Joel Embiid vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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
Joel Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have two of the highest career scoring 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 scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 10 NBA regular seasons played, Joel Embiid averages 2.7 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in his 8 seasons (27.5 points against 24.8), and he also scored a total of 656 points more (12,671 vs. 12,015).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 27.5 | +2.7 | 10 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | 8 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Joel Embiid | 12,671 | +656 | 10 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 8 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Joel Embiid | 2 |  +1 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than Joel Embiid (+0.9 points per game) while Joel Embiid scored more points (+283).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 24.9 | 7 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +0.9 | 4 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Joel Embiid | 1,469 | +283 | 7 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 367 | +32 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 335 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 450 | +7 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 443 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 459 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 482 | +23 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | +1 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 1 | +1 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 42 | +8 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 58 | +17 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 59 | +13 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 0 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 27.5 | 9.1 | 18.1 | 50.1 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 33.7 | 8.2 | 10.0 | 82.8 | 10 | 460 |
| difference: | +2.7 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +2.8 | +3.5 | +2 | +24 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | 8.6 | 17.2 | 50.3 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 36.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Joel Embiid | 12,671 | 4,168 | 8,326 | 50.1 | 541 | 1,605 | 33.7 | 3,794 | 4,583 | 82.8 | 10 | 460 |
| difference: | +656 | +13 | +20 | +0.3 | +122 | +237 | +2.3 | +804 | +1,117 | +3.5 | +2 | +24 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 4,181 | 8,306 | 50.3 | 663 | 1,842 | 36.0 | 2,990 | 3,466 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
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: | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.9 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +6.1 | +1.6 | +2.3 | +3.1 | +3 | +13 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 46.8 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 35.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
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: | +283 | +55 | +137 | +0.9 | +6 | +22 | +6.1 | +179 | +229 | +3.1 | +3 | +13 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 411 | 878 | 46.8 | 71 | 203 | 35.0 | 293 | 341 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Joel Embiid's additional seasons: | ||||
* Joel Embiid played 2 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 10, from 2025 to 2026—he averaged 22.2 points in a total of 27 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2019 | 6 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2019 | 11 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 30.0 | +30.0 | 2020 | 4 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 28.1 | +28.1 | 2021 | 11 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Joel Embiid | 33.0 | +33.0 | 2024 | 6 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Joel Embiid's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Joel Embiid didn't play in the postseason (2026 season yet in progress). |