Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Donovan Mitchell: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Donovan Mitchell 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

Donovan Mitchell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is also one of the all-time leaders in total points) 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 Donovan Mitchell has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 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:

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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Donovan Mitchell averages 0.1 points more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his 20 seasons (24.7 points against 24.6). On the other hand Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored a total of 25,067 points more than Donovan Mitchell (38,387 vs. 13,320).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6
20
Donovan Mitchell 24.7
+0.1
8

Total Points

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
+25,067
20
Donovan Mitchell 13,320
8

Scoring Titles

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2
Donovan Mitchell 0

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Donovan Mitchell has a better career point average than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (+4 points per game) while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points (+3,979).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3
18
Donovan Mitchell 28.3
+4.0
8

Total Points

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762
+3,979
18
Donovan Mitchell 1,783
8

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

70+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Donovan Mitchell 1
+1

60+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Donovan Mitchell 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10
+9
Donovan Mitchell 1

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 70
+42
Donovan Mitchell 28

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 429
+272
Donovan Mitchell 157

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,122
+732
Donovan Mitchell 390

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,509
+990
Donovan Mitchell 519

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,559
+1020
Donovan Mitchell 539

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1
+1
Donovan Mitchell 0

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Donovan Mitchell 3
+3

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9
+2
Donovan Mitchell 7

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75
+44
Donovan Mitchell 31

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 169
+118
Donovan Mitchell 51

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 223
+161
Donovan Mitchell 62

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
+174
Donovan Mitchell 63

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Donovan Mitchell 0

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:+0.1+1.4+1.4+11.0+3.0+8.2+31.0+0.1+1.0+11.9+12+1,021
Donovan Mitchell 24.7 8.8 19.5 44.9 3.0 8.2 36.6 4.2 5.0 84.0 8 539

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:+25,067+11,117+17,795+11.0+1,617+4,401+31.0+4,450+6,612+11.9+12+1,021
Donovan Mitchell 13,320 4,720 10,512 44.9 1,618 4,419 36.6 2,262 2,692 84.0 8 539

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:+4.0+0.1+3.6+9.3+3.2+8.9+35.5+1.2+0.7+8.5+10+174
Donovan Mitchell 28.3 9.8 22.3 44.0 3.2 8.9 35.5 5.6 6.7 82.5 8 63

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:+3,979+1,739+3,019+9.3+199+557+35.5+700+995+8.5+10+174
Donovan Mitchell 1,783 617 1,403 44.0 199 561 35.5 350 424 82.5 8 63

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
+8.3
197082
Donovan Mitchell 20.5
201879

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader31.7
+7.9
1971NBA Champion82
Donovan Mitchell 23.8
201977

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader34.8
+10.8
197281
Donovan Mitchell 24.0
202069

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.2
+3.8
197376
Donovan Mitchell 26.4
202153

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
+1.1
197481
Donovan Mitchell 25.9
202267

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.0
+1.7
197565
Donovan Mitchell 28.3
202368

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.7
+1.1
197682
Donovan Mitchell 26.6
202455

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
+2.2
197782
Donovan Mitchell 24.0
202571

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons:

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 12 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 20, from 1978 to 1989—he averaged 21.3 points in a total of 929 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 26.2 ppg and his lowest 10.1.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35.2
+10.8
197010
Donovan Mitchell 24.4
201811

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.6
+5.2
1971NBA Champion14
Donovan Mitchell 21.4
20195

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.7
197211
Donovan Mitchell 36.3
+7.6
20207

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.8
19736
Donovan Mitchell 32.3
+9.5
202110

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32.2
+6.7
197416
Donovan Mitchell 25.5
20226

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19750
Donovan Mitchell 23.2
+23.2
20235

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19760
Donovan Mitchell 29.6
+29.6
202410

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34.6
+5.0
197711
Donovan Mitchell 29.6
20259

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional Playoffs:

* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 12 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 21.8 points in a total of 169 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.9 ppg and his lowest 11.1.

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