Pau Gasol vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Pau Gasol is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points 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 Yao Ming has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Pau Gasol scored more total points in both stages. 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Yao Ming averages 2 points more than Pau Gasol in his 18 seasons (19.0 points against 17.0). On the other hand Pau Gasol scored a total of 11,647 points more than Yao Ming (20,894 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Pau Gasol 17.0
18
Yao Ming 19.0
+2.0
8

Total Points

Seasons
Pau Gasol 20,894
+11,647
18
Yao Ming 9,247
8

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Pau Gasol (+4.4 points per game) while Pau Gasol scored more points (+1,543).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Pau Gasol 15.4
12
Yao Ming 19.8
+4.4
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Pau Gasol 2,098
+1,543
12
Yao Ming 555
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 3
+1
Yao Ming 2

30+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 47
Yao Ming 49
+2

20+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 454
+222
Yao Ming 232

10+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 1,070
+630
Yao Ming 440

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Pau Gasol 1,215
+732
Yao Ming 483

0 Point Games (games without points)

Pau Gasol 11
+8
Yao Ming 3

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 3
Yao Ming 3

20+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 37
+22
Yao Ming 15

10+ Point Games

Pau Gasol 112
+86
Yao Ming 26

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Pau Gasol 135
+107
Yao Ming 28

0 Point Games (games without points)

Pau Gasol 1
+1
Yao Ming 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+2.0+0.5+0.5+1.7+0.1+0.4+16.8+1.2+1.0+8.0+10+740
Yao Ming 19.0 7.0 13.3 52.4 0.0 0.0 20.0 5.1 6.1 83.3 8 486

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:+11,647+4,600+9,284+1.7+177+476+16.8+2,270+3,327+8.0+10+740
Yao Ming 9,247 3,380 6,445 52.4 2 10 20.0 2,485 2,984 83.3 8 486

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:+4.4+1.0+1.6+1.1+0.1+0.3+29.7+2.5+2.5+9.2+8+108
Yao Ming 19.8 7.0 13.4 51.9 0.0 0.0 - 5.9 7.1 83.3 4 28

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:+1,543+617+1,224+1.1+11+37+29.7+298+427+9.2+8+108
Yao Ming 555 195 376 51.9 0 0 - 165 198 83.3 4 28

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.6
+4.1
200282
Yao Ming 13.5
200382

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 19.0
+1.5
200382
Yao Ming 17.5
200482

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.7
200478
Yao Ming 18.3
+0.6
200580

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 17.8
200556
Yao Ming 22.3
+4.5
200657

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.4
200680
Yao Ming 25.0
+4.6
200748

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.8
200759
Yao Ming 22.0
+1.2
200855

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.9
200866
Yao Ming 19.7
+0.8
200977

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.9
+8.7
200866
Yao Ming 10.2
20115

Pau Gasol's additional seasons:

- Pau Gasol played 12 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 20, from 2008 to 2019—he averaged 16.1 points in a total of 789 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.9 ppg and his lowest 3.9.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20020
Yao Ming -
DNP
20030

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20030
Yao Ming 15.0
+15.0
20045

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 18.5
20044
Yao Ming 21.4
+2.9
20057

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 21.3
+21.3
20054
Yao Ming -
DNP
20060

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 20.3
20064
Yao Ming 25.1
+4.8
20077

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol -
DNP
20070
Yao Ming -
DNP
20080

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 16.9
200821
Yao Ming 17.1
+0.2
20099

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Pau Gasol 16.9
+16.9
200821
Yao Ming -
DNP
20110

Pau Gasol's additional Playoffs:

- During his 12 additional NBA seasons, Pau Gasol played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 15.0 points in a total of 124 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.6 ppg and his lowest 6.

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