Jalen Brunson vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Jalen Brunson 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

Gary Payton is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Jalen Brunson.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Jalen Brunson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Gary Payton 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Jalen Brunson averages 1.9 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (18.2 points against 16.3). On the other hand Gary Payton scored a total of 12,836 points more than Jalen Brunson (21,813 vs. 8,977).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Jalen Brunson 18.2
+1.9
8
Gary Payton 16.3
17

Total Points

Seasons
Jalen Brunson 8,977
8
Gary Payton 21,813
+12,836
17

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Jalen Brunson has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+11.4 points per game) while Gary Payton scored more points (+454).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Jalen Brunson 25.4
+11.4
5
Gary Payton 14.0
15

Total Points

Playoffs
Jalen Brunson 1,701
5
Gary Payton 2,155
+454
15

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 1
+1
Gary Payton 0

50+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 3
+3
Gary Payton 0

40+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 18
+12
Gary Payton 6

30+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 81
+5
Gary Payton 76

20+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 207
Gary Payton 515
+308

10+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 378
Gary Payton 1,035
+657

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jalen Brunson 479
Gary Payton 1,304
+825

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jalen Brunson 13
Gary Payton 31
+18

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 9
+9
Gary Payton 0

30+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 24
+19
Gary Payton 5

20+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 48
+1
Gary Payton 47

10+ Point Games

Jalen Brunson 61
Gary Payton 92
+31

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jalen Brunson 67
Gary Payton 150
+83

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jalen Brunson 0
Gary Payton 4
+4

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jalen Brunson 18.2 6.7 13.7 48.9 1.6 4.1 38.8 3.2 3.9 82.3 8 492
difference:+1.9+0.2+0.3+2.3+0.8+1.4+7.1+0.8+0.5+9.4+9+843
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

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jalen Brunson 8,977 3,296 6,745 48.9 791 2,038 38.8 1,594 1,936 82.3 8 492
difference:+12,836+5,412+11,953+2.3+341+1,532+7.1+1,671+2,544+9.4+9+843
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

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jalen Brunson 25.4 9.0 19.7 46.0 2.0 5.8 34.2 5.3 6.4 82.6 5 67
difference:+11.4+3.4+7.1+1.9+1.1+3.0+2.7+3.3+3.6+12.0+10+87
Gary Payton 14.0 5.6 12.6 44.1 0.9 2.8 31.5 2.0 2.8 70.6 15 154

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jalen Brunson 1,701 606 1,318 46.0 132 386 34.2 357 432 82.6 5 67
difference:+454+249+620+1.9+5+49+2.7+49+4+12.0+10+87
Gary Payton 2,155 855 1,938 44.1 137 435 31.5 308 436 70.6 15 154

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 9.3
+2.1
201973
Gary Payton 7.2
199182

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 8.2
202057
Gary Payton 9.4
+1.2
199281

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 12.6
202168
Gary Payton 13.5
+0.9
199382

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 16.3
202279
Gary Payton 16.5
+0.2
199482

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 24.0
+3.4
202368
Gary Payton 20.6
199582

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 28.7
+9.4
202477
Gary Payton 19.3
199681

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 26.0
+4.2
202565
Gary Payton 21.8
199782

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 31.2
+12.0
20265
Gary Payton 19.2
199882

Gary Payton's additional seasons:

* Gary Payton played 9 seasons more than Jalen Brunson in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 17, from 1999 to 2007—he averaged 16.7 points in a total of 681 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.2 ppg and his lowest 5.3.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson -
DNP
20190
Gary Payton 4.8
+4.8
19915

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson -
DNP
20200
Gary Payton 7.6
+7.6
19928

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 8.0
20217
Gary Payton 12.3
+4.3
199319

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 21.6
+5.8
202218
Gary Payton 15.8
19945

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 27.8
+10.0
202311
Gary Payton 17.8
19954

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 32.4
+11.7
202413
Gary Payton 20.7
199621

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson 29.4
+5.6
202518
Gary Payton 23.8
199712

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jalen Brunson -
DNP *
20260
Gary Payton 24.0
+24.0
199810
* season in progress

Gary Payton's additional Playoffs:

* During his 9 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.