LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan 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.
LeBron James and Michael Jordan are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for an staggering season total of 74,476 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages (with MJ at the top of the list). Here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Michael Jordan has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while LeBron James 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: |
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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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 3.1 points more than LeBron James in his 22 seasons (30.1 points against 27.0). On the other hand LeBron James scored a total of 9,892 points more than Michael Jordan (42,184 vs. 32,292).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 22 | |
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | +3.1 | 15 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +9,892 | 22 |
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | 15 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  |
| Michael Jordan | 10 | +9 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Michael Jordan has a better career point average than LeBron James (+5 points per game) while LeBron James scored more points (+2,302).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 18 | |
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | +5.0 | 13 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +2,302 | 18 |
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | 13 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | |||
| Michael Jordan | 4 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +360 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 926 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +495 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 1,059 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +490 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
Playoffs
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Michael Jordan | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +88 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 173 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +111 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +113 | ||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Michael Jordan | 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: | +3.1 | +1.5 | +3.3 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +3.0 | +2.2 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +9.8 | +7 | +490 |
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | 11.4 | 22.9 | 49.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 32.7 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 83.5 | 15 | 1,072 |
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: | +9,892 | +3,296 | +6,046 | +1.0 | +1,978 | +5,544 | +2.2 | +1,322 | +2,963 | +9.8 | +7 | +490 |
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | 12,192 | 24,537 | 49.7 | 581 | 1,778 | 32.7 | 7,327 | 8,772 | 83.5 | 15 | 1,072 |
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: | +5.0 | +2.0 | +4.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +2.4 | +0.1 | +1.8 | +1.3 | +8.7 | +5 | +113 |
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | 12.2 | 25.1 | 48.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 33.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
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: | +2,302 | +783 | +1,487 | +1.0 | +332 | +997 | +0.1 | +404 | +753 | +8.7 | +5 | +113 |
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | 2,188 | 4,497 | 48.7 | 148 | 446 | 33.2 | 1,463 | 1,766 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 20.9 | 2004 | 79 | |
| Michael Jordan | 28.2 | +7.3 | 1985 | 82 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.2 | +4.5 | 2005 | 80 |
| Michael Jordan | 22.7 | 1986 | 18 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 31.4 | 2006 | 79 | |
| Michael Jordan | 37.1 | +5.7 | 1987 | 82 |
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 7 seasons more than Michael Jordan 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 |
| Michael Jordan | 29.3 | +29.3 | 1985 | 4 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Michael Jordan | 43.7 | +43.7 | 1986 | 3 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 30.8 | 2006 | 13 | |
| Michael Jordan | 35.7 | +4.9 | 1987 | 3 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 32.8 | +32.8 | 2017 | 18 |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 34.0 | +34.0 | 2018 | 22 |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2003 | 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. |