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

We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan 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 / Games against each other

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 70,679 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages (with MJ at the top of the list). 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 Michael Jordan has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points in the regular season. 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 5.5 points more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his 20 seasons (30.1 points against 24.6). On the other hand Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored a total of 6,095 points more than Michael Jordan (38,387 vs. 32,292).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6
20
Michael Jordan 30.1
+5.5
15

Total Points

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
+6,095
20
Michael Jordan 32,292
15

Scoring Titles

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
Michael Jordan 10
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+8

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Michael Jordan has a better career point average than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (+9.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+225).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3
18
Michael Jordan 33.4
+9.1
13

Total Points

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762
18
Michael Jordan 5,987
+225
13

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Michael Jordan 4
+4

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10
Michael Jordan 31
+21

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 70
Michael Jordan 173
+103

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 429
Michael Jordan 562
+133

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,122
+196
Michael Jordan 926

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,509
+450
Michael Jordan 1,059

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,559
+487
Michael Jordan 1,072

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1
+1
Michael Jordan 0

Playoffs

60+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Michael Jordan 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Michael Jordan 8
+8

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9
Michael Jordan 38
+29

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75
Michael Jordan 109
+34

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 169
Michael Jordan 173
+4

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 223
+44
Michael Jordan 179

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
+58
Michael Jordan 179

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Michael Jordan 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:+5.5+1.2+4.8+6.3+0.5+1.7+27.1+2.5+2.2+11.4+5+488
Michael Jordan 30.1 11.4 22.9 49.7 0.5 1.7 32.7 6.8 8.2 83.5 15 1,072

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:+6,095+3,645+3,770+6.3+580+1,760+27.1+615+532+11.4+5+488
Michael Jordan 32,292 12,192 24,537 49.7 581 1,778 32.7 7,327 8,772 83.5 15 1,072

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:+9.1+2.3+6.4+4.6+0.8+2.5+33.2+3.8+3.9+8.8+5+58
Michael Jordan 33.4 12.2 25.1 48.7 0.8 2.5 33.2 8.2 9.9 82.8 13 179

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:+225+168+75+4.6+148+442+33.2+413+347+8.8+5+58
Michael Jordan 5,987 2,188 4,497 48.7 148 446 33.2 1,463 1,766 82.8 13 179

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
+0.6
197082
Michael Jordan 28.2
198582

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader31.7
+9.0
1971NBA Champion82
Michael Jordan 22.7
198618

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader34.8
197281
Michael Jordan Scoring leader37.1
+2.3
198782

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.2
197376
Michael Jordan Scoring leader35.0
+4.8
198882

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
197481
Michael Jordan Scoring leader32.5
+5.5
198981

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.0
197565
Michael Jordan Scoring leader33.6
+3.6
199082

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.7
197682
Michael Jordan Scoring leader31.5
+3.8
1991NBA Champion82

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
197782
Michael Jordan Scoring leader30.1
+3.9
1992NBA Champion80

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 25.8
197862
Michael Jordan Scoring leader32.6
+6.8
1993NBA Champion78

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.8
197980
Michael Jordan 26.9
+3.1
199517

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.8
1980NBA Champion82
Michael Jordan Scoring leader30.4
+5.6
1996NBA Champion82

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.2
198180
Michael Jordan Scoring leader29.6
+3.4
1997NBA Champion82

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.9
1982NBA Champion76
Michael Jordan Scoring leader28.7
+4.8
1998NBA Champion82

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21.8
198379
Michael Jordan 22.9
+1.1
200260

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 21.5
+1.5
198480
Michael Jordan 20.0
200382

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons:

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 5 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 16 to 20, from 1985 to 1989—he averaged 17.6 points in a total of 390 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.4 ppg and his lowest 10.1.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35.2
+5.9
197010
Michael Jordan 29.3
19854

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.6
1971NBA Champion14
Michael Jordan 43.7
+17.1
19863

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.7
197211
Michael Jordan 35.7
+7.0
19873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.8
19736
Michael Jordan 36.3
+13.5
198810

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 32.2
197416
Michael Jordan 34.8
+2.6
198917

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19750
Michael Jordan 36.7
+36.7
199016

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -
DNP
19760
Michael Jordan 31.1
+31.1
1991NBA Champion17

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 34.6
+0.1
197711
Michael Jordan 34.5
1992NBA Champion22

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.0
19783
Michael Jordan 35.1
+8.1
1993NBA Champion19

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.5
19798
Michael Jordan 31.5
+3.0
199510

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 31.9
+1.2
1980NBA Champion15
Michael Jordan 30.7
1996NBA Champion18

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.7
19813
Michael Jordan 31.1
+4.4
1997NBA Champion19

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20.4
1982NBA Champion14
Michael Jordan 32.4
+12.0
1998NBA Champion21

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 27.1
+27.1
198315
Michael Jordan -
DNP
20020

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.9
+23.9
198421
Michael Jordan -
DNP
20030

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 5 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 18.1 points in a total of 90 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.9 ppg and his lowest 11.1.

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