Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Paolo Banchero: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Paolo Banchero 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 and Paolo Banchero 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 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Paolo Banchero 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:

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 2.2 points more than Paolo Banchero in his 4 seasons (24.6 points against 22.4), and he also scored a total of 33,840 points more (38,387 vs. 4,547).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.6
+2.2
20
Paolo Banchero 22.4
4

Total Points

Seasons
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
+33,840
20
Paolo Banchero 4,547
4

Scoring Titles

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2
Paolo Banchero 0

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Paolo Banchero has a better career point average than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (+3.7 points per game) while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points (+5,426).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 24.3
18
Paolo Banchero 28.0
+3.7
2

Total Points

Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 5,762
+5,426
18
Paolo Banchero 336
2

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10
+9
Paolo Banchero 1

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 70
+64
Paolo Banchero 6

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 429
+393
Paolo Banchero 36

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,122
+989
Paolo Banchero 133

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,509
+1314
Paolo Banchero 195

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1,559
+1356
Paolo Banchero 203

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1
+1
Paolo Banchero 0

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 9
+9
Paolo Banchero 0

30+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75
+69
Paolo Banchero 6

20+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 169
+159
Paolo Banchero 10

10+ Point Games

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 223
+212
Paolo Banchero 11

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 237
+225
Paolo Banchero 12

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 0
Paolo Banchero 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:+2.2+2.5+0.7+11.5+1.4+4.6+26.1+1.2+1.6+1.0+16+1,357
Paolo Banchero 22.4 7.7 17.4 44.4 1.4 4.6 31.7 5.5 7.6 73.1 4 203

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:+33,840+14,271+24,780+11.5+293+909+26.1+5,591+7,770+1.0+16+1,357
Paolo Banchero 4,547 1,566 3,527 44.4 294 927 31.7 1,121 1,534 73.1 4 203

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:+3.7+0.3+4.1+8.6+2.3+5.6+41.8+0.9+1.5+2.9+16+225
Paolo Banchero 28.0 10.2 22.8 44.7 2.3 5.6 41.8 5.3 7.5 71.1 2 12

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:+5,426+2,234+4,149+8.6+28+63+41.8+986+1,329+2.9+16+225
Paolo Banchero 336 122 273 44.7 28 67 41.8 64 90 71.1 2 12

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
+8.8
197082
Paolo Banchero 20.0
202372

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader31.7
+9.1
1971NBA Champion82
Paolo Banchero 22.6
202480

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Scoring leader34.8
+8.9
197281
Paolo Banchero 25.9
202546

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30.2
+7.2
197376
Paolo Banchero 23.0
20265

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons:

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 16 seasons more than Paolo Banchero in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 5 to 20, from 1974 to 1989—he averaged 22.9 points in a total of 1,239 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30 ppg and his lowest 10.1.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 35.2
+35.2
197010
Paolo Banchero -
DNP
20230

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 26.6
1971NBA Champion14
Paolo Banchero 27.0
+0.4
20247

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 28.7
197211
Paolo Banchero 29.4
+0.7
20255

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 22.8
+22.8
19736
Paolo Banchero -
DNP *
20260
* season in progress

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional Playoffs:

* During his 16 additional NBA seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 14 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 23.4 points in a total of 196 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 34.6 ppg and his lowest 11.1.

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