Ja Morant vs. J.R. Smith: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of J.R. Smith and Ja Morant 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
Ja Morant has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by J.R. Smith.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Ja Morant has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while J.R. Smith 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 |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 7 NBA regular seasons played, Ja Morant averages 10 points more than J.R. Smith in his 16 seasons (22.4 points against 12.4). On the other hand J.R. Smith scored a total of 4,991 points more than Ja Morant (12,148 vs. 7,157).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Ja Morant | 22.4 | +10.0 | 7 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Ja Morant | 7,157 | 7 | |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | +4,991 | 16 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Ja Morant has a better career point average than J.R. Smith (+15.3 points per game) while J.R. Smith scored more points (+920).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Ja Morant | 26.0 | +15.3 | 4 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Ja Morant | 573 | 4 | |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | +920 | 12 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 1 | +1 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 196 | +36 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 160 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 303 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 604 | +301 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Ja Morant | 319 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 932 | +613 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Ja Morant | 0 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 45 | +45 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 3 | +3 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 8 | +8 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 14 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 14 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Ja Morant | 22 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 77 | +55 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Ja Morant | 22 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 130 | +108 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Ja Morant | 0 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 10 | +10 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Ja Morant | 22.4 | 8.1 | 17.4 | 46.5 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 31.0 | 4.9 | 6.4 | 77.2 | 7 | 319 |
| difference: | +10.0 | +3.6 | +6.7 | +4.7 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +6.3 | +3.4 | +4.4 | +3.9 | +9 | +658 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 4.5 | 10.7 | 41.9 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 37.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Ja Morant | 7,157 | 2,577 | 5,539 | 46.5 | 425 | 1,372 | 31.0 | 1,578 | 2,044 | 77.2 | 7 | 319 |
| difference: | +4,991 | +1,803 | +4,926 | +4.7 | +1,505 | +3,806 | +6.3 | +120 | +54 | +3.9 | +9 | +658 |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | 4,380 | 10,465 | 41.9 | 1,930 | 5,178 | 37.3 | 1,458 | 1,990 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Ja Morant | 26.0 | 9.2 | 20.7 | 44.5 | 2.0 | 5.8 | 34.4 | 5.6 | 7.5 | 75.0 | 4 | 22 |
| difference: | +15.3 | +5.5 | +11.4 | +4.8 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +2.3 | +4.4 | +5.9 | +4.4 | +8 | +118 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 2.1 | 5.7 | 36.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Ja Morant | 573 | 203 | 456 | 44.5 | 44 | 128 | 34.4 | 123 | 164 | 75.0 | 4 | 22 |
| difference: | +920 | +316 | +850 | +4.8 | +250 | +673 | +2.3 | +38 | +64 | +4.4 | +8 | +118 |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | 519 | 1,306 | 39.7 | 294 | 801 | 36.7 | 161 | 228 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
J.R. Smith's additional seasons: | ||||
* J.R. Smith played 10 seasons more than Ja Morant in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 17, from 2012 to 2020—he averaged 12.3 points in a total of 544 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.1 ppg and his lowest 2.8. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Ja Morant | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Ja Morant | 30.2 | +30.2 | 2021 | 5 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Ja Morant | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 14.9 | +14.9 | 2009 | 16 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Ja Morant | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 9.8 | +9.8 | 2011 | 5 |
| * season in progress | ||||
J.R. Smith's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, J.R. Smith played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 10.4 points in a total of 123 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 14.3 ppg and his lowest 2. |