Dwight Howard vs. LeBron James: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of LeBron James 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
LeBron James is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Dwight Howard.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that LeBron James has better scoring stats than Dwight Howard 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: |
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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 23 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 11.2 points more than Dwight Howard in his 18 seasons (26.9 points against 15.7), and he also scored a total of 23,003 points more (42,488 vs. 19,485).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.7 | 18 | |
| LeBron James | 26.9 | +11.2 | 23 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 19,485 | 18 | |
| LeBron James | 42,488 | +23,003 | 23 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason LeBron James has a better career point average than Dwight Howard (+13.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+6,380).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.3 | 12 | |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +13.1 | 18 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 1,909 | 12 | |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +6,380 | 18 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 14 | +14 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 391 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,293 | +902 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 955 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,568 | +613 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 1,227 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,577 | +350 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 15 | +15 | ||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 42 | |||
| LeBron James | 261 | +219 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 86 | |||
| LeBron James | 290 | +204 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 121 | |||
| LeBron James | 292 | +171 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 4 | +4 | ||
| LeBron James | 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: | +11.2 | +4.2 | +9.8 | +8.0 | +1.6 | +4.6 | +13.5 | +1.2 | +0.1 | +16.9 | +5 | +335 |
| LeBron James | 26.9 | 9.9 | 19.5 | 50.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 34.9 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 73.6 | 23 | 1,577 |
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: | +23,003 | +8,551 | +18,797 | +8.0 | +2,560 | +7,292 | +13.5 | +3,341 | +2,361 | +16.9 | +5 | +335 |
| LeBron James | 42,488 | 15,602 | 30,813 | 50.6 | 2,582 | 7,395 | 34.9 | 8,702 | 11,816 | 73.6 | 23 | 1,577 |
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: | +13.1 | +4.8 | +11.3 | +9.3 | +1.6 | +4.8 | +19.0 | +2.0 | +0.6 | +19.3 | +6 | +167 |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 49.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
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: | +6,380 | +2,290 | +4,828 | +9.3 | +479 | +1,436 | +19.0 | +1,321 | +1,522 | +19.3 | +6 | +167 |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
- LeBron James played 5 seasons more than Dwight Howard in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 23, from 2022 to 2026—he averaged 26.7 points in a total of 267 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 20.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 23.7 | +23.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 32.8 | +32.8 | 2017 | 18 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 34.0 | +34.0 | 2018 | 22 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | 5.8 | +5.8 | 2020 | 18 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 23.3 | +23.3 | 2021 | 6 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 5 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 24.5. |