Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Trae Young: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Trae Young 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.
Trae Young 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 Trae Young 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: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Trae Young averages 0.6 points more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in his 20 seasons (25.2 points against 24.6). On the other hand Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored a total of 26,078 points more than Trae Young (38,387 vs. 12,309).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 24.6 | 20 | |
| Trae Young | 25.2 | +0.6 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 | +26,078 | 20 |
| Trae Young | 12,309 | 8 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 2 |  +2 |
| Trae Young | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Trae Young has a better career point average than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (+2.1 points per game) while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points (+5,049).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 24.3 | 18 | |
| Trae Young | 26.4 | +2.1 | 3 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 5,762 | +5,049 | 18 |
| Trae Young | 713 | 3 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1,122 | +777 | ||
| Trae Young | 345 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1,509 | +1042 | ||
| Trae Young | 467 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1,559 | +1071 | ||
| Trae Young | 488 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1 | +1 | ||
| Trae Young | 0 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 169 | +148 | ||
| Trae Young | 21 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 223 | +198 | ||
| Trae Young | 25 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 237 | +210 | ||
| Trae Young | 27 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 0 | |||
| Trae Young | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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: | +0.6 | +2.2 | +0.4 | +12.7 | +2.6 | +7.5 | +29.5 | +2.3 | +1.6 | +15.2 | +12 | +1,072 |
| Trae Young | 25.2 | 8.0 | 18.5 | 43.2 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 35.1 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 87.3 | 8 | 488 |
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: | +26,078 | +11,946 | +19,302 | +12.7 | +1,281 | +3,636 | +29.5 | +3,467 | +5,586 | +15.2 | +12 | +1,072 |
| Trae Young | 12,309 | 3,891 | 9,005 | 43.2 | 1,282 | 3,654 | 35.1 | 3,245 | 3,718 | 87.3 | 8 | 488 |
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: | +2.1 | +1.3 | +2.7 | +13.1 | +2.6 | +8.7 | +29.7 | +2.2 | +1.8 | +11.2 | +15 | +210 |
| Trae Young | 26.4 | 8.6 | 21.4 | 40.2 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 29.7 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 85.2 | 3 | 27 |
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: | +5,049 | +2,124 | +3,845 | +13.1 | +70 | +232 | +29.7 | +871 | +1,209 | +11.2 | +15 | +210 |
| Trae Young | 713 | 232 | 577 | 40.2 | 70 | 236 | 29.7 | 179 | 210 | 85.2 | 3 | 27 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 28.8 | +9.7 | 1970 | 82 |
| Trae Young | 19.1 | 2019 | 81 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 31.7 | +2.1 | 1971 | 82 |
| Trae Young | 29.6 | 2020 | 60 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 34.8 | +9.5 | 1972 | 81 |
| Trae Young | 25.3 | 2021 | 63 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 30.2 | +1.8 | 1973 | 76 |
| Trae Young | 28.4 | 2022 | 76 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 27.0 | +0.8 | 1974 | 81 |
| Trae Young | 26.2 | 2023 | 73 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 30.0 | +4.3 | 1975 | 65 |
| Trae Young | 25.7 | 2024 | 54 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 27.7 | +3.5 | 1976 | 82 |
| Trae Young | 24.2 | 2025 | 76 | |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 26.2 | +8.4 | 1977 | 82 |
| Trae Young | 17.8 | 2026 | 5 | |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 12 seasons more than Trae Young 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 game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 35.2 | +35.2 | 1970 | 10 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 26.6 | +26.6 | 1971 | 14 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 28.7 | 1972 | 11 | |
| Trae Young | 28.8 | +0.1 | 2021 | 16 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 22.8 | +7.4 | 1973 | 6 |
| Trae Young | 15.4 | 2022 | 5 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 32.2 | +3.0 | 1974 | 16 |
| Trae Young | 29.2 | 2023 | 6 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | - | DNP | 1975 | 0 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | - | DNP | 1976 | 0 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 34.6 | +34.6 | 1977 | 11 |
| Trae Young | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
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. |