LaMelo Ball vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and LaMelo Ball 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.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that in the regular season LaMelo Ball has a better scoring average and Arvydas Sabonis scored more points, and since LaMelo Ball didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that Arvydas Sabonis 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 6 NBA regular seasons played, LaMelo Ball averages 8.9 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (20.9 points against 12.0). On the other hand Arvydas Sabonis scored a total of 460 points more than LaMelo Ball (5,629 vs. 5,169).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 20.9 | +8.9 | 6 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 7 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 5,169 | 6 | |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | +460 | 7 |
Points in the Playoffs
LaMelo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously Arvydas Sabonis has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 0 | 0 | |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | +12.1 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 0 | 0 | |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | +617 | 7 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 1 | +1 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 2 | +2 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 136 | +70 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 226 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 297 | +71 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 246 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 459 | +213 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 1 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11 | +10 | ||
Playoffs
LaMelo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so Arvydas Sabonis' point thresholds are omited here.
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 20.9 | 7.4 | 17.6 | 41.9 | 3.0 | 8.4 | 35.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 83.9 | 6 | 247 |
| difference: | +8.9 | +3.0 | +8.7 | +8.1 | +2.7 | +7.5 | +3.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +5.3 | +1 | +223 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 32.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | 5,169 | 1,823 | 4,350 | 41.9 | 744 | 2,071 | 35.9 | 779 | 928 | 83.9 | 6 | 247 |
| difference: | +460 | +259 | +190 | +8.1 | +608 | +1,656 | +3.1 | +550 | +762 | +5.3 | +1 | +223 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 2,082 | 4,160 | 50.0 | 136 | 415 | 32.8 | 1,329 | 1,690 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
| difference: | +12.1 | +4.4 | +9.6 | +45.2 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +31.9 | +3.1 | +3.9 | +80.2 | +7 | +51 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 45.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 31.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
| difference: | +617 | +222 | +491 | +45.2 | +15 | +47 | +31.9 | +158 | +197 | +80.2 | +7 | +51 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 222 | 491 | 45.2 | 15 | 47 | 31.9 | 158 | 197 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Arvydas Sabonis' additional seasons: | ||||
* Arvydas Sabonis played 1 season more than LaMelo Ball in the NBA. In that year—his season 7 in 2003—he averaged 6.1 points in a total of 78 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 23.6 | +23.6 | 1996 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | +11.3 | 1997 | 4 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.3 | +12.3 | 1998 | 4 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 10.0 | +10.0 | 1999 | 13 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | +11.3 | 2000 | 16 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | +11.3 | 2001 | 3 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Arvydas Sabonis' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Arvydas Sabonis played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 10.0 points in a total of 6 games. |