LeBron James vs. Scottie Pippen: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Scottie Pippen 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 Scottie Pippen.
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 Scottie Pippen 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 10.9 points more than Scottie Pippen in his 17 seasons (27.0 points against 16.1), and he also scored a total of 23,244 points more (42,184 vs. 18,940).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +10.9 | 22 |
| Scottie Pippen | 16.1 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +23,244 | 22 |
| Scottie Pippen | 18,940 | 17 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
| Scottie Pippen | 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 Scottie Pippen (+10.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,647).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +10.9 | 18 |
| Scottie Pippen | 17.5 | 16 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +4,647 | 18 |
| Scottie Pippen | 3,642 | 16 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 14 | +14 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +919 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 367 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +611 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 943 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +402 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 1,160 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 18 | +18 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 29 | +29 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +174 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 87 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +112 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 178 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +86 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 206 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 2 | +2 | ||
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: | +10.9 | +3.6 | +6.3 | +3.4 | +0.8 | +2.2 | +2.3 | +2.8 | +3.7 | +3.3 | +5 | +384 |
| Scottie Pippen | 16.1 | 6.3 | 13.3 | 47.3 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 32.6 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 70.4 | 17 | 1,178 |
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: | +23,244 | +8,068 | +14,883 | +3.4 | +1,581 | +4,320 | +2.3 | +5,527 | +7,298 | +3.3 | +5 | +384 |
| Scottie Pippen | 18,940 | 7,420 | 15,700 | 47.3 | 978 | 3,002 | 32.6 | 3,122 | 4,437 | 70.4 | 17 | 1,178 |
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: | +10.9 | +3.8 | +6.0 | +5.3 | +0.6 | +1.7 | +3.0 | +2.7 | +3.5 | +1.7 | +2 | +84 |
| Scottie Pippen | 17.5 | 6.4 | 14.5 | 44.4 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 30.3 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 72.4 | 16 | 208 |
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: | +4,647 | +1,636 | +2,975 | +5.3 | +280 | +783 | +3.0 | +1,095 | +1,452 | +1.7 | +2 | +84 |
| Scottie Pippen | 3,642 | 1,335 | 3,009 | 44.4 | 200 | 660 | 30.3 | 772 | 1,067 | 72.4 | 16 | 208 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 5 seasons more than Scottie Pippen in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 22, from 2021 to 2025—he averaged 26.7 points in a total of 297 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 |
| Scottie Pippen | 10.0 | +10.0 | 1988 | 10 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Scottie Pippen | 13.1 | +13.1 | 1989 | 17 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Scottie Pippen | 5.8 | +5.8 | 2003 | 4 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.6 | +27.6 | 2020 | 21 |
| Scottie Pippen | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 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. |