Jimmy Butler vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Jimmy Butler 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

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Jimmy Butler has better scoring stats than Arvydas Sabonis 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Jimmy Butler averages 6.3 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (18.3 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 10,269 points more (15,898 vs. 5,629).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Jimmy Butler 18.3
+6.3
14
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0
7

Total Points

Seasons
Jimmy Butler 15,898
+10,269
14
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629
7

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Jimmy Butler has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,128).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Jimmy Butler 21.1
+9.0
12
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
7

Total Points

Playoffs
Jimmy Butler 2,745
+2,128
12
Arvydas Sabonis 617
7

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 2
+2
Arvydas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 8
+8
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 85
+80
Arvydas Sabonis 5

20+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 399
+333
Arvydas Sabonis 66

10+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 712
+415
Arvydas Sabonis 297

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jimmy Butler 844
+385
Arvydas Sabonis 459

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jimmy Butler 25
+14
Arvydas Sabonis 11

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 1
+1
Arvydas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 8
+8
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 24
+24
Arvydas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 70
+64
Arvydas Sabonis 6

10+ Point Games

Jimmy Butler 114
+79
Arvydas Sabonis 35

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jimmy Butler 127
+78
Arvydas Sabonis 49

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jimmy Butler 3
+1
Arvydas Sabonis 2

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jimmy Butler 18.3 5.9 12.6 47.2 0.8 2.4 32.8 5.7 6.7 84.3 14 869
difference:+6.3+1.5+3.7+2.9+0.5+1.5+2.9+3.1+5.7+7+399
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0 4.4 8.9 50.0 0.3 0.9 32.8 2.8 3.6 78.6 7 470

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jimmy Butler 15,898 5,147 10,909 47.2 684 2,084 32.8 4,920 5,833 84.3 14 869
difference:+10,269+3,065+6,749+2.9+548+1,669+3,591+4,143+5.7+7+399
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629 2,082 4,160 50.0 136 415 32.8 1,329 1,690 78.6 7 470

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jimmy Butler 21.1 7.1 15.5 45.9 1.2 3.5 34.4 5.7 6.9 82.7 12 130
difference:+9.0+2.7+5.9+0.7+0.9+2.6+2.5+2.6+3.0+2.5+5+79
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1 4.4 9.6 45.2 0.3 0.9 31.9 3.1 3.9 80.2 7 51

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jimmy Butler 2,745 923 2,012 45.9 156 454 34.4 743 898 82.7 12 130
difference:+2,128+701+1,521+0.7+141+407+2.5+585+701+2.5+5+79
Arvydas Sabonis 617 222 491 45.2 15 47 31.9 158 197 80.2 7 51

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 2.6
201242
Arvydas Sabonis 14.5
+11.9
199673

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 8.6
201382
Arvydas Sabonis 13.4
+4.8
199769

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 13.1
201467
Arvydas Sabonis 16.0
+2.9
199873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 20.0
+7.9
201565
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
199950

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 20.9
+9.1
201667
Arvydas Sabonis 11.8
200066

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 23.9
+13.8
201776
Arvydas Sabonis 10.1
200161

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 22.2
+16.1
201859
Arvydas Sabonis 6.1
200378

Jimmy Butler's additional seasons:

* Jimmy Butler played 7 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 14, from 2019 to 2025—he averaged 20.4 points in a total of 411 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.9 ppg and his lowest 17.5.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 0.0
20123
Arvydas Sabonis 23.6
+23.6
19965

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 13.3
+2.0
201312
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
19974

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 13.6
+1.3
20145
Arvydas Sabonis 12.3
19984

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 22.9
+12.9
201512
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
199913

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler -
DNP
20160
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
+11.3
200016

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 22.7
+11.4
20176
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
20013

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jimmy Butler 15.8
+5.8
20185
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
20036

Jimmy Butler's additional Playoffs:

* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Jimmy Butler played in 6 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.3 points in a total of 87 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.4 ppg and his lowest 14.5.

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