Paul Pierce vs. David Robinson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of David Robinson and Paul Pierce 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
Paul Pierce and David Robinson are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 47,187 points—. 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 Paul Pierce scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while David Robinson has a better scoring average in the regular season. 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 14 NBA regular seasons played, David Robinson averages 1.4 points more than Paul Pierce in his 19 seasons (21.1 points against 19.7). On the other hand Paul Pierce scored a total of 5,607 points more than David Robinson (26,397 vs. 20,790).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 19 | |
| David Robinson | 21.1 | +1.4 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +5,607 | 19 |
| David Robinson | 20,790 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |
| David Robinson | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Paul Pierce has a better career point average than David Robinson (+0.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+959).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | +0.6 | 14 |
| David Robinson | 18.1 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +959 | 14 |
| David Robinson | 2,221 | 12 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
| David Robinson | 1 | +1 | ||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
| David Robinson | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +120 | ||
| David Robinson | 548 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +272 | ||
| David Robinson | 889 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +337 | ||
| David Robinson | 985 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +19 | ||
| David Robinson | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +18 | ||
| David Robinson | 55 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +46 | ||
| David Robinson | 102 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +45 | ||
| David Robinson | 120 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +2 | ||
| David Robinson | 3 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 6.5 | 14.5 | 44.5 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 36.8 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
| difference: | +1.4 | +1.0 | +0.1 | +7.3 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +11.8 | +0.9 | +1.9 | +7.0 | +5 | +356 |
| David Robinson | 21.1 | 7.5 | 14.4 | 51.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 25.0 | 6.1 | 8.3 | 73.6 | 14 | 987 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | 8,668 | 19,465 | 44.5 | 2,143 | 5,816 | 36.8 | 6,918 | 8,578 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
| difference: | +5,607 | +1,303 | +5,244 | +7.3 | +2,118 | +5,716 | +11.8 | +883 | +377 | +7.0 | +5 | +356 |
| David Robinson | 20,790 | 7,365 | 14,221 | 51.8 | 25 | 100 | 25.0 | 6,035 | 8,201 | 73.6 | 14 | 987 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 6.0 | 14.2 | 42.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 35.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
| difference: | +0.6 | +0.2 | +1.2 | +5.6 | +1.6 | +4.5 | +25.5 | +0.5 | +1.8 | +12.2 | +2 | +47 |
| David Robinson | 18.1 | 6.2 | 13.0 | 47.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 10.0 | 5.6 | 7.9 | 70.8 | 12 | 123 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | 1,022 | 2,415 | 42.3 | 276 | 777 | 35.5 | 860 | 1,036 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
| difference: | +959 | +254 | +811 | +5.6 | +275 | +767 | +25.5 | +176 | +70 | +12.2 | +2 | +47 |
| David Robinson | 2,221 | 768 | 1,604 | 47.9 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 684 | 966 | 70.8 | 12 | 123 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul Pierce played 5 seasons more than David Robinson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2013 to 2017—he averaged 12.0 points in a total of 318 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.6 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| David Robinson | 24.3 | +24.3 | 1990 | 10 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| David Robinson | 25.8 | +25.8 | 1991 | 4 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| David Robinson | - | DNP | 1992 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| David Robinson | - | DNP | 1997 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
| David Robinson | 19.4 | +19.4 | 1998 | 9 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.3 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |