Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Al Horford: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Al Horford and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 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

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Al Horford.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has better scoring stats than Al Horford 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 20 NBA regular seasons played, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averages 11.8 points more than Al Horford in his 19 seasons (24.6 points against 12.8), and he also scored a total of 23,609 points more (38,387 vs. 14,778).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6
+11.8
20
Al Horford 12.8
19

Total Points

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
+23,609
20
Al Horford 14,778
19

Scoring Titles

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2
Al Horford 0

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a better career point average than Al Horford (+12.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,409).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3
+12.4
18
Al Horford 11.9
16

Total Points

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762
+3,409
18
Al Horford 2,353
16

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10
+10
Al Horford 0

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 70
+70
Al Horford 0

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 429
+421
Al Horford 8

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,122
+953
Al Horford 169

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,509
+714
Al Horford 795

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,559
+418
Al Horford 1,141

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1
Al Horford 10
+9

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9
+9
Al Horford 0

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75
+74
Al Horford 1

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 169
+142
Al Horford 27

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 223
+101
Al Horford 122

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
+43
Al Horford 194

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Al Horford 3
+3

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6 10.2 18.1 55.9 * 0.0 * 0.0 * 5.6 4.3 6.0 72.1 20 1,560
difference:+11.8+4.9+7.7+5.1+0.9+2.3+31.9+2.9+4.2+4.3+1+409
Al Horford 12.8 5.3 10.4 50.8 0.9 2.3 37.5 1.4 1.8 76.4 19 1,151

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 15,837 28,307 55.9 * 1 * 18 * 5.6 6,712 9,304 72.1 20 1,560
difference:+23,609+9,750+16,329+5.1+992+2,628+31.9+5,101+7,194+4.3+1+409
Al Horford 14,778 6,087 11,978 50.8 993 2,646 37.5 1,611 2,110 76.4 19 1,151

Notes: Three-point shots were implemented in 1979-80.
* = some years in his career didn't have the stat.

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3 9.9 18.7 53.3 * 0.0 * 0.0 * 0.0 4.4 6.0 74.0 18 237
difference:+12.4+5.1+9.0+4.0+1.0+2.6+39.1+3.0+4.2+3.5+2+40
Al Horford 11.9 4.8 9.7 49.3 1.0 2.6 39.1 1.4 1.8 77.5 16 197

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762 2,356 4,422 53.3 * 0 * 4 * 0.0 1,050 1,419 74.0 18 237
difference:+3,409+1,418+2,518+4.0+198+502+39.1+771+1,059+3.5+2+40
Al Horford 2,353 938 1,904 49.3 198 506 39.1 279 360 77.5 16 197

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.8
+18.7
197082
Al Horford 10.1
200881

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader31.7
+20.2
1971NBA Champion82
Al Horford 11.5
200967

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader34.8
+20.6
197281
Al Horford 14.2
201081

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.2
+14.9
197376
Al Horford 15.3
201177

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
+14.6
197481
Al Horford 12.4
201211

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.0
+12.6
197565
Al Horford 17.4
201374

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.7
+9.1
197682
Al Horford 18.6
201429

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
+11.0
197782
Al Horford 15.2
201576

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25.8
+10.6
197862
Al Horford 15.2
201682

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.8
+9.8
197980
Al Horford 14.0
201768

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.8
+11.9
1980NBA Champion82
Al Horford 12.9
201872

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
+12.6
198180
Al Horford 13.6
201968

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.9
+12.0
1982NBA Champion76
Al Horford 11.9
202067

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21.8
+7.6
198379
Al Horford 14.2
202128

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21.5
+11.3
198480
Al Horford 10.2
202269

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.0
+12.2
1985NBA Champion79
Al Horford 9.8
202363

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.4
+14.8
198679
Al Horford 8.6
2024NBA Champion65

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 17.5
+8.5
1987NBA Champion78
Al Horford 9.0
202560

Season 19

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14.6
+9.0
1988NBA Champion80
Al Horford 5.6
202613

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons:

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 1 season more than Al Horford in the NBA.

In that year—his season 20 in 1989—he averaged 10.1 points in a total of 74 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35.2
+22.6
197010
Al Horford 12.6
20087

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.6
+19.7
1971NBA Champion14
Al Horford 6.9
20099

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.7
+14.1
197211
Al Horford 14.6
201011

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.8
+11.5
19736
Al Horford 11.3
201112

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32.2
+16.9
197416
Al Horford 15.3
20123

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19750
Al Horford 16.7
+16.7
20136

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19760
Al Horford -
DNP
20140

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34.6
+20.2
197711
Al Horford 14.4
201516

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
+13.6
19783
Al Horford 13.4
201610

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.5
+13.4
19798
Al Horford 15.1
201718

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31.9
+16.2
1980NBA Champion15
Al Horford 15.7
201819

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.7
+12.8
19813
Al Horford 13.9
20199

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20.4
+13.4
1982NBA Champion14
Al Horford 7.0
20204

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.1
+27.1
198315
Al Horford -
DNP
20210

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.9
+11.9
198421
Al Horford 12.0
202223

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21.9
+15.2
1985NBA Champion19
Al Horford 6.7
202320

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25.9
+16.7
198614
Al Horford 9.2
2024NBA Champion19

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 19.2
+11.2
1987NBA Champion18
Al Horford 8.0
202511

Season 19

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14.1
+14.1
1988NBA Champion24
Al Horford -
DNP *
20260
* season in progress

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional Playoffs:

* In his additional NBA year, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.1 points in a total of 15 games.

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