LeBron James vs. Nikola Jokic: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Nikola Jokic 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 Nikola Jokic.
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 Nikola Jokic 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 5.1 points more than Nikola Jokic in his 11 seasons (27.0 points against 21.9), and he also scored a total of 25,490 points more (42,250 vs. 16,760).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +5.1 | 23 |
| Nikola Jokic | 21.9 | 11 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,250 | +25,490 | 23 |
| Nikola Jokic | 16,760 | 11 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 | ![]() +1 |
| Nikola Jokic | 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 Nikola Jokic (+1 point per game) and he also scored more points (+5,709).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +1.0 | 18 |
| Nikola Jokic | 27.4 | 7 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +5,709 | 18 |
| Nikola Jokic | 2,580 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,287 | +831 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 456 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,558 | +896 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 662 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,566 | +808 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 758 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 6 | +6 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +180 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 81 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +196 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 94 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +198 | ||
| Nikola Jokic | 94 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Nikola Jokic | 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 | 23 | 1,566 |
| difference: | +5.1 | +1.5 | +4.6 | +5.5 | +0.5 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +2.7 | +8.8 | +12 | +802 |
| Nikola Jokic | 21.9 | 8.4 | 15.0 | 56.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 36.3 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 82.5 | 11 | 764 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 42,250 | 15,514 | 30,636 | 50.6 | 2,565 | 7,340 | 34.9 | 8,657 | 11,751 | 73.7 | 23 | 1,566 |
| difference: | +25,490 | +9,080 | +19,183 | +5.5 | +1,712 | +4,990 | +1.4 | +5,618 | +8,066 | +8.8 | +12 | +802 |
| Nikola Jokic | 16,760 | 6,434 | 11,453 | 56.2 | 853 | 2,350 | 36.3 | 3,039 | 3,685 | 82.5 | 11 | 764 |
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: | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +2.8 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +5.5 | +1.5 | +2.7 | +8.5 | +11 | +198 |
| Nikola Jokic | 27.4 | 10.4 | 19.8 | 52.5 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 38.8 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 82.6 | 7 | 94 |
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: | +5,709 | +1,993 | +4,120 | +2.8 | +315 | +1,018 | +5.5 | +1,408 | +1,963 | +8.5 | +11 | +198 |
| Nikola Jokic | 2,580 | 978 | 1,864 | 52.5 | 165 | 425 | 38.8 | 459 | 556 | 82.6 | 7 | 94 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 12 seasons more than Nikola Jokic in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 12 to 23, from 2015 to 2026—he averaged 26.4 points in a total of 724 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 16.5. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 30.8 | +30.8 | 2006 | 13 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.4 | +27.4 | 2014 | 20 |
| Nikola Jokic | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 28.9 points in a total of 134 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 34 ppg and his lowest 23.3. |