Joel Embiid vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Joel Embiid 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

Joel Embiid has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Arvydas Sabonis.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Joel Embiid 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 10 NBA regular seasons played, Joel Embiid averages 15.6 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (27.6 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 6,943 points more (12,572 vs. 5,629).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Joel Embiid 27.6
+15.6
10
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0
7

Total Points

Seasons
Joel Embiid 12,572
+6,943
10
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629
7

Scoring Titles

Joel Embiid 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2
Arvydas Sabonis 0

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Joel Embiid has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+12.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+852).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Joel Embiid 24.9
+12.8
7
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
7

Total Points

Playoffs
Joel Embiid 1,469
+852
7
Arvydas Sabonis 617
7

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

70+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 1
+1
Arvydas Sabonis 0

60+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 1
+1
Arvydas Sabonis 0

50+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 8
+8
Arvydas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 48
+48
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 194
+189
Arvydas Sabonis 5

20+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 364
+298
Arvydas Sabonis 66

10+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 445
+148
Arvydas Sabonis 297

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Joel Embiid 454
Arvydas Sabonis 459
+5

0 Point Games (games without points)

Joel Embiid 1
Arvydas Sabonis 11
+10

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 1
+1
Arvydas Sabonis 0

40+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 2
+2
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 21
+21
Arvydas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 42
+36
Arvydas Sabonis 6

10+ Point Games

Joel Embiid 58
+23
Arvydas Sabonis 35

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Joel Embiid 59
+10
Arvydas Sabonis 49

0 Point Games (games without points)

Joel Embiid 0
Arvydas Sabonis 2
+2

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Joel Embiid 27.6 9.1 18.1 50.1 1.2 3.5 34.0 8.3 10.0 82.8 10 455
difference:+15.6+4.7+9.2+0.1+0.9+2.6+1.2+5.5+6.4+4.2+3+15
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
Joel Embiid 12,572 4,134 8,249 50.1 538 1,584 34.0 3,766 4,551 82.8 10 455
difference:+6,943+2,052+4,089+0.1+402+1,169+1.2+2,437+2,861+4.2+3+15
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
Joel Embiid 24.9 7.9 17.2 45.9 1.1 3.8 28.9 8.0 9.7 82.8 7 59
difference:+12.8+3.5+7.6+0.7+0.8+2.9+3.0+4.9+5.8+2.6+8
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
Joel Embiid 1,469 466 1,015 45.9 65 225 28.9 472 570 82.8 7 59
difference:+852+244+524+0.7+50+178+3.0+314+373+2.6+8
Arvydas Sabonis 617 222 491 45.2 15 47 31.9 158 197 80.2 7 51

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 20.2
+5.7
201731
Arvydas Sabonis 14.5
199673

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 22.9
+9.5
201863
Arvydas Sabonis 13.4
199769

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 27.5
+11.5
201964
Arvydas Sabonis 16.0
199873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 23.0
+10.9
202051
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
199950

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 28.5
+16.7
202151
Arvydas Sabonis 11.8
200066

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid Scoring leader30.6
+20.5
202268
Arvydas Sabonis 10.1
200161

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid Scoring leader33.1
+27.0
202366
Arvydas Sabonis 6.1
200378

Joel Embiid's additional seasons:

* Joel Embiid played 3 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 10, from 2024 to 2026—he averaged 30.4 points in a total of 61 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 34.7 ppg and his lowest 16.3.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid -
DNP
20170
Arvydas Sabonis 23.6
+23.6
19965

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 21.4
+10.1
20188
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
19974

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 20.2
+7.9
201911
Arvydas Sabonis 12.3
19984

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 30.0
+20.0
20204
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
199913

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 28.1
+16.8
202111
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
200016

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 23.6
+12.3
202210
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
20013

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Joel Embiid 23.7
+13.7
20239
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
20036

Joel Embiid's additional Playoffs:

* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Joel Embiid played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 33.0 points in a total of 6 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 33 ppg and his lowest 33.

Share: