Paul Pierce vs. Jayson Tatum: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Jayson Tatum 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.
Paul Pierce is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Jayson Tatum has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Jayson Tatum has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Paul Pierce 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: |
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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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Jayson Tatum averages 3.9 points more than Paul Pierce in his 19 seasons (23.6 points against 19.7). On the other hand Paul Pierce scored a total of 12,613 points more than Jayson Tatum (26,397 vs. 13,784).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 19 | |
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | +3.9 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +12,613 | 19 |
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Jayson Tatum has a better career point average than Paul Pierce (+5.6 points per game) while Paul Pierce scored more points (+244).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 14 | |
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | +5.6 | 8 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +244 | 14 |
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +293 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 375 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +611 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 550 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +738 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 584 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +20 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 0 | |||
| Jayson Tatum | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | |||
| Jayson Tatum | 84 | +11 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +33 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 115 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +44 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 121 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +5 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 0 | |||
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: | +3.9 | +1.7 | +3.3 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +2.8 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +3.4 | +11 | +758 |
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | 8.2 | 17.8 | 45.9 | 2.6 | 7.1 | 37.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
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: | +12,613 | +3,879 | +9,036 | +1.4 | +597 | +1,635 | +0.2 | +4,258 | +5,411 | +3.4 | +11 | +758 |
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 4,789 | 10,429 | 45.9 | 1,546 | 4,181 | 37.0 | 2,660 | 3,167 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
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: | +5.6 | +2.1 | +4.3 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +2.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +6 | +49 |
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | 8.1 | 18.5 | 43.9 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 34.8 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
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: | +244 | +39 | +174 | +1.5 | +16 | +63 | +0.7 | +182 | +230 | +1.1 | +6 | +49 |
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 983 | 2,241 | 43.9 | 292 | 840 | 34.8 | 678 | 806 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
- Paul Pierce played 11 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 19, from 2007 to 2017—he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 738 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Jayson Tatum | 18.5 | +18.5 | 2018 | 19 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Jayson Tatum | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2019 | 9 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Jayson Tatum | 25.7 | +25.7 | 2020 | 17 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Jayson Tatum | 28.1 | +28.1 | 2025 | 8 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.1 points in a total of 133 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |