Michael Jordan vs. Kawhi Leonard: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kawhi Leonard 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 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 Kawhi Leonard.
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 Kawhi Leonard 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 10 points more than Kawhi Leonard in his 14 seasons (30.1 points against 20.1), and he also scored a total of 17,549 points more (32,292 vs. 14,743).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | +10.0 | 15 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 20.1 | 14 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | +17,549 | 15 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 14,743 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Michael Jordan | 10 |  +10 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 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 Kawhi Leonard (+11.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,854).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | +11.9 | 13 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 21.5 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | +2,854 | 13 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 3,133 | 12 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 4 | +4 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 31 | +31 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 926 | +540 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 386 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,059 | +420 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 639 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | +342 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 730 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Kawhi Leonard | 4 | +4 | ||
Playoffs
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 8 | +8 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 173 | +93 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 80 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +51 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 128 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +33 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 146 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Kawhi Leonard | 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: | +10.0 | +4.1 | +8.3 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +2.4 | +6.5 | +2.9 | +3.7 | +2.5 | +1 | +338 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 20.1 | 7.3 | 14.6 | 49.8 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 39.2 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 86.0 | 14 | 734 |
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: | +17,549 | +6,837 | +13,792 | +0.1 | +607 | +1,254 | +6.5 | +4,482 | +5,463 | +2.5 | +1 | +338 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 14,743 | 5,355 | 10,745 | 49.8 | 1,188 | 3,032 | 39.2 | 2,845 | 3,309 | 86.0 | 14 | 734 |
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: | +11.9 | +4.5 | +10.1 | +2.6 | +0.9 | +1.8 | +6.7 | +3.8 | +4.7 | +1.3 | +1 | +33 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 21.5 | 7.7 | 15.0 | 51.3 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 39.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 84.1 | 12 | 146 |
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: | +2,854 | +1,068 | +2,312 | +2.6 | +101 | +178 | +6.7 | +819 | +1,000 | +1.3 | +1 | +33 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 3,133 | 1,120 | 2,185 | 51.3 | 249 | 624 | 39.9 | 644 | 766 | 84.1 | 12 | 146 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 28.2 | +20.3 | 1985 | 82 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 7.9 | 2012 | 64 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 22.7 | +10.8 | 1986 | 18 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 11.9 | 2013 | 58 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 37.1 | +24.3 | 1987 | 82 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 12.8 | 2014 | 66 | |
Michael Jordan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Michael Jordan played 1 season more than Kawhi Leonard in the NBA. In that year—his season 15 in 2003—he averaged 20.0 points in a total of 82 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 29.3 | +20.7 | 1985 | 4 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 8.6 | 2012 | 14 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 43.7 | +30.2 | 1986 | 3 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 13.5 | 2013 | 21 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 35.7 | +21.4 | 1987 | 3 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 14.3 | 2014 | 23 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 31.1 | +31.1 | 1991 | 17 |
| Kawhi Leonard | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Kawhi Leonard | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Michael Jordan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Michael Jordan didn't play in the postseason. |