Kevin Love vs. Lauri Markkanen: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love 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
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that in the regular season Lauri Markkanen has a better scoring average and Kevin Love scored more points, and since Lauri Markkanen didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that Kevin Love has better playoff stats. 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 9 NBA regular seasons played, Lauri Markkanen averages 2.7 points more than Kevin Love in his 18 seasons (18.7 points against 16.0). On the other hand Kevin Love scored a total of 6,656 points more than Lauri Markkanen (15,523 vs. 8,867).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Love | 16.0 | 18 | |
| Lauri Markkanen | 18.7 | +2.7 | 9 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Love | 15,523 | +6,656 | 18 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 8,867 | 9 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Lauri Markkanen didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously Kevin Love has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Love | 12.6 | +12.6 | 6 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 0 | 0 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Love | 1,112 | +1,112 | 6 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 0 | 0 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 322 | +118 | ||
| Lauri Markkanen | 204 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 727 | +308 | ||
| Lauri Markkanen | 419 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 942 | +469 | ||
| Lauri Markkanen | 473 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 26 | +25 | ||
| Lauri Markkanen | 1 | |||
Playoffs
Lauri Markkanen didn't play in the NBA postseason, so Kevin Love's point thresholds are omited here.
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Love | 16.0 | 5.3 | 12.0 | 43.8 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 36.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 82.8 | 18 | 968 |
| difference: | +2.7 | +1.1 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +0.8 | +2.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +4.2 | +9 | +494 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 18.7 | 6.4 | 14.1 | 45.6 | 2.6 | 6.9 | 37.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 87.0 | 9 | 474 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Love | 15,523 | 5,107 | 11,662 | 43.8 | 1,694 | 4,600 | 36.8 | 3,615 | 4,367 | 82.8 | 18 | 968 |
| difference: | +6,656 | +2,060 | +4,980 | +1.8 | +482 | +1,326 | +0.2 | +2,054 | +2,572 | +4.2 | +9 | +494 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 8,867 | 3,047 | 6,682 | 45.6 | 1,212 | 3,274 | 37.0 | 1,561 | 1,795 | 87.0 | 9 | 474 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Love | 12.6 | 4.1 | 10.3 | 40.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 39.7 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 85.5 | 6 | 88 |
| difference: | +12.6 | +4.1 | +10.3 | +40.0 | +2.0 | +5.0 | +39.7 | +2.4 | +2.8 | +85.5 | +6 | +88 |
| Lauri Markkanen | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Love | 1,112 | 362 | 904 | 40.0 | 175 | 441 | 39.7 | 213 | 249 | 85.5 | 6 | 88 |
| difference: | +1,112 | +362 | +904 | +40.0 | +175 | +441 | +39.7 | +213 | +249 | +85.5 | +6 | +88 |
| Lauri Markkanen | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Kevin Love's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kevin Love played 9 seasons more than Lauri Markkanen in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 18, from 2018 to 2026—he averaged 12.6 points in a total of 392 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.6 ppg and his lowest 5.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | 14.3 | +14.3 | 2015 | 4 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | 14.7 | +14.7 | 2016 | 20 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | 16.8 | +16.8 | 2017 | 18 |
| Lauri Markkanen | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Kevin Love's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, Kevin Love played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 10.0 points in a total of 46 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 14.9 ppg and his lowest 1.8. |