Larry Johnson vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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
Paul Pierce 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 Paul Pierce 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.
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 19 NBA regular seasons played, Paul Pierce averages 3.5 points more than Larry Johnson in his 10 seasons (19.7 points against 16.2), and he also scored a total of 14,947 points more (26,397 vs. 11,450).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Larry Johnson | 16.2 | 10 | |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | +3.5 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Larry Johnson | 11,450 | 10 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +14,947 | 19 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Paul Pierce has a better career point average than Larry Johnson (+4.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,243).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Johnson | 14.2 | 6 | |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | +4.5 | 14 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Larry Johnson | 937 | 6 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +2,243 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 235 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +433 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 577 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +584 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 704 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +618 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 3 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +18 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 17 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +56 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 48 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +100 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 65 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +100 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 1 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +4 | ||
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: | +3.5 | +0.3 | +1.6 | +3.9 | +1.1 | +2.7 | +3.6 | +2.0 | +2.2 | +4.0 | +9 | +636 |
| 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 | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 11,450 | 4,401 | 9,086 | 48.4 | 367 | 1,104 | 33.2 | 2,281 | 2,978 | 76.6 | 10 | 707 |
| difference: | +14,947 | +4,267 | +10,379 | +3.9 | +1,776 | +4,712 | +3.6 | +4,637 | +5,600 | +4.0 | +9 | +636 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +4.5 | +0.7 | +3.2 | +6.0 | +0.9 | +2.3 | +5.2 | +2.3 | +2.4 | +6.3 | +8 | +104 |
| 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 | ||||
| Larry Johnson | 937 | 351 | 727 | 48.3 | 47 | 155 | 30.3 | 188 | 245 | 76.7 | 6 | 66 |
| difference: | +2,243 | +671 | +1,688 | +6.0 | +229 | +622 | +5.2 | +672 | +791 | +6.3 | +8 | +104 |
| 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 9 seasons more than Larry Johnson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 11 to 19, from 2009 to 2017—he averaged 15.5 points in a total of 611 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20.5 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1992 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | 19.8 | +19.8 | 1993 | 9 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1994 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 1996 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 27.1 | +27.1 | 2003 | 10 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | 11.5 | +11.5 | 1999 | 20 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | 11.3 | +11.3 | 2000 | 16 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Larry Johnson | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | +19.7 | 2008 | 26 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 9 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 107 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |