LeBron James vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson 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 Klay Thompson.
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 Klay Thompson 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 7.9 points more than Klay Thompson in his 12 seasons (27.0 points against 19.1), and he also scored a total of 25,648 points more (42,184 vs. 16,536).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +7.9 | 22 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 12 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +25,648 | 22 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 12 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
| Klay Thompson | 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 Klay Thompson (+9.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+5,257).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +9.2 | 18 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +5,257 | 18 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +894 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 392 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +790 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 764 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +702 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 860 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 5 | +5 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +186 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 75 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +147 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 143 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +134 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 158 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
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: | +7.9 | +2.8 | +3.8 | +5.6 | +1.5 | +2.9 | +6.2 | +3.7 | +5.4 | +12.3 | +10 | +697 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 7.1 | 15.8 | 45.1 | 3.1 | 7.6 | 41.1 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
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: | +25,648 | +9,333 | +16,924 | +5.6 | +138 | +759 | +6.2 | +7,120 | +9,957 | +12.3 | +10 | +697 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 6,155 | 13,659 | 45.1 | 2,697 | 6,563 | 41.1 | 1,529 | 1,778 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
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: | +9.2 | +3.1 | +4.1 | +6.1 | +1.6 | +2.9 | +7.2 | +4.6 | +6.5 | +10.4 | +9 | +134 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 7.1 | 16.4 | 43.6 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 40.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
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: | +5,257 | +1,845 | +3,399 | +6.1 | +21 | +206 | +7.2 | +1,588 | +2,189 | +10.4 | +9 | +134 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 1,126 | 2,585 | 43.6 | 501 | 1,237 | 40.5 | 279 | 330 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 10 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 13 to 22, from 2016 to 2025—he averaged 26.5 points in a total of 651 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 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Klay Thompson | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2013 | 12 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.4 | +27.4 | 2014 | 20 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 30.1 | +30.1 | 2015 | 20 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 28.7 points in a total of 114 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 34 ppg and his lowest 23.3. |