Jimmy Butler vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Paul Pierce is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Jimmy Butler.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Paul Pierce scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Jimmy Butler has a better scoring average in the postseason. 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 1.4 points more than Jimmy Butler in his 15 seasons (19.7 points against 18.3), and he also scored a total of 10,075 points more (26,397 vs. 16,322).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Jimmy Butler | 18.3 | 15 | |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | +1.4 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Jimmy Butler | 16,322 | 15 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +10,075 | 19 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Jimmy Butler has a better career point average than Paul Pierce (+2.4 points per game) while Paul Pierce scored more points (+435).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Jimmy Butler | 21.1 | +2.4 | 12 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Jimmy Butler | 2,745 | 12 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +435 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 412 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +256 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 732 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +429 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 866 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +456 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 25 | +4 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 70 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +3 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 114 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +34 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 127 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +38 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 3 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +2 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 18.3 | 5.9 | 12.5 | 47.3 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 33.1 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 84.4 | 15 | 891 |
| difference: | +1.4 | +0.6 | +2.0 | +2.8 | +0.8 | +1.9 | +3.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +3.8 | +4 | +452 |
| 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 | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 16,322 | 5,278 | 11,161 | 47.3 | 704 | 2,129 | 33.1 | 5,062 | 6,001 | 84.4 | 15 | 891 |
| difference: | +10,075 | +3,390 | +8,304 | +2.8 | +1,439 | +3,687 | +3.7 | +1,856 | +2,577 | +3.8 | +4 | +452 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +2.4 | +1.1 | +1.3 | +3.6 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +2 | +40 |
| 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 | ||||
| Jimmy Butler | 2,745 | 923 | 2,012 | 45.9 | 156 | 454 | 34.4 | 743 | 898 | 82.7 | 12 | 130 |
| difference: | +435 | +99 | +403 | +3.6 | +120 | +323 | +1.1 | +117 | +138 | +0.3 | +2 | +40 |
| 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 4 seasons more than Jimmy Butler in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 19, from 2014 to 2017—he averaged 9.9 points in a total of 241 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 13.5 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | 0.0 | 2012 | 3 | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | 13.3 | +13.3 | 2013 | 12 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | 13.6 | +13.6 | 2014 | 5 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 27.1 | +27.1 | 2003 | 10 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2019 | 12 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | 22.2 | +22.2 | 2020 | 21 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 20.8 | +20.8 | 2011 | 9 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jimmy Butler | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.2 | +19.2 | 2013 | 6 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 9.9 points in a total of 34 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 14.6 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |