Michael Jordan vs. Scottie Pippen: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Scottie Pippen 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
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 Scottie Pippen.
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 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 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 14 points more than Scottie Pippen in his 17 seasons (30.1 points against 16.1), and he also scored a total of 13,352 points more (32,292 vs. 18,940).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 30.1 | +14.0 | 15 |
| Scottie Pippen | 16.1 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Michael Jordan | 32,292 | +13,352 | 15 |
| Scottie Pippen | 18,940 | 17 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Michael Jordan | 10 |  +10 |
| Scottie Pippen | 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 Scottie Pippen (+15.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,345).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 33.4 | +15.9 | 13 |
| Scottie Pippen | 17.5 | 16 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | +2,345 | 13 |
| Scottie Pippen | 3,642 | 16 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 4 | +4 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 31 | +31 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 926 | +559 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 367 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,059 | +116 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 943 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1,072 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 1,160 | +88 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 18 | +18 | ||
Playoffs
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 8 | +8 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 38 | +38 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 173 | +86 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 87 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | +1 | ||
| Scottie Pippen | 178 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 179 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 206 | +27 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 0 | |||
| Scottie Pippen | 2 | +2 | ||
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: | +14.0 | +5.1 | +9.6 | +2.4 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +4.1 | +4.4 | +13.1 | +2 | +106 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +13,352 | +4,772 | +8,837 | +2.4 | +397 | +1,224 | +0.1 | +4,205 | +4,335 | +13.1 | +2 | +106 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +15.9 | +5.8 | +10.6 | +4.3 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +2.9 | +4.5 | +4.8 | +10.4 | +3 | +29 |
| 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 | ||||
| Michael Jordan | 5,987 | 2,188 | 4,497 | 48.7 | 148 | 446 | 33.2 | 1,463 | 1,766 | 82.8 | 13 | 179 |
| difference: | +2,345 | +853 | +1,488 | +4.3 | +52 | +214 | +2.9 | +691 | +699 | +10.4 | +3 | +29 |
| 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
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 28.2 | +20.3 | 1985 | 82 |
| Scottie Pippen | 7.9 | 1988 | 79 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 22.7 | +8.3 | 1986 | 18 |
| Scottie Pippen | 14.4 | 1989 | 73 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 37.1 | +20.6 | 1987 | 82 |
| Scottie Pippen | 16.5 | 1990 | 82 | |
Scottie Pippen's additional seasons: | ||||
* Scottie Pippen played 2 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 17, from 2003 to 2004—he averaged 9.5 points in a total of 87 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 29.3 | +19.3 | 1985 | 4 |
| Scottie Pippen | 10.0 | 1988 | 10 | |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 43.7 | +30.6 | 1986 | 3 |
| Scottie Pippen | 13.1 | 1989 | 17 | |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | 35.7 | +16.4 | 1987 | 3 |
| Scottie Pippen | 19.3 | 1990 | 15 | |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Scottie Pippen | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2001 | 3 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Michael Jordan | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Scottie Pippen | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2002 | 3 |
Scottie Pippen's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Scottie Pippen played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 5.8 points in a total of 4 games. |