Pau Gasol vs. Damian Lillard: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Damian Lillard and Pau Gasol 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.

Damian Lillard and Pau Gasol are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 43,492 points—. Damian Lillard is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Damian Lillard has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Pau Gasol scored more points in the postseason. 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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 8.1 points more than Pau Gasol in his 18 seasons (25.1 points against 17.0), and he also scored a total of 1,704 points more (22,598 vs. 20,894).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Pau Gasol 17.0
18
Damian Lillard 25.1
+8.1
13

Total Points

Seasons
Pau Gasol 20,894
18
Damian Lillard 22,598
+1,704
13

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Damian Lillard has a better career point average than Pau Gasol (+9.8 points per game) while Pau Gasol scored more points (+383).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Pau Gasol 15.4
12
Damian Lillard 25.2
+9.8
10

Total Points

Playoffs
Pau Gasol 2,098
+383
12
Damian Lillard 1,715
10

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

70+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 0
Damian Lillard 1
+1

60+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 0
Damian Lillard 5
+5

50+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 0
Damian Lillard 15
+15

40+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 3
Damian Lillard 60
+57

30+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 47
Damian Lillard 265
+218

20+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 454
Damian Lillard 650
+196

10+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 1,070
+188
Damian Lillard 882

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Pau Gasol 1,215
+315
Damian Lillard 900

0 Point Games (games without points)

Pau Gasol 11
+11
Damian Lillard 0

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 0
Damian Lillard 2
+2

40+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 0
Damian Lillard 4
+4

30+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 3
Damian Lillard 23
+20

20+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 37
Damian Lillard 46
+9

10+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 112
+46
Damian Lillard 66

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Pau Gasol 135
+68
Damian Lillard 67

0 Point Games (games without points)

Pau Gasol 1
Damian Lillard 1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Pau Gasol 17.0 6.5 12.8 50.7 0.1 0.4 36.8 3.9 5.1 75.3 18 1,226
difference:+8.1+1.6+5.6+6.9+3.0+8.0+0.3+1.9+1.4+14.6+5+326
Damian Lillard 25.1 8.1 18.4 43.9 3.1 8.4 37.1 5.8 6.5 89.9 13 900

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Pau Gasol 20,894 7,980 15,729 50.7 179 486 36.8 4,755 6,311 75.3 18 1,226
difference:+1,704+714+839+6.9+2,625+7,070+0.3+507+458+14.6+5+326
Damian Lillard 22,598 7,266 16,568 43.9 2,804 7,556 37.1 5,262 5,853 89.9 13 900

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Pau Gasol 15.4 6.0 11.8 50.8 0.1 0.3 29.7 3.4 4.6 74.1 12 136
difference:+9.8+2.0+7.7+9.9+3.2+8.6+7.1+2.6+2.2+15.2+2+68
Damian Lillard 25.2 8.0 19.5 40.9 3.3 8.9 36.8 6.0 6.8 89.3 10 68

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Pau Gasol 2,098 812 1,600 50.8 11 37 29.7 463 625 74.1 12 136
difference:+383+271+276+9.9+211+566+7.1+52+165+15.2+2+68
Damian Lillard 1,715 541 1,324 40.9 222 603 36.8 411 460 89.3 10 68

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.6
200282
Damian Lillard 19.0
+1.4
201382

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 19.0
200382
Damian Lillard 20.7
+1.7
201482

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.7
200478
Damian Lillard 21.0
+3.3
201582

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.8
200556
Damian Lillard 25.1
+7.3
201675

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.4
200680
Damian Lillard 27.0
+6.6
201775

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.8
200759
Damian Lillard 26.9
+6.1
201873

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.9
200866
Damian Lillard 25.8
+6.9
201980

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.9
200866
Damian Lillard 30.0
+11.1
202066

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.9
2009NBA Champion81
Damian Lillard 28.8
+9.9
202167

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.3
2010NBA Champion65
Damian Lillard 24.0
+5.7
202229

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.8
201182
Damian Lillard 32.2
+13.4
202358

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.4
201265
Damian Lillard 24.3
+6.9
202473

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 13.7
201349
Damian Lillard 24.9
+11.2
202558

Pau Gasol's additional seasons:

* Pau Gasol played 6 seasons more than Damian Lillard in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2014 to 2019—he averaged 14.1 points in a total of 381 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.5 ppg and his lowest 3.9.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20020
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20130

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20030
Damian Lillard 22.9
+22.9
201411

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.5
20044
Damian Lillard 21.6
+3.1
20155

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 21.3
20054
Damian Lillard 26.5
+5.2
201611

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.3
20064
Damian Lillard 27.8
+7.5
20174

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20070
Damian Lillard 18.5
+18.5
20184

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 16.9
200821
Damian Lillard 26.9
+10.0
201916

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 16.9
200821
Damian Lillard 24.3
+7.4
20204

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.3
2009NBA Champion23
Damian Lillard 34.3
+16.0
20216

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 19.6
+19.6
2010NBA Champion23
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20220

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 13.1
+13.1
201110
Damian Lillard -
DNP
20230

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 12.5
201212
Damian Lillard 31.3
+18.8
20244

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 14.0
+7.0
20134
Damian Lillard 7.0
20253

Pau Gasol's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Pau Gasol played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 9.6 points in a total of 31 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 14.4 ppg and his lowest 6.