Michael Jordan vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Karl-Anthony Towns and Michael Jordan 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.
Michael Jordan and Karl-Anthony Towns have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history (MJ is at the top of that list and he is also one of the all-time leaders in total points) and 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 stats than Karl-Anthony Towns 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 7.1 points more than Karl-Anthony Towns in his 11 seasons (30.1 points against 23.0), and he also scored a total of 17,322 points more (32,292 vs. 14,970).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | +7.1 | 15 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | 11 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | +17,322 | 15 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 14,970 | 11 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Michael Jordan | 10 |  +10 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |
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 Karl-Anthony Towns (+13.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,998).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | +13.6 | 13 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 5 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | +4,998 | 13 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 5 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 4 | +2 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 926 | +491 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 435 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,059 | +429 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 630 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | +422 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 650 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Playoffs
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 8 | +8 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 38 | +38 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 173 | +146 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 27 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +132 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 47 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +129 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 50 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +7.1 | +3.0 | +6.8 | +2.6 | +1.2 | +2.6 | +7.3 | +2.4 | +2.9 | +0.3 | +4 | +422 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | 8.4 | 16.1 | 52.3 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 40.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.8 | 11 | 650 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | 12,192 | 24,537 | 49.7 | 581 | 1,778 | 32.7 | 7,327 | 8,772 | 83.5 | 15 | 1,072 |
| difference: | +17,322 | +6,707 | +14,045 | +2.6 | +544 | +1,038 | +7.3 | +4,452 | +5,341 | +0.3 | +4 | +422 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 14,970 | 5,485 | 10,492 | 52.3 | 1,125 | 2,816 | 40.0 | 2,875 | 3,431 | 83.8 | 11 | 650 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | 12.2 | 25.1 | 48.7 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 33.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
| difference: | +13.6 | +5.3 | +10.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.8 | +1.8 | +3.8 | +4.6 | +0.3 | +8 | +129 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 6.9 | 14.5 | 47.6 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 35.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | 2,188 | 4,497 | 48.7 | 148 | 446 | 33.2 | 1,463 | 1,766 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
| difference: | +4,998 | +1,842 | +3,770 | +1.1 | +73 | +232 | +1.8 | +1,241 | +1,499 | +0.3 | +8 | +129 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 346 | 727 | 47.6 | 75 | 214 | 35.0 | 222 | 267 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 28.2 | +9.9 | 1985 | 82 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 18.3 | 2016 | 82 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 22.7 | 1986 | 18 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 25.1 | +2.4 | 2017 | 82 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 37.1 | +15.8 | 1987 | 82 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 21.3 | 2018 | 82 | |
Michael Jordan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Michael Jordan played 4 seasons more than Karl-Anthony Towns in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 12 to 15, from 1997 to 2003—he averaged 25.5 points in a total of 306 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.6 ppg and his lowest 20. In those 4 extra years over Karl-Anthony Towns, Michael Jordan won 2 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 29.3 | +29.3 | 1985 | 4 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 43.7 | +43.7 | 1986 | 3 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 35.7 | +20.5 | 1987 | 3 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15.2 | 2018 | 5 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 36.3 | +36.3 | 1988 | 10 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 34.8 | +34.8 | 1989 | 17 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 36.7 | +36.7 | 1990 | 16 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 30.7 | +30.7 | 1996 | 18 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Michael Jordan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Michael Jordan played in two Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 31.8 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 32.4 ppg and his lowest 31.1. |