Kyrie Irving vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce and Kyrie Irving 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
Paul Pierce is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Kyrie Irving has one of the highest career averages in league history, and 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 Kyrie Irving has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Paul Pierce 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.
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 14 NBA regular seasons played, Kyrie Irving averages 4 points more than Paul Pierce in his 19 seasons (23.7 points against 19.7). On the other hand Paul Pierce scored a total of 7,964 points more than Kyrie Irving (26,397 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | +4.0 | 14 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +7,964 | 19 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kyrie Irving has a better career point average than Paul Pierce (+4.3 points per game) while Paul Pierce scored more points (+969).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | +4.3 | 7 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +969 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | +1 | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +133 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +422 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +545 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +19 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +7 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +56 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +69 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +5 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +4.0 | +2.2 | +3.9 | +2.9 | +0.8 | +1.8 | +2.6 | +1.4 | +2.1 | +8.2 | +5 | +564 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 6.5 | 14.5 | 44.5 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 36.8 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +7,964 | +1,881 | +5,152 | +2.9 | +267 | +1,053 | +2.6 | +3,935 | +5,218 | +8.2 | +5 | +564 |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | 8,668 | 19,465 | 44.5 | 2,143 | 5,816 | 36.8 | 6,918 | 8,578 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +4.3 | +2.5 | +4.4 | +3.4 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +3.7 | +1.4 | +1.9 | +5.3 | +7 | +74 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 6.0 | 14.2 | 42.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 35.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +969 | +207 | +634 | +3.4 | +51 | +203 | +3.7 | +504 | +633 | +5.3 | +7 | +74 |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | 1,022 | 2,415 | 42.3 | 276 | 777 | 35.5 | 860 | 1,036 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul Pierce played 5 seasons more than Kyrie Irving in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2013 to 2017—he averaged 12.0 points in a total of 318 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.6 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 22.9 | +22.9 | 2005 | 7 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | 21.3 | +21.3 | 2019 | 9 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.8 | +18.8 | 2010 | 24 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.9 | +18.9 | 2012 | 20 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.3 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |