Kevin Garnett vs. Michael Jordan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 58,363 points—. MJ is also the all-time leader 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 Michael Jordan has better scoring stats than Kevin Garnett 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:

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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 12.3 points more than Kevin Garnett in his 21 seasons (30.1 points against 17.8), and he also scored a total of 6,221 points more (32,292 vs. 26,071).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kevin Garnett 17.8
21
Michael Jordan 30.1
+12.3
15

Total Points

Seasons
Kevin Garnett 26,071
21
Michael Jordan 32,292
+6,221
15

Scoring Titles

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 10
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+10

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Michael Jordan has a better career point average than Kevin Garnett (+15.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,386).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kevin Garnett 18.2
14
Michael Jordan 33.4
+15.2
13

Total Points

Playoffs
Kevin Garnett 2,601
14
Michael Jordan 5,987
+3,386
13

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 4
+4

50+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 31
+31

40+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 4
Michael Jordan 173
+169

30+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 84
Michael Jordan 562
+478

20+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 631
Michael Jordan 926
+295

10+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 1,260
+201
Michael Jordan 1,059

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kevin Garnett 1,449
+377
Michael Jordan 1,072

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kevin Garnett 13
+13
Michael Jordan 0

Playoffs

60+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 8
+8

40+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 0
Michael Jordan 38
+38

30+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 9
Michael Jordan 109
+100

20+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 58
Michael Jordan 173
+115

10+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 128
Michael Jordan 179
+51

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kevin Garnett 142
Michael Jordan 179
+37

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kevin Garnett 1
+1
Michael Jordan 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+12.3+4.2+8.4+0.0+0.4+1.3+5.2+3.5+4.0+4.6+6+390
Michael Jordan 30.1 11.4 22.9 49.7 0.5 1.7 32.7 6.8 8.2 83.5 15 1,072

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:+6,221+1,687+3,395+0.0+407+1,146+5.2+2,440+2,582+4.6+6+390
Michael Jordan 32,292 12,192 24,537 49.7 581 1,778 32.7 7,327 8,772 83.5 15 1,072

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:+15.2+4.8+9.6+0.9+0.7+2.1+5.9+4.9+5.8+3.9+1+36
Michael Jordan 33.4 12.2 25.1 48.7 0.8 2.5 33.2 8.2 9.9 82.8 13 179

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:+3,386+1,129+2,281+0.9+133+391+5.9+995+1,173+3.9+1+36
Michael Jordan 5,987 2,188 4,497 48.7 148 446 33.2 1,463 1,766 82.8 13 179

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 10.4
199680
Michael Jordan 28.2
+17.8
198582

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 17.0
199777
Michael Jordan 22.7
+5.7
198618

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 18.5
199882
Michael Jordan Scoring leader37.1
+18.6
198782

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 20.8
199947
Michael Jordan Scoring leader35.0
+14.2
198882

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.9
200081
Michael Jordan Scoring leader32.5
+9.6
198981

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.0
200181
Michael Jordan Scoring leader33.6
+11.6
199082

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.2
200281
Michael Jordan Scoring leader31.5
+10.3
1991NBA Champion82

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 23.0
200382
Michael Jordan Scoring leader30.1
+7.1
1992NBA Champion80

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 24.2
200482
Michael Jordan Scoring leader32.6
+8.4
1993NBA Champion78

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.2
200582
Michael Jordan 26.9
+4.7
199517

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.8
200676
Michael Jordan Scoring leader30.4
+8.6
1996NBA Champion82

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.4
200776
Michael Jordan Scoring leader29.6
+7.2
1997NBA Champion82

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 18.8
2008NBA Champion71
Michael Jordan Scoring leader28.7
+9.9
1998NBA Champion82

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 15.8
200957
Michael Jordan 22.9
+7.1
200260

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 14.3
201069
Michael Jordan 20.0
+5.7
200382

Kevin Garnett's additional seasons:

* Kevin Garnett played 8 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 16 to 23, from 2011 to 2016—he averaged 10.3 points in a total of 432 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 15.8 ppg and his lowest 3.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
19960
Michael Jordan 29.3
+29.3
19854

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 17.3
19973
Michael Jordan 43.7
+26.4
19863

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 15.8
19985
Michael Jordan 35.7
+19.9
19873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.8
19994
Michael Jordan 36.3
+14.5
198810

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 18.8
20004
Michael Jordan 34.8
+16.0
198917

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.0
20014
Michael Jordan 36.7
+15.7
199016

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 24.0
20023
Michael Jordan 31.1
+7.1
1991NBA Champion17

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 27.0
20036
Michael Jordan 34.5
+7.5
1992NBA Champion22

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 24.3
200418
Michael Jordan 35.1
+10.8
1993NBA Champion19

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
20050
Michael Jordan 31.5
+31.5
199510

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
20060
Michael Jordan 30.7
+30.7
1996NBA Champion18

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
20070
Michael Jordan 31.1
+31.1
1997NBA Champion19

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 20.4
2008NBA Champion26
Michael Jordan 32.4
+12.0
1998NBA Champion21

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
20090
Michael Jordan -
DNP
20020

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 15.0
+15.0
201023
Michael Jordan -
DNP
20030

Kevin Garnett's additional Playoffs:

* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Garnett played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 14.4 points in a total of 47 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 6.9.

Share: