Dwight Howard vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Klay Thompson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while Dwight Howard 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 12 NBA regular seasons played, Klay Thompson averages 3.4 points more than Dwight Howard in his 18 seasons (19.1 points against 15.7). On the other hand Dwight Howard scored a total of 2,949 points more than Klay Thompson (19,485 vs. 16,536).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.7 | 18 | |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | +3.4 | 12 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 19,485 | +2,949 | 18 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 12 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Klay Thompson has a better career point average than Dwight Howard (+3.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,123).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.3 | 12 | |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | +3.9 | 9 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 1,909 | 12 | |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | +1,123 | 9 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 4 | +4 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 391 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 392 | +1 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 955 | +191 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 764 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 1,227 | +367 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 860 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 15 | +10 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 5 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 42 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 75 | +33 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 86 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 143 | +57 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 121 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 158 | +37 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 4 | +4 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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: | +3.4 | +1.4 | +6.1 | +13.6 | +3.1 | +7.5 | +19.7 | +2.5 | +5.5 | +29.3 | +6 | +377 |
| 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 | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 19,485 | 7,051 | 12,016 | 58.7 | 22 | 103 | 21.4 | 5,361 | 9,455 | 56.7 | 18 | 1,242 |
| difference: | +2,949 | +896 | +1,643 | +13.6 | +2,675 | +6,460 | +19.7 | +3,832 | +7,677 | +29.3 | +6 | +377 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +3.9 | +1.7 | +7.2 | +15.4 | +3.2 | +7.7 | +26.2 | +2.6 | +5.9 | +29.7 | +3 | +33 |
| 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 | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 1,909 | 681 | 1,156 | 58.9 | 1 | 7 | 14.3 | 546 | 997 | 54.8 | 12 | 125 |
| difference: | +1,123 | +445 | +1,429 | +15.4 | +500 | +1,230 | +26.2 | +267 | +667 | +29.7 | +3 | +33 |
| 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 ChampionRegular Season
Dwight Howard's additional seasons: | ||||
* Dwight Howard played 6 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2017 to 2022—he averaged 10.6 points in a total of 362 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.6 ppg and his lowest 6.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Klay Thompson | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2013 | 12 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Klay Thompson | 20.7 | +20.7 | 2019 | 21 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | 16.4 | +16.4 | 2015 | 17 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | 13.2 | +13.2 | 2016 | 5 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Dwight Howard's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Dwight Howard played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 5.8 points in a total of 36 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 8 ppg and his lowest 4.7. |