Kevin Durant vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Kevin Durant 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.
Kevin Durant and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 52,384 points—. Kevin Durant is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Kevin Durant has better scoring stats than Gary Payton 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.
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 17 NBA regular seasons played, Kevin Durant averages 10.9 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (27.2 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 8,758 points more (30,571 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Durant | 27.2 | +10.9 | 17 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Durant | 30,571 | +8,758 | 17 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kevin Durant | 4 |  +4 |
| Gary Payton | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kevin Durant has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+15.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,830).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Durant | 29.3 | +15.3 | 13 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Durant | 4,985 | +2,830 | 13 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 9 | +9 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 960 | +445 | ||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1,112 | +77 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1,122 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +182 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +30 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 14 | +14 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 156 | +109 | ||
| Gary Payton | 47 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 170 | +78 | ||
| Gary Payton | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 170 | +20 | ||
| Gary Payton | 150 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +4 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 27.2 | 9.4 | 18.7 | 50.2 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 39.0 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 88.2 | 17 | 1,123 |
| difference: | +10.9 | +2.9 | +4.7 | +3.6 | +1.2 | +2.3 | +7.3 | +4.1 | +4.0 | +15.3 | +212 | |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 30,571 | 10,542 | 20,999 | 50.2 | 2,191 | 5,620 | 39.0 | 7,296 | 8,271 | 88.2 | 17 | 1,123 |
| difference: | +8,758 | +1,834 | +2,301 | +3.6 | +1,059 | +2,050 | +7.3 | +4,031 | +3,791 | +15.3 | +212 | |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 29.3 | 9.9 | 20.8 | 47.7 | 2.2 | 6.1 | 35.6 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 86.8 | 13 | 170 |
| difference: | +15.3 | +4.3 | +8.2 | +3.6 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +4.1 | +5.4 | +5.7 | +16.2 | +2 | +16 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 4,985 | 1,684 | 3,528 | 47.7 | 366 | 1,029 | 35.6 | 1,251 | 1,441 | 86.8 | 13 | 170 |
| difference: | +2,830 | +829 | +1,590 | +3.6 | +229 | +594 | +4.1 | +943 | +1,005 | +16.2 | +2 | +16 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Kevin Durant's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kevin Durant played 2 seasons more than Gary Payton in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 19, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 26.9 points in a total of 137 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 7.6 | +7.6 | 1992 | 8 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 24.0 | +24.0 | 1998 | 10 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | 28.4 | +28.4 | 2016 | 18 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | 29.0 | +29.0 | 2018 | 21 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Kevin Durant's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Durant played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 26.8 points in a total of 4 games. |