Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan 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 and Michael Jordan are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 65,935 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages (with MJ at the top of the list). 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 Michael Jordan has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while Kobe Bryant scored more points in the regular season. 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 5.1 points more than Kobe Bryant in his 20 seasons (30.1 points against 25.0). On the other hand Kobe Bryant scored a total of 1,351 points more than Michael Jordan (33,643 vs. 32,292).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Kobe Bryant	25.0		20
Michael Jordan	30.1	+5.1	15

Total Points			Seasons
Kobe Bryant	33,643	+1,351	20
Michael Jordan	32,292		15

Scoring Titles
Kobe Bryant	2
Michael Jordan	10	+8

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
Michael Jordan	28.2	+20.6	1985	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	15.4		1998	79
Michael Jordan	22.7	+7.3	1986	18

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	19.9		1999	50
Michael Jordan	37.1	+17.2	1987	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	22.5		2000	66
Michael Jordan	35.0	+12.5	1988	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	28.5		2001	68
Michael Jordan	32.5	+4.0	1989	81

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	25.2		2002	80
Michael Jordan	33.6	+8.4	1990	82

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	30.0		2003	82
Michael Jordan	31.5	+1.5	1991	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	24.0		2004	65
Michael Jordan	30.1	+6.1	1992	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	27.6		2005	66
Michael Jordan	32.6	+5.0	1993	78

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	35.4	+8.5	2006	80
Michael Jordan	26.9		1995	17

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	31.6	+1.2	2007	77
Michael Jordan	30.4		1996	82

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	28.3		2008	82
Michael Jordan	29.6	+1.3	1997	82

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	26.8		2009	82
Michael Jordan	28.7	+1.9	1998	82

Season 14	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	27.0	+4.1	2010	73
Michael Jordan	22.9		2002	60

Season 15	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	25.3	+5.3	2011	82
Michael Jordan	20.0		2003	82

Kobe Bryant's additional seasons:

* Kobe Bryant played 5 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 20, from 2012 to 2016—he averaged 23.8 points in a total of 243 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 27.9 ppg and his lowest 13.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	8.2		1997	9
Michael Jordan	29.3	+21.1	1985	4

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	8.7		1998	11
Michael Jordan	43.7	+35.0	1986	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	19.8		1999	8
Michael Jordan	35.7	+15.9	1987	3

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	21.1		2000	22
Michael Jordan	36.3	+15.2	1988	10

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	29.4		2001	16
Michael Jordan	34.8	+5.4	1989	17

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	26.6		2002	19
Michael Jordan	36.7	+10.1	1990	16

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	32.1	+1.0	2003	12
Michael Jordan	31.1		1991	17

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	24.5		2004	22
Michael Jordan	34.5	+10.0	1992	22

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	-	DNP	2005	0
Michael Jordan	35.1	+35.1	1993	19

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	27.9		2006	7
Michael Jordan	31.5	+3.6	1995	10

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	32.8	+2.1	2007	5
Michael Jordan	30.7		1996	18

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	30.1		2008	21
Michael Jordan	31.1	+1.0	1997	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	30.2		2009	23
Michael Jordan	32.4	+2.2	1998	21

Season 14	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	29.2	+29.2	2010	23
Michael Jordan	-	DNP	2002	0

Season 15	Points per game		Year	Games
Kobe Bryant	22.8	+22.8	2011	10
Michael Jordan	-	DNP	2003	0

Kobe Bryant's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Kobe Bryant played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 30.0 points in a total of 12 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 30 ppg and his lowest 30.