Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of LeBron James 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for an staggering season total of 73,097 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. 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 Kevin Durant has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while LeBron James 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 18 NBA regular seasons played, Kevin Durant averages 0.2 points more than LeBron James in his 23 seasons (27.2 points against 27.0). On the other hand LeBron James scored a total of 11,293 points more than Kevin Durant (42,195 vs. 30,902).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Durant | 27.2 | +0.2 | 18 |
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 23 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Durant | 30,902 | 18 | |
| LeBron James | 42,195 | +11,293 | 23 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kevin Durant | 4 |  +3 |
| LeBron James | 1 | |
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 LeBron James (+0.9 points per game) while LeBron James scored more points (+3,304).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Durant | 29.3 | +0.9 | 13 |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 18 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Durant | 4,985 | 13 | |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +3,304 | 18 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 971 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +315 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1,125 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,555 | +430 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1,135 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,563 | +428 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 1 | +1 | ||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 156 | |||
| LeBron James | 261 | +105 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 170 | |||
| LeBron James | 290 | +120 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 170 | |||
| LeBron James | 292 | +122 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
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 | 1.9 | 5.0 | 39.0 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 88.2 | 18 | 1,136 |
| difference: | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +4.0 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +14.5 | +5 | +427 |
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 9.9 | 19.6 | 50.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 35.0 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 73.7 | 23 | 1,563 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Durant | 30,902 | 10,653 | 21,223 | 50.2 | 2,214 | 5,681 | 39.0 | 7,382 | 8,368 | 88.2 | 18 | 1,136 |
| difference: | +11,293 | +4,839 | +9,367 | +0.4 | +347 | +1,644 | +4.0 | +1,268 | +3,371 | +14.5 | +5 | +427 |
| LeBron James | 42,195 | 15,492 | 30,590 | 50.6 | 2,561 | 7,325 | 35.0 | 8,650 | 11,739 | 73.7 | 23 | 1,563 |
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: | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +1.9 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +2.3 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +12.7 | +5 | +122 |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 49.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
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: | +3,304 | +1,287 | +2,456 | +1.9 | +114 | +414 | +2.3 | +616 | +1,078 | +12.7 | +5 | +122 |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 5 seasons more than Kevin Durant in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 23, from 2022 to 2026—he averaged 27.0 points in a total of 253 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 11. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 23.7 | +23.7 | 2011 | 21 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2024 | 4 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 27.6 | +27.6 | 2020 | 21 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Durant | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 23.3 | +23.3 | 2021 | 6 |
| * season in progress | ||||
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 24.5. |