LeBron James vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton 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 and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for a total of 63,997 points—. LeBron James is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
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 Gary Payton 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: |
|
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 10.7 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (27.0 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 20,371 points more (42,184 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +10.7 | 22 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +20,371 | 22 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
| Gary Payton | 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 Gary Payton (+14.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+6,134).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +14.4 | 18 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +6,134 | 18 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 14 | +14 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +771 | ||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +519 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +258 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +31 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 29 | +29 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +214 | ||
| Gary Payton | 47 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +198 | ||
| Gary Payton | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +142 | ||
| Gary Payton | 150 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +4 | ||
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: | +10.7 | +3.4 | +5.6 | +4.1 | +0.8 | +2.0 | +3.2 | +3.1 | +4.1 | +0.8 | +5 | +227 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +20,371 | +6,780 | +11,885 | +4.1 | +1,427 | +3,752 | +3.2 | +5,384 | +7,255 | +0.8 | +5 | +227 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +14.4 | +4.6 | +7.9 | +5.5 | +0.7 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +4.4 | +5.8 | +3.5 | +3 | +138 |
| 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 | ||||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
| difference: | +6,134 | +2,116 | +4,046 | +5.5 | +343 | +1,008 | +1.8 | +1,559 | +2,083 | +3.5 | +3 | +138 |
| 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 Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 4 seasons more than Gary Payton in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 22, from 2022 to 2025—he averaged 27.1 points in a total of 252 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 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 7.6 | +7.6 | 1992 | 8 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 30.3 | +30.3 | 2012 | 23 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.4 | +27.4 | 2014 | 20 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 10.3 | +10.3 | 2005 | 7 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 24.5. |