Kevin Garnett vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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.

Kevin Garnett is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Yao Ming.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Yao Ming 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Yao Ming averages 1.2 points more than Kevin Garnett in his 21 seasons (19.0 points against 17.8). On the other hand Kevin Garnett scored a total of 16,824 points more than Yao Ming (26,071 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Kevin Garnett 17.8
21
Yao Ming 19.0
+1.2
8

Total Points

Seasons
Kevin Garnett 26,071
+16,824
21
Yao Ming 9,247
8

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Kevin Garnett (+1.6 points per game) while Kevin Garnett scored more points (+2,046).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Kevin Garnett 18.2
14
Yao Ming 19.8
+1.6
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Kevin Garnett 2,601
+2,046
14
Yao Ming 555
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 4
+2
Yao Ming 2

30+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 84
+35
Yao Ming 49

20+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 631
+399
Yao Ming 232

10+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 1,260
+820
Yao Ming 440

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kevin Garnett 1,449
+966
Yao Ming 483

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kevin Garnett 13
+10
Yao Ming 3

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 9
+6
Yao Ming 3

20+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 58
+43
Yao Ming 15

10+ Point Games

Kevin Garnett 128
+102
Yao Ming 26

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Kevin Garnett 142
+114
Yao Ming 28

0 Point Games (games without points)

Kevin Garnett 1
+1
Yao Ming 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+1.2+0.2+1.2+2.8+0.1+0.4+7.5+1.8+1.9+4.4+13+976
Yao Ming 19.0 7.0 13.3 52.4 0.0 0.0 20.0 5.1 6.1 83.3 8 486

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:+16,824+7,125+14,697+2.8+172+622+7.5+2,402+3,206+4.4+13+976
Yao Ming 9,247 3,380 6,445 52.4 2 10 20.0 2,485 2,984 83.3 8 486

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:+1.6+0.4+2.1+4.1+0.1+0.4+27.3+2.6+3.0+4.4+10+115
Yao Ming 19.8 7.0 13.4 51.9 0.0 0.0 - 5.9 7.1 83.3 4 28

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:+2,046+864+1,840+4.1+15+55+27.3+303+395+4.4+10+115
Yao Ming 555 195 376 51.9 0 0 - 165 198 83.3 4 28

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 10.4
199680
Yao Ming 13.5
+3.1
200382

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 17.0
199777
Yao Ming 17.5
+0.5
200482

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 18.5
+0.2
199882
Yao Ming 18.3
200580

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 20.8
199947
Yao Ming 22.3
+1.5
200657

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.9
200081
Yao Ming 25.0
+2.1
200748

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 22.0
200181
Yao Ming 22.0
200855

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.2
+1.5
200281
Yao Ming 19.7
200977

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 23.0
+12.8
200382
Yao Ming 10.2
20115

Kevin Garnett's additional seasons:

- Kevin Garnett played 13 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 21, from 2004 to 2016—he averaged 16.7 points in a total of 851 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.2 ppg and his lowest 3.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett -
DNP
19960
Yao Ming -
DNP
20030

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 17.3
+2.3
19973
Yao Ming 15.0
20045

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 15.8
19985
Yao Ming 21.4
+5.6
20057

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.8
+21.8
19994
Yao Ming -
DNP
20060

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 18.8
20004
Yao Ming 25.1
+6.3
20077

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 21.0
+21.0
20014
Yao Ming -
DNP
20080

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 24.0
+6.9
20023
Yao Ming 17.1
20099

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Kevin Garnett 27.0
+27.0
20036
Yao Ming -
DNP
20110

Kevin Garnett's additional Playoffs:

- During his 13 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Garnett played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.5 points in a total of 114 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 24.3 ppg and his lowest 6.9.