Michael Jordan vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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 Yao Ming.

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 Yao Ming 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 11.1 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (30.1 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 23,045 points more (32,292 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Michael Jordan	30.1	+11.1	15
Yao Ming	19.0		8

Total Points			Seasons
Michael Jordan	32,292	+23,045	15
Yao Ming	9,247		8

Scoring Titles
Michael Jordan	10	+10
Yao Ming	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	28.2	+14.7	1985	82
Yao Ming	13.5		2003	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	22.7	+5.2	1986	18
Yao Ming	17.5		2004	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	37.1	+18.8	1987	82
Yao Ming	18.3		2005	80

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	35.0	+12.7	1988	82
Yao Ming	22.3		2006	57

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	32.5	+7.5	1989	81
Yao Ming	25.0		2007	48

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	33.6	+11.6	1990	82
Yao Ming	22.0		2008	55

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	31.5	+11.8	1991	82
Yao Ming	19.7		2009	77

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	30.1	+19.9	1992	80
Yao Ming	10.2		2011	5

Michael Jordan's additional seasons:

* Michael Jordan played 7 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 15, from 1993 to 2003—he averaged 27.5 points in a total of 483 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 32.6 ppg and his lowest 20. In those 7 extra years over Yao Ming, Michael Jordan won 4 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	29.3	+29.3	1985	4
Yao Ming	-	DNP	2003	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	43.7	+28.7	1986	3
Yao Ming	15.0		2004	5

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	35.7	+14.3	1987	3
Yao Ming	21.4		2005	7

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	36.3	+36.3	1988	10
Yao Ming	-	DNP	2006	0

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	34.8	+9.7	1989	17
Yao Ming	25.1		2007	7

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	36.7	+36.7	1990	16
Yao Ming	-	DNP	2008	0

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	31.1	+14.0	1991	17
Yao Ming	17.1		2009	9

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Michael Jordan	34.5	+34.5	1992	22
Yao Ming	-	DNP	2011	0

Michael Jordan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Michael Jordan played in 5 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 32.2 points in a total of 87 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 35.1 ppg and his lowest 30.7.