Gary Payton vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Paul Pierce and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 48,210 points—. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Paul Pierce has better scoring stats than Gary Payton 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 19 NBA regular seasons played, Paul Pierce averages 3.4 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (19.7 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 4,584 points more (26,397 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | +3.4 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +4,584 | 19 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Paul Pierce has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+4.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,025).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | +4.7 | 14 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 15 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +1,025 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +153 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +126 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +18 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +10 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 47 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +26 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Gary Payton | 92 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +56 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 150 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +15 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Gary Payton | 4 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +1 | ||
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: | +3.4 | +0.5 | +2.0 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +5.1 | +2.8 | +3.0 | +7.7 | +2 | +8 | |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 6.5 | 14.5 | 44.5 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 36.8 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
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: | +4,584 | +40 | +767 | +2.0 | +1,011 | +2,246 | +5.1 | +3,653 | +4,098 | +7.7 | +2 | +8 |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | 8,668 | 19,465 | 44.5 | 2,143 | 5,816 | 36.8 | 6,918 | 8,578 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
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: | +4.7 | +0.4 | +1.6 | +1.8 | +0.7 | +1.8 | +4.0 | +3.1 | +3.3 | +12.4 | +1 | +16 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 6.0 | 14.2 | 42.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 35.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
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: | +1,025 | +167 | +477 | +1.8 | +139 | +342 | +4.0 | +552 | +600 | +12.4 | +1 | +16 |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | 1,022 | 2,415 | 42.3 | 276 | 777 | 35.5 | 860 | 1,036 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul Pierce played 2 seasons more than Gary Payton in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 19, from 2016 to 2017—he averaged 5.4 points in a total of 93 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 7.6 | +7.6 | 1992 | 8 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 12.3 | +12.3 | 1993 | 19 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | 24.0 | +24.0 | 1998 | 10 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 21.0 | +21.0 | 2009 | 14 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 2.3 points in a total of 12 games. |