Manu Ginobili vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Manu Ginobili 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 / Games against each other

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Manu Ginobili has better scoring stats than Arvydas Sabonis 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, Manu Ginobili averages 1.3 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (13.3 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 8,414 points more (14,043 vs. 5,629).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Manu Ginobili 13.3
+1.3
16
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0
7

Total Points

Seasons
Manu Ginobili 14,043
+8,414
16
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629
7

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Manu Ginobili has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+1.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,437).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Manu Ginobili 14.0
+1.9
15
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
7

Total Points

Playoffs
Manu Ginobili 3,054
+2,437
15
Arvydas Sabonis 617
7

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 6
+6
Arvydas Sabonis 0

30+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 32
+27
Arvydas Sabonis 5

20+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 205
+139
Arvydas Sabonis 66

10+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 698
+401
Arvydas Sabonis 297

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Manu Ginobili 1,041
+582
Arvydas Sabonis 459

0 Point Games (games without points)

Manu Ginobili 16
+5
Arvydas Sabonis 11

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 9
+9
Arvydas Sabonis 0

20+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 53
+47
Arvydas Sabonis 6

10+ Point Games

Manu Ginobili 147
+112
Arvydas Sabonis 35

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Manu Ginobili 211
+162
Arvydas Sabonis 49

0 Point Games (games without points)

Manu Ginobili 7
+5
Arvydas Sabonis 2

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Manu Ginobili 13.3 4.3 9.7 44.7 1.4 3.8 36.9 3.2 3.9 82.7 16 1,057
difference:+1.3+0.1+0.8+5.4+1.1+2.9+4.1+0.4+0.3+4.1+9+587
Arvydas Sabonis 12.0 4.4 8.9 50.0 0.3 0.9 32.8 2.8 3.6 78.6 7 470

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Manu Ginobili 14,043 4,584 10,262 44.7 1,495 4,055 36.9 3,380 4,089 82.7 16 1,057
difference:+8,414+2,502+6,102+5.4+1,359+3,640+4.1+2,051+2,399+4.1+9+587
Arvydas Sabonis 5,629 2,082 4,160 50.0 136 415 32.8 1,329 1,690 78.6 7 470

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Manu Ginobili 14.0 4.4 10.1 43.3 1.5 4.2 35.8 3.8 4.6 81.7 15 218
difference:+1.9+0.5+1.9+1.2+3.3+3.9+0.7+0.7+1.5+8+167
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1 4.4 9.6 45.2 0.3 0.9 31.9 3.1 3.9 80.2 7 51

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Manu Ginobili 3,054 956 2,209 43.3 324 905 35.8 818 1,001 81.7 15 218
difference:+2,437+734+1,718+1.9+309+858+3.9+660+804+1.5+8+167
Arvydas Sabonis 617 222 491 45.2 15 47 31.9 158 197 80.2 7 51

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 7.6
2003NBA Champion69
Arvydas Sabonis 14.5
+6.9
199673

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 12.8
200477
Arvydas Sabonis 13.4
+0.6
199769

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 16.0
2005NBA Champion74
Arvydas Sabonis 16.0
199873

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 15.1
+3.0
200665
Arvydas Sabonis 12.1
199950

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 16.5
+4.7
2007NBA Champion75
Arvydas Sabonis 11.8
200066

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 19.5
+9.4
200874
Arvydas Sabonis 10.1
200161

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 15.5
+9.4
200944
Arvydas Sabonis 6.1
200378

Manu Ginobili's additional seasons:

* Manu Ginobili played 9 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 16, from 2010 to 2018—he averaged 12.1 points in a total of 579 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.4 ppg and his lowest 7.5.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 9.4
2003NBA Champion24
Arvydas Sabonis 23.6
+14.2
19965

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 13.0
+1.7
200410
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
19974

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 20.8
+8.5
2005NBA Champion23
Arvydas Sabonis 12.3
19984

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 18.4
+8.4
200613
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
199913

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 16.7
+5.4
2007NBA Champion20
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
200016

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili 17.8
+6.5
200817
Arvydas Sabonis 11.3
20013

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Manu Ginobili -
DNP
20090
Arvydas Sabonis 10.0
+10.0
20036

Manu Ginobili's additional Playoffs:

* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, Manu Ginobili played in 9 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 12.1 points in a total of 111 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 20.6 ppg and his lowest 6.6.

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