Kevin Garnett vs. Kyrie Irving: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Garnett 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
Kevin Garnett is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Kyrie Irving has one of the highest career averages in league history, 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 Kyrie Irving has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Kevin Garnett 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 14 NBA regular seasons played, Kyrie Irving averages 5.9 points more than Kevin Garnett in his 21 seasons (23.7 points against 17.8). On the other hand Kevin Garnett scored a total of 7,638 points more than Kyrie Irving (26,071 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Garnett | 17.8 | 21 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | +5.9 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Garnett | 26,071 | +7,638 | 21 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kyrie Irving has a better career point average than Kevin Garnett (+4.8 points per game) while Kevin Garnett scored more points (+390).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Garnett | 18.2 | 14 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | +4.8 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Garnett | 2,601 | +390 | 14 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 6 | +6 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 631 | +96 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 1,260 | +521 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 1,449 | +672 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 13 | +11 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 4 | +4 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 58 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | +8 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 128 | +36 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 142 | +46 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 1 | +1 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 17.8 | 7.2 | 14.5 | 49.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 27.5 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 78.9 | 21 | 1,462 |
| difference: | +5.9 | +1.5 | +3.9 | +2.3 | +2.3 | +5.7 | +11.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +9.9 | +7 | +683 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 26,071 | 10,505 | 21,142 | 49.7 | 174 | 632 | 27.5 | 4,887 | 6,190 | 78.9 | 21 | 1,462 |
| difference: | +7,638 | +3,718 | +6,829 | +2.3 | +1,702 | +4,131 | +11.9 | +1,904 | +2,830 | +9.9 | +7 | +683 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 18.2 | 7.4 | 15.5 | 47.8 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 27.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 78.9 | 14 | 143 |
| difference: | +4.8 | +1.1 | +3.1 | +2.0 | +2.2 | +5.6 | +11.9 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +9.4 | +7 | +47 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Garnett | 2,601 | 1,059 | 2,216 | 47.8 | 15 | 55 | 27.3 | 468 | 593 | 78.9 | 14 | 143 |
| difference: | +390 | +244 | +435 | +2.0 | +210 | +519 | +11.9 | +112 | +190 | +9.4 | +7 | +47 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Kevin Garnett's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kevin Garnett played 7 seasons more than Kyrie Irving in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 21, from 2010 to 2016—he averaged 11.8 points in a total of 407 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 15.8 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | - | DNP | 1996 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | 17.3 | +17.3 | 1997 | 3 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | 15.8 | +15.8 | 1998 | 5 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | 24.0 | +24.0 | 2002 | 3 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | 24.3 | +24.3 | 2004 | 18 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | 22.7 | +22.7 | 2021 | 9 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | 21.3 | +21.3 | 2022 | 4 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Garnett | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Kevin Garnett's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Garnett played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 14.6 points in a total of 70 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 6.9. |