Joe Johnson vs. Chris Paul: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Chris Paul and Joe Johnson 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
Chris Paul and Joe Johnson are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 43,418 points—. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Chris Paul has better scoring stats than Joe Johnson 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: |
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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 20 NBA regular seasons played, Chris Paul averages 1 point more than Joe Johnson in his 18 seasons (17.0 points against 16.0), and he also scored a total of 2,604 points more (23,011 vs. 20,407).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Joe Johnson | 16.0 | 18 | |
| Chris Paul | 17.0 | +1.0 | 20 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Joe Johnson | 20,407 | 18 | |
| Chris Paul | 23,011 | +2,604 | 20 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Chris Paul has a better career point average than Joe Johnson (+4.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,153).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Joe Johnson | 15.2 | 13 | |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | +4.8 | 15 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Joe Johnson | 1,828 | 13 | |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | +1,153 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 414 | |||
| Chris Paul | 472 | +58 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 967 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,133 | +166 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 1,255 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,350 | +95 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 22 | +18 | ||
| Chris Paul | 4 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 0 | |||
| Chris Paul | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 32 | |||
| Chris Paul | 74 | +42 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 93 | |||
| Chris Paul | 134 | +41 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 116 | |||
| Chris Paul | 149 | +33 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 4 | +4 | ||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 16.0 | 6.1 | 13.9 | 44.1 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 37.1 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 80.2 | 18 | 1,277 |
| difference: | +1.0 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +2.8 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +6.9 | +2 | +77 |
| Chris Paul | 17.0 | 6.0 | 12.8 | 47.0 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 37.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 87.1 | 20 | 1,354 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 20,407 | 7,823 | 17,720 | 44.1 | 1,978 | 5,331 | 37.1 | 2,783 | 3,468 | 80.2 | 18 | 1,277 |
| difference: | +2,604 | +324 | +368 | +2.8 | +118 | +302 | +0.1 | +2,074 | +2,111 | +6.9 | +2 | +77 |
| Chris Paul | 23,011 | 8,147 | 17,352 | 47.0 | 1,860 | 5,029 | 37.0 | 4,857 | 5,579 | 87.1 | 20 | 1,354 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 15.2 | 5.9 | 13.7 | 42.7 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 33.9 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 77.9 | 13 | 120 |
| difference: | +4.8 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +5.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +3.4 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +7.5 | +2 | +29 |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | 7.4 | 15.3 | 48.4 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 37.3 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joe Johnson | 1,828 | 703 | 1,647 | 42.7 | 158 | 466 | 33.9 | 264 | 339 | 77.9 | 13 | 120 |
| difference: | +1,153 | +403 | +640 | +5.7 | +86 | +188 | +3.4 | +261 | +276 | +7.5 | +2 | +29 |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | 1,106 | 2,287 | 48.4 | 244 | 654 | 37.3 | 525 | 615 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Joe Johnson's additional seasons: | ||||
* Joe Johnson played 3 seasons more than Chris Paul in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 21 to 23, from 2018 to 2022—he averaged 6.7 points in a total of 111 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 6.8 ppg and his lowest 2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 24.1 | +24.1 | 2008 | 12 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 17.6 | +17.6 | 2012 | 11 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 22.8 | +22.8 | 2013 | 6 |
Season 19 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | 12.1 | +12.1 | 2016 | 14 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 20 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joe Johnson | 12.9 | +12.9 | 2017 | 11 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Joe Johnson's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Joe Johnson played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 1.5 points in a total of 16 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 1.5 ppg and his lowest 1.5. |