Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Jordan Clarkson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Jordan Clarkson 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 Jordan Clarkson.

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 Jordan Clarkson 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 20 NBA regular seasons played, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averages 8.6 points more than Jordan Clarkson in his 11 seasons (24.6 points against 16.0), and he also scored a total of 26,358 points more (38,387 vs. 12,029).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6
+8.6
20
Jordan Clarkson 16.0
11

Total Points

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
+26,358
20
Jordan Clarkson 12,029
11

Scoring Titles

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2
Jordan Clarkson 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 Jordan Clarkson (+12.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+5,257).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3
+12.6
18
Jordan Clarkson 11.7
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762
+5,257
18
Jordan Clarkson 505
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10
+10
Jordan Clarkson 0

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 70
+66
Jordan Clarkson 4

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 429
+401
Jordan Clarkson 28

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,122
+896
Jordan Clarkson 226

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,509
+894
Jordan Clarkson 615

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,559
+810
Jordan Clarkson 749

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1
Jordan Clarkson 4
+3

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9
+9
Jordan Clarkson 0

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75
+75
Jordan Clarkson 0

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 169
+160
Jordan Clarkson 9

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 223
+198
Jordan Clarkson 25

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
+197
Jordan Clarkson 40

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Jordan Clarkson 3
+3

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+8.6+4.2+4.4+12.3+1.9+5.5+28.0+2.1+3.4+10.8+9+807
Jordan Clarkson 16.0 6.0 13.7 43.6 1.9 5.5 33.6 2.2 2.6 82.9 11 753

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:+26,358+11,346+18,013+12.3+1,401+4,151+28.0+5,067+7,320+10.8+9+807
Jordan Clarkson 12,029 4,491 10,294 43.6 1,402 4,169 33.6 1,645 1,984 82.9 11 753

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:+12.6+5.5+8.0+12.0+1.7+5.0+32.9+3.1+4.6+19.3+14+194
Jordan Clarkson 11.7 4.4 10.7 41.3 1.7 5.0 32.9 1.3 1.4 93.3 4 43

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:+5,257+2,167+3,964+12.0+71+212+32.9+994+1,359+19.3+14+194
Jordan Clarkson 505 189 458 41.3 71 216 32.9 56 60 93.3 4 43

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
+16.9
197082
Jordan Clarkson 11.9
201559

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader31.7
+16.2
1971NBA Champion82
Jordan Clarkson 15.5
201679

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader34.8
+20.1
197281
Jordan Clarkson 14.7
201782

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.2
+16.3
197376
Jordan Clarkson 13.9
201881

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
+10.2
197481
Jordan Clarkson 16.8
201981

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.0
+14.8
197565
Jordan Clarkson 15.2
202071

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.7
+9.3
197682
Jordan Clarkson 18.4
202168

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
+10.2
197782
Jordan Clarkson 16.0
202279

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25.8
+5.0
197862
Jordan Clarkson 20.8
202361

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.8
+6.7
197980
Jordan Clarkson 17.1
202455

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.8
+8.6
1980NBA Champion82
Jordan Clarkson 16.2
202537

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons:

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 9 seasons more than Jordan Clarkson in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 12 to 20, from 1981 to 1989—he averaged 20.2 points in a total of 705 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
+35.2
197010
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20150

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.6
+26.6
1971NBA Champion14
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20160

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.7
+28.7
197211
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20170

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.8
+18.1
19736
Jordan Clarkson 4.7
201819

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32.2
+32.2
197416
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20190

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19750
Jordan Clarkson 16.7
+16.7
20207

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19760
Jordan Clarkson 17.5
+17.5
202111

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34.6
+17.1
197711
Jordan Clarkson 17.5
20226

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
+27.0
19783
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20230

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.5
+28.5
19798
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20240

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31.9
+31.9
1980NBA Champion15
Jordan Clarkson -
DNP
20250

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional Playoffs:

* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 9 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 20.3 points in a total of 143 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.1 ppg and his lowest 11.1.