Lonzo Ball vs. Steve Nash: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Steve Nash and Lonzo Ball 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Steve Nash has better scoring average and totals in the regular season, and since Lonzo Ball didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that Steve Nash has better playoff stats. 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 18 NBA regular seasons played, Steve Nash averages 3 points more than Lonzo Ball in his 7 seasons (14.3 points against 11.3), and he also scored a total of 14,098 points more (17,387 vs. 3,289).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Lonzo Ball 11.3
7
Steve Nash 14.3
+3.0
18

Total Points

Seasons
Lonzo Ball 3,289
7
Steve Nash 17,387
+14,098
18

Points in the Playoffs

Lonzo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously Steve Nash has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Lonzo Ball 0
0
Steve Nash 17.3
+17.3
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Lonzo Ball 0
0
Steve Nash 2,072
+2,072
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Lonzo Ball 0
Steve Nash 2
+2

30+ Point Games

Lonzo Ball 2
Steve Nash 39
+37

20+ Point Games

Lonzo Ball 27
Steve Nash 309
+282

10+ Point Games

Lonzo Ball 162
Steve Nash 875
+713

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Lonzo Ball 288
Steve Nash 1,177
+889

0 Point Games (games without points)

Lonzo Ball 4
Steve Nash 40
+36

Playoffs

Lonzo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so Steve Nash's point thresholds are omited here.

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Lonzo Ball 11.3 4.2 10.5 39.7 2.3 6.3 36.1 0.7 1.1 59.9 7 292
difference:+3.0+1.0+0.1+9.4+0.9+3.1+6.7+1.8+1.7+30.5+11+925
Steve Nash 14.3 5.2 10.6 49.0 1.4 3.2 42.8 2.5 2.8 90.4 18 1,217

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Lonzo Ball 3,289 1,215 3,063 39.7 668 1,850 36.1 191 319 59.9 7 292
difference:+14,098+5,106+9,829+9.4+1,017+2,089+6.7+2,869+3,065+30.5+11+925
Steve Nash 17,387 6,321 12,892 49.0 1,685 3,939 42.8 3,060 3,384 90.4 18 1,217

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Lonzo Ball DNP - - - - - - - - - 0 0
difference:+17.3+6.2+13.2+47.3+1.5+3.7+40.6+3.3+3.7+90.0+12+120
Steve Nash 17.3 6.2 13.2 47.3 1.5 3.7 40.6 3.3 3.7 90.0 12 120

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Lonzo Ball DNP - - - - - - - - - 0 0
difference:+2,072+749+1,584+47.3+178+438+40.6+396+440+90.0+12+120
Steve Nash 2,072 749 1,584 47.3 178 438 40.6 396 440 90.0 12 120

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 10.2
+6.9
201852
Steve Nash 3.3
199765

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 9.9
+0.8
201947
Steve Nash 9.1
199876

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 11.8
+3.9
202063
Steve Nash 7.9
199940

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 14.6
+6.0
202155
Steve Nash 8.6
200056

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 13.0
202235
Steve Nash 15.6
+2.6
200170

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 7.6
202535
Steve Nash 17.9
+10.3
200282

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball 5.4
20265
Steve Nash 17.7
+12.3
200382

Steve Nash's additional seasons:

* Steve Nash played 11 seasons more than Lonzo Ball in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 18, from 2004 to 2014—he averaged 15.6 points in a total of 746 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.8 ppg and his lowest 6.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20180
Steve Nash 1.3
+1.3
19974

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20190
Steve Nash 5.5
+5.5
19984

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20200
Steve Nash -
DNP
19990

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20210
Steve Nash -
DNP
20000

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20220
Steve Nash 13.6
+13.6
200110

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP
20250
Steve Nash 19.5
+19.5
20028

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Lonzo Ball -
DNP *
20260
Steve Nash 16.1
+16.1
200320
* season in progress

Steve Nash's additional Playoffs:

* During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Steve Nash played in 7 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.3 points in a total of 74 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 23.9 ppg and his lowest 12.5.