Jayson Tatum vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson and Jayson Tatum 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
Jayson Tatum has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Klay Thompson.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Jayson Tatum has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Klay Thompson 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: |
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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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Jayson Tatum averages 4.5 points more than Klay Thompson in his 12 seasons (23.6 points against 19.1). On the other hand Klay Thompson scored a total of 2,752 points more than Jayson Tatum (16,536 vs. 13,784).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | +4.5 | 8 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 12 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 8 | |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | +2,752 | 12 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Jayson Tatum has a better career point average than Klay Thompson (+5.1 points per game) while Klay Thompson scored more points (+96).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | +5.1 | 8 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 8 | |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | +96 | 9 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 375 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 392 | +17 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 550 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 764 | +214 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 584 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 860 | +276 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 5 | +4 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 2 | +2 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 84 | +9 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 75 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 115 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 143 | +28 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 121 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 158 | +37 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 0 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | 8.2 | 17.8 | 45.9 | 2.6 | 7.1 | 37.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
| difference: | +4.5 | +1.1 | +2.0 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +4.1 | +2.7 | +3.3 | +2.0 | +4 | +280 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 7.1 | 15.8 | 45.1 | 3.1 | 7.6 | 41.1 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 4,789 | 10,429 | 45.9 | 1,546 | 4,181 | 37.0 | 2,660 | 3,167 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
| difference: | +2,752 | +1,366 | +3,230 | +0.9 | +1,151 | +2,382 | +4.1 | +1,131 | +1,389 | +2.0 | +4 | +280 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 6,155 | 13,659 | 45.1 | 2,697 | 6,563 | 41.1 | 1,529 | 1,778 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | 8.1 | 18.5 | 43.9 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 34.8 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
| difference: | +5.1 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +5.7 | +3.8 | +4.6 | +0.4 | +1 | +37 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 7.1 | 16.4 | 43.6 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 40.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 983 | 2,241 | 43.9 | 292 | 840 | 34.8 | 678 | 806 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
| difference: | +96 | +143 | +344 | +0.3 | +209 | +397 | +5.7 | +399 | +476 | +0.4 | +1 | +37 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 1,126 | 2,585 | 43.6 | 501 | 1,237 | 40.5 | 279 | 330 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Klay Thompson's additional seasons: | ||||
* Klay Thompson played 4 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 12, from 2022 to 2025—he averaged 18.2 points in a total of 250 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 21.9 ppg and his lowest 14. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jayson Tatum | 18.5 | +18.5 | 2018 | 19 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Klay Thompson's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Klay Thompson played in two Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 18.9 points in a total of 35 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19 ppg and his lowest 18.5. |