. 5,629).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Dwight Howard 15.7
+3.7
18
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0
7

Total Points

Seasons
Dwight Howard 19,485
+13,856
18
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629
7

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Dwight Howard has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+3.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,292).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Dwight Howard 15.3
+3.2
12
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
7

Total Points

Playoffs
Dwight Howard 1,909
+1,292
12
Arvydas Sabonis 617
7

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 4
+4
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 69
+64
Arvydas Sabonis 5

20+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 391
+325
Arvydas Sabonis 66

10+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 955
+658
Arvydas Sabonis 297

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dwight Howard 1,227
+768
Arvydas Sabonis 459

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dwight Howard 15
+4
Arvydas Sabonis 11

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 2
+2
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 9
+9
Arvydas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 42
+36
Arvydas Sabonis 6

10+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 86
+51
Arvydas Sabonis 35

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dwight Howard 121
+72
Arvydas Sabonis 49

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dwight Howard 4
+2
Arvydas Sabonis 2

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Dwight Howard 15.7 5.7 9.7 58.7 0.0 0.1 21.4 4.3 7.6 56.7 18 1,242
difference:+3.7+1.3+0.8+8.6+0.3+0.8+11.4+1.5+4.0+21.9+11+772
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0 4.4 8.9 50.0 0.3 0.9 32.8 2.8 3.6 78.6 7 470

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Dwight Howard 19,485 7,051 12,016 58.7 22 103 21.4 5,361 9,455 56.7 18 1,242
difference:+13,856+4,969+7,856+8.6+114+312+11.4+4,032+7,765+21.9+11+772
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629 2,082 4,160 50.0 136 415 32.8 1,329 1,690 78.6 7 470

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Dwight Howard 15.3 5.4 9.2 58.9 0.0 0.1 14.3 4.4 8.0 54.8 12 125
difference:+3.2+1.0+0.4+13.7+0.3+0.8+17.6+1.3+4.1+25.4+5+74
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1 4.4 9.6 45.2 0.3 0.9 31.9 3.1 3.9 80.2 7 51

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Dwight Howard 1,909 681 1,156 58.9 1 7 14.3 546 997 54.8 12 125
difference:+1,292+459+665+13.7+14+40+17.6+388+800+25.4+5+74
Arvydas Sabonis 617 222 491 45.2 15 47 31.9 158 197 80.2 7 51

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 12.0
200582
Arvydas Sabonis 14.5
+2.5
199673

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 15.8
+2.4
200682
Arvydas Sabonis 13.4
199769

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 17.6
+1.6
200782
Arvydas Sabonis 16.0
199873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.7
+8.6
200882
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
199950

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.6
+8.8
200979
Arvydas Sabonis 11.8
200066

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.3
+8.2
201082
Arvydas Sabonis 10.1
200161

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 22.9
+16.8
201178
Arvydas Sabonis 6.1
200378

Dwight Howard's additional seasons:

* Dwight Howard played 11 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 18, from 2012 to 2022—he averaged 13.6 points in a total of 675 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20.6 ppg and his lowest 6.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20050
Arvydas Sabonis 23.6
+23.6
19965

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20060
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
+11.3
19974

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 15.3
+3.0
20074
Arvydas Sabonis 12.3
19984

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.9
+8.9
200810
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
199913

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.3
+9.0
200923
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
200016

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.1
+6.8
201014
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
20013

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 27.0
+17.0
20116
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
20036

Dwight Howard's additional Playoffs:

* During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Dwight Howard played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 11.4 points in a total of 68 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 26 ppg and his lowest 4.7.

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