Dwight Howard vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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 / Games against each other

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Yao Ming has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Dwight Howard 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.

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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Yao Ming averages 3.3 points more than Dwight Howard in his 18 seasons (19.0 points against 15.7). On the other hand Dwight Howard scored a total of 10,238 points more than Yao Ming (19,485 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Dwight Howard 15.7
18
Yao Ming 19.0
+3.3
8

Total Points

Seasons
Dwight Howard 19,485
+10,238
18
Yao Ming 9,247
8

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Dwight Howard (+4.5 points per game) while Dwight Howard scored more points (+1,354).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Dwight Howard 15.3
12
Yao Ming 19.8
+4.5
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Dwight Howard 1,909
+1,354
12
Yao Ming 555
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 4
+2
Yao Ming 2

30+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 69
+20
Yao Ming 49

20+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 391
+159
Yao Ming 232

10+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 955
+515
Yao Ming 440

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dwight Howard 1,227
+744
Yao Ming 483

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dwight Howard 15
+12
Yao Ming 3

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 2
+2
Yao Ming 0

30+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 9
+6
Yao Ming 3

20+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 42
+27
Yao Ming 15

10+ Point Games

Dwight Howard 86
+60
Yao Ming 26

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Dwight Howard 121
+93
Yao Ming 28

0 Point Games (games without points)

Dwight Howard 4
+4
Yao Ming 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+3.3+1.3+3.6+6.2+0.1+1.4+0.8+1.5+26.6+10+756
Yao Ming 19.0 7.0 13.3 52.4 0.0 0.0 20.0 5.1 6.1 83.3 8 486

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:+10,238+3,671+5,571+6.2+20+93+1.4+2,876+6,471+26.6+10+756
Yao Ming 9,247 3,380 6,445 52.4 2 10 20.0 2,485 2,984 83.3 8 486

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:+4.5+1.6+4.2+7.0+0.1+14.3+1.5+0.9+28.5+8+97
Yao Ming 19.8 7.0 13.4 51.9 0.0 0.0 - 5.9 7.1 83.3 4 28

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:+1,354+486+780+7.0+1+7+14.3+381+799+28.5+8+97
Yao Ming 555 195 376 51.9 0 0 - 165 198 83.3 4 28

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 12.0
200582
Yao Ming 13.5
+1.5
200382

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 15.8
200682
Yao Ming 17.5
+1.7
200482

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 17.6
200782
Yao Ming 18.3
+0.7
200580

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.7
200882
Yao Ming 22.3
+1.6
200657

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.6
200979
Yao Ming 25.0
+4.4
200748

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.3
201082
Yao Ming 22.0
+3.7
200855

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 22.9
+3.2
201178
Yao Ming 19.7
200977

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.6
+10.4
201254
Yao Ming 10.2
20115

Dwight Howard's additional seasons:

* Dwight Howard played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2013 to 2022—he averaged 13.0 points in a total of 621 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.3 ppg and his lowest 6.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20050
Yao Ming -
DNP
20030

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20060
Yao Ming 15.0
+15.0
20045

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 15.3
20074
Yao Ming 21.4
+6.1
20057

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.9
+18.9
200810
Yao Ming -
DNP
20060

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 20.3
200923
Yao Ming 25.1
+4.8
20077

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 18.1
+18.1
201014
Yao Ming -
DNP
20080

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard 27.0
+9.9
20116
Yao Ming 17.1
20099

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20120
Yao Ming -
DNP
20110

Dwight Howard's additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 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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