Joel Embiid vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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.
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 while Joel Embiid has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Joel Embiid has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Paul Pierce 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 9 NBA regular seasons played, Joel Embiid averages 8 points more than Paul Pierce in his 19 seasons (27.7 points against 19.7). On the other hand Paul Pierce scored a total of 13,874 points more than Joel Embiid (26,397 vs. 12,523).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 27.7 | +8.0 | 9 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 12,523 | 9 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +13,874 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Joel Embiid | 2 |  +2 |
| Paul Pierce | 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 Paul Pierce (+6.2 points per game) while Paul Pierce scored more points (+1,711).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 24.9 | +6.2 | 7 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 1,469 | 7 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +1,711 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 362 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +306 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 443 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +718 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 451 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +871 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +20 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 42 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +31 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 58 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +90 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 59 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +106 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +5 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 27.7 | 9.1 | 18.2 | 50.1 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 33.9 | 8.3 | 10.0 | 82.8 | 9 | 452 |
| difference: | +8.0 | +2.6 | +3.7 | +5.6 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +2.9 | +3.1 | +3.6 | +2.2 | +10 | +891 |
| 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 | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 12,523 | 4,117 | 8,212 | 50.1 | 532 | 1,568 | 33.9 | 3,757 | 4,538 | 82.8 | 9 | 452 |
| difference: | +13,874 | +4,551 | +11,253 | +5.6 | +1,611 | +4,248 | +2.9 | +3,161 | +4,040 | +2.2 | +10 | +891 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +6.2 | +1.9 | +3.0 | +3.6 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +6.6 | +2.9 | +3.6 | +0.2 | +7 | +111 |
| 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 | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1,469 | 466 | 1,015 | 45.9 | 65 | 225 | 28.9 | 472 | 570 | 82.8 | 7 | 59 |
| difference: | +1,711 | +556 | +1,400 | +3.6 | +211 | +552 | +6.6 | +388 | +466 | +0.2 | +7 | +111 |
| 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 Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul Pierce played 10 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2008 to 2017—he averaged 16.0 points in a total of 691 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20.5 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 21.4 | +21.4 | 2018 | 8 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2019 | 11 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 33.0 | +33.0 | 2024 | 6 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.1 points in a total of 133 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |