Larry Johnson vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Larry Johnson 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
Gary Payton is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points 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 Gary Payton scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Larry Johnson has a better scoring average in the postseason. 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, Gary Payton averages 0.1 points more than Larry Johnson in his 10 seasons (16.3 points against 16.2), and he also scored a total of 10,363 points more (21,813 vs. 11,450).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Johnson | 16.2 | 10 | |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | +0.1 | 17 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Johnson | 11,450 | 10 | |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | +10,363 | 17 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Larry Johnson has a better career point average than Gary Payton (+0.2 points per game) while Gary Payton scored more points (+1,218).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Johnson | 14.2 | +0.2 | 6 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Johnson | 937 | 6 | |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | +1,218 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 235 | |||
| Gary Payton | 515 | +280 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 577 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | +458 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 704 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +600 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 3 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +28 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 17 | |||
| Gary Payton | 47 | +30 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 48 | |||
| Gary Payton | 92 | +44 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 65 | |||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +85 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 1 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 16.2 | 6.2 | 12.9 | 48.4 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 33.2 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 76.6 | 10 | 707 |
| difference: | +0.1 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.9 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +3.7 | +7 | +628 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 11,450 | 4,401 | 9,086 | 48.4 | 367 | 1,104 | 33.2 | 2,281 | 2,978 | 76.6 | 10 | 707 |
| difference: | +10,363 | +4,307 | +9,612 | +1.9 | +765 | +2,466 | +1.5 | +984 | +1,502 | +3.7 | +7 | +628 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 14.2 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 48.3 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 30.3 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 76.7 | 6 | 66 |
| difference: | +0.2 | +0.3 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +6.1 | +9 | +88 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 937 | 351 | 727 | 48.3 | 47 | 155 | 30.3 | 188 | 245 | 76.7 | 6 | 66 |
| difference: | +1,218 | +504 | +1,211 | +4.2 | +90 | +280 | +1.2 | +120 | +191 | +6.1 | +9 | +88 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Gary Payton's additional seasons: | ||||
* Gary Payton played 7 seasons more than Larry Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 11 to 17, from 2001 to 2007—he averaged 15.2 points in a total of 549 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 23.1 ppg and his lowest 5.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1992 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1994 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 12.3 | +12.3 | 1993 | 19 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1996 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 17.8 | +17.8 | 1995 | 4 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | 11.3 | +11.3 | 2000 | 16 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 25.8 | +25.8 | 2000 | 5 |
Gary Payton's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Gary Payton played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 9.2 points in a total of 65 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 22.2 ppg and his lowest 0. |