LeBron James vs. J.R. Smith: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of J.R. Smith 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 J.R. Smith.
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 J.R. Smith 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 23 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 14.6 points more than J.R. Smith in his 16 seasons (27.0 points against 12.4), and he also scored a total of 30,064 points more (42,212 vs. 12,148).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +14.6 | 23 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,212 | +30,064 | 23 |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | 16 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
| J.R. Smith | 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 J.R. Smith (+17.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+6,796).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +17.7 | 18 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +6,796 | 18 |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | 12 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 14 | +14 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +1126 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 160 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,556 | +952 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 604 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,564 | +632 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 932 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 45 | +45 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 29 | +29 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 123 | +123 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +247 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 14 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +213 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 77 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +162 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 130 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 10 | +10 | ||
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 | 23 | 1,564 |
| difference: | +14.6 | +5.4 | +8.9 | +8.8 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +2.4 | +4.0 | +5.5 | +0.4 | +7 | +587 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 4.5 | 10.7 | 41.9 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 37.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 42,212 | 15,500 | 30,608 | 50.6 | 2,561 | 7,329 | 34.9 | 8,651 | 11,741 | 73.7 | 23 | 1,564 |
| difference: | +30,064 | +11,120 | +20,143 | +8.8 | +631 | +2,151 | +2.4 | +7,193 | +9,751 | +0.4 | +7 | +587 |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | 4,380 | 10,465 | 41.9 | 1,930 | 5,178 | 37.3 | 1,458 | 1,990 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
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: | +17.7 | +6.5 | +11.2 | +9.9 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +3.4 | +5.2 | +7.0 | +3.5 | +6 | +152 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 2.1 | 5.7 | 36.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
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: | +6,796 | +2,452 | +4,678 | +9.9 | +186 | +642 | +3.4 | +1,706 | +2,291 | +3.5 | +6 | +152 |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | 519 | 1,306 | 39.7 | 294 | 801 | 36.7 | 161 | 228 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 6 seasons more than J.R. Smith in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 23, from 2021 to 2026—he averaged 26.7 points in a total of 299 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 14. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 25.9 | +25.9 | 2013 | 23 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.9 points in a total of 32 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 23.3. |