Larry Johnson vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Yao Ming has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Larry Johnson 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Yao Ming averages 2.8 points more than Larry Johnson in his 10 seasons (19.0 points against 16.2). On the other hand Larry Johnson scored a total of 2,203 points more than Yao Ming (11,450 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Larry Johnson 16.2
10
Yao Ming 19.0
+2.8
8

Total Points

Seasons
Larry Johnson 11,450
+2,203
10
Yao Ming 9,247
8

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Larry Johnson (+5.6 points per game) while Larry Johnson scored more points (+382).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Larry Johnson 14.2
6
Yao Ming 19.8
+5.6
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Larry Johnson 937
+382
6
Yao Ming 555
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 1
Yao Ming 2
+1

30+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 23
Yao Ming 49
+26

20+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 235
+3
Yao Ming 232

10+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 577
+137
Yao Ming 440

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Larry Johnson 704
+221
Yao Ming 483

0 Point Games (games without points)

Larry Johnson 3
Yao Ming 3

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 1
Yao Ming 3
+2

20+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 17
+2
Yao Ming 15

10+ Point Games

Larry Johnson 48
+22
Yao Ming 26

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Larry Johnson 65
+37
Yao Ming 28

0 Point Games (games without points)

Larry Johnson 1
+1
Yao Ming 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+2.8+0.8+0.4+4.0+0.5+1.6+13.2+1.9+1.9+6.7+2+221
Yao Ming 19.0 7.0 13.3 52.4 0.0 0.0 20.0 5.1 6.1 83.3 8 486

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:+2,203+1,021+2,641+4.0+365+1,094+13.2+204+6+6.7+2+221
Yao Ming 9,247 3,380 6,445 52.4 2 10 20.0 2,485 2,984 83.3 8 486

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:+5.6+1.7+2.4+3.6+0.7+2.3+30.3+3.1+3.4+6.6+2+38
Yao Ming 19.8 7.0 13.4 51.9 0.0 0.0 - 5.9 7.1 83.3 4 28

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:+382+156+351+3.6+47+155+30.3+23+47+6.6+2+38
Yao Ming 555 195 376 51.9 0 0 - 165 198 83.3 4 28

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 19.2
+5.7
199282
Yao Ming 13.5
200382

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 22.1
+4.6
199382
Yao Ming 17.5
200482

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 16.4
199451
Yao Ming 18.3
+1.9
200580

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 18.8
199581
Yao Ming 22.3
+3.5
200657

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 20.5
199681
Yao Ming 25.0
+4.5
200748

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 12.8
199776
Yao Ming 22.0
+9.2
200855

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 15.5
199870
Yao Ming 19.7
+4.2
200977

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 12.0
+1.8
199949
Yao Ming 10.2
20115

Larry Johnson's additional seasons:

* Larry Johnson played 2 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 10, from 2000 to 2001—he averaged 10.3 points in a total of 135 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson -
DNP
19920
Yao Ming -
DNP
20030

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 19.8
+4.8
19939
Yao Ming 15.0
20045

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson -
DNP
19940
Yao Ming 21.4
+21.4
20057

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 20.8
+20.8
19954
Yao Ming -
DNP
20060

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson -
DNP
19960
Yao Ming 25.1
+25.1
20077

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 13.8
+13.8
19979
Yao Ming -
DNP
20080

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 17.9
+0.8
19988
Yao Ming 17.1
20099

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Larry Johnson 11.5
+11.5
199920
Yao Ming -
DNP
20110

Larry Johnson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Larry Johnson played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 11.3 points in a total of 16 games.

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