Kobe Bryant vs. Larry Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Larry Johnson and Kobe Bryant 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.

Kobe Bryant is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Larry Johnson.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Kobe Bryant has better scoring stats than Larry Johnson 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 20 NBA regular seasons played, Kobe Bryant averages 8.8 points more than Larry Johnson in his 10 seasons (25.0 points against 16.2), and he also scored a total of 22,193 points more (33,643 vs. 11,450).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Kobe Bryant	25.0	+8.8	20
Larry Johnson	16.2		10

Total Points			Seasons
Kobe Bryant	33,643	+22,193	20
Larry Johnson	11,450		10

Scoring Titles
Kobe Bryant	2	+2
Larry Johnson	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	7.6		1997	71
Larry Johnson	19.2	+11.6	1992	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	15.4		1998	79
Larry Johnson	22.1	+6.7	1993	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	19.9	+3.5	1999	50
Larry Johnson	16.4		1994	51

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	22.5	+3.7	2000	66
Larry Johnson	18.8		1995	81

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	28.5	+8.0	2001	68
Larry Johnson	20.5		1996	81

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	25.2	+12.4	2002	80
Larry Johnson	12.8		1997	76

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	30.0	+14.5	2003	82
Larry Johnson	15.5		1998	70

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	24.0	+12.0	2004	65
Larry Johnson	12.0		1999	49

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	27.6	+16.9	2005	66
Larry Johnson	10.7		2000	70

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	35.4	+25.5	2006	80
Larry Johnson	9.9		2001	65

Kobe Bryant's additional seasons:

* Kobe Bryant played 10 seasons more than Larry Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 11 to 20, from 2007 to 2016—he averaged 26.3 points in a total of 639 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 13.8. In those 10 extra years over Larry Johnson, Kobe Bryant won 1 scoring title.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	8.2	+8.2	1997	9
Larry Johnson	-	DNP	1992	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	8.7		1998	11
Larry Johnson	19.8	+11.1	1993	9

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	19.8	+19.8	1999	8
Larry Johnson	-	DNP	1994	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	21.1	+0.3	2000	22
Larry Johnson	20.8		1995	4

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	29.4	+29.4	2001	16
Larry Johnson	-	DNP	1996	0

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	26.6	+12.8	2002	19
Larry Johnson	13.8		1997	9

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	32.1	+14.2	2003	12
Larry Johnson	17.9		1998	8

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	24.5	+13.0	2004	22
Larry Johnson	11.5		1999	20

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	-	DNP	2005	0
Larry Johnson	11.3	+11.3	2000	16

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	27.9	+27.9	2006	7
Larry Johnson	-	DNP	2001	0

Kobe Bryant's additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, Kobe Bryant played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 29.3 points in a total of 94 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 32.8 ppg and his lowest 22.8.