LeBron James vs. Derrick Rose: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Derrick Rose and LeBron James 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
LeBron James is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Derrick Rose.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that LeBron James has better scoring stats than Derrick Rose 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 22 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 9.6 points more than Derrick Rose in his 15 seasons (27.0 points against 17.4), and he also scored a total of 29,611 points more (42,184 vs. 12,573).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +9.6 | 22 |
| Derrick Rose | 17.4 | 15 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +29,611 | 22 |
| Derrick Rose | 12,573 | 15 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
| Derrick Rose | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason LeBron James has a better career point average than Derrick Rose (+6.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+7,148).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +6.5 | 18 |
| Derrick Rose | 21.9 | 8 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +7,148 | 18 |
| Derrick Rose | 1,141 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +993 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 293 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +960 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 594 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +848 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 714 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Derrick Rose | 9 | +9 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +231 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 30 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +242 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 48 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +241 | ||
| Derrick Rose | 51 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Derrick Rose | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 9.9 | 19.6 | 50.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 34.9 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
| difference: | +9.6 | +3.1 | +4.7 | +5.1 | +0.8 | +2.1 | +3.3 | +2.5 | +3.9 | +9.4 | +7 | +839 |
| Derrick Rose | 17.4 | 6.8 | 14.9 | 45.6 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 31.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 83.1 | 15 | 723 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | 15,488 | 30,583 | 50.6 | 2,559 | 7,322 | 34.9 | 8,649 | 11,735 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
| difference: | +29,611 | +10,567 | +19,785 | +5.1 | +1,969 | +5,456 | +3.3 | +6,508 | +9,160 | +9.4 | +7 | +839 |
| Derrick Rose | 12,573 | 4,921 | 10,798 | 45.6 | 590 | 1,866 | 31.6 | 2,141 | 2,575 | 83.1 | 15 | 723 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 49.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
| difference: | +6.5 | +1.8 | +0.8 | +7.1 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +2.5 | +4.0 | +10.4 | +10 | +240 |
| Derrick Rose | 21.9 | 8.4 | 19.7 | 42.6 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 32.2 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 84.5 | 8 | 52 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
| difference: | +7,148 | +2,535 | +4,960 | +7.1 | +412 | +1,232 | +1.1 | +1,666 | +2,281 | +10.4 | +10 | +240 |
| Derrick Rose | 1,141 | 436 | 1,024 | 42.6 | 68 | 211 | 32.2 | 201 | 238 | 84.5 | 8 | 52 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 7 seasons more than Derrick Rose in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 22, from 2019 to 2025—he averaged 26.6 points in a total of 419 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 24.4. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Derrick Rose | 19.7 | +19.7 | 2009 | 7 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Derrick Rose | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2010 | 5 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 28.2 | +28.2 | 2008 | 13 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 29.1 | +29.1 | 2010 | 11 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 23.7 | +23.7 | 2011 | 21 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 25.9 | +25.9 | 2013 | 23 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.4 | +27.4 | 2014 | 20 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 26.3 | +26.3 | 2016 | 21 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 34.0 | +34.0 | 2018 | 22 |
| Derrick Rose | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 26.0 points in a total of 53 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 23.3. |