Gary Payton vs. Fred VanVleet: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Fred VanVleet and Gary Payton 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.
Gary Payton is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Fred VanVleet.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Gary Payton has better scoring stats than Fred VanVleet 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, Gary Payton averages 1.4 points more than Fred VanVleet in his 9 seasons (16.3 points against 14.9), and he also scored a total of 13,609 points more (21,813 vs. 8,204).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | +1.4 | 17 |
| Fred VanVleet | 14.9 | 9 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | +13,609 | 17 |
| Fred VanVleet | 8,204 | 9 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Gary Payton has a better career point average than Fred VanVleet (+3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,506).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | +3.0 | 15 |
| Fred VanVleet | 11.0 | 6 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | +1,506 | 15 |
| Fred VanVleet | 649 | 6 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
| Fred VanVleet | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 515 | +351 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 164 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | +642 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 393 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +775 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 529 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +10 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 21 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 47 | +35 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 12 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 92 | +63 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 29 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +97 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 53 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 4 | |||
| Fred VanVleet | 6 | +2 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
| difference: | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +6.4 | +1.7 | +4.1 | +5.4 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +13.3 | +8 | +785 |
| Fred VanVleet | 14.9 | 5.0 | 12.5 | 40.1 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 37.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 86.2 | 9 | 550 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
| difference: | +13,609 | +5,945 | +11,813 | +6.4 | +254 | +161 | +5.4 | +1,973 | +2,982 | +13.3 | +8 | +785 |
| Fred VanVleet | 8,204 | 2,763 | 6,885 | 40.1 | 1,386 | 3,731 | 37.1 | 1,292 | 1,498 | 86.2 | 9 | 550 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
| difference: | +3.0 | +1.9 | +3.3 | +4.4 | +1.3 | +2.9 | +6.8 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +15.6 | +9 | +95 |
| Fred VanVleet | 11.0 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 2.2 | 5.7 | 38.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 86.2 | 6 | 59 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
| difference: | +1,506 | +636 | +1,387 | +4.4 | +7 | +96 | +6.8 | +227 | +342 | +15.6 | +9 | +95 |
| Fred VanVleet | 649 | 219 | 551 | 39.7 | 130 | 339 | 38.3 | 81 | 94 | 86.2 | 6 | 59 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Gary Payton's additional seasons: | ||||
* Gary Payton played 8 seasons more than Fred VanVleet in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 17, from 2000 to 2007—he averaged 16.3 points in a total of 631 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.2 ppg and his lowest 5.3. |
Playoffs
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 17.8 | +17.8 | 1995 | 4 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 23.8 | +23.8 | 1997 | 12 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 24.0 | +24.0 | 1998 | 10 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Fred VanVleet | 18.7 | +18.7 | 2025 | 7 |
Gary Payton's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Gary Payton played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 10.4 points in a total of 70 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.8 ppg and his lowest 0. |