Penny Hardaway vs. Chris Paul: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Chris Paul and Penny Hardaway 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
Chris Paul is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Penny Hardaway.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Chris Paul scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Penny Hardaway has a better scoring average 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.
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 20 NBA regular seasons played, Chris Paul averages 1.8 points more than Penny Hardaway in his 14 seasons (17.0 points against 15.2), and he also scored a total of 12,327 points more (23,011 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 14 | |
| Chris Paul | 17.0 | +1.8 | 20 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| Chris Paul | 23,011 | +12,327 | 20 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Penny Hardaway has a better career point average than Chris Paul (+0.4 points per game) while Chris Paul scored more points (+1,677).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | +0.4 | 8 |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | +1,677 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| Chris Paul | 472 | +257 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,133 | +631 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,350 | +667 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | +17 | ||
| Chris Paul | 4 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | |||
| Chris Paul | 74 | +48 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| Chris Paul | 134 | +72 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| Chris Paul | 149 | +85 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 45.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 31.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +1.8 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +5.4 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +9.7 | +6 | +650 |
| Chris Paul | 17.0 | 6.0 | 12.8 | 47.0 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 37.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 87.1 | 20 | 1,354 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 3,995 | 8,731 | 45.8 | 503 | 1,591 | 31.6 | 2,191 | 2,831 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +12,327 | +4,152 | +8,621 | +1.2 | +1,357 | +3,438 | +5.4 | +2,666 | +2,748 | +9.7 | +6 | +650 |
| Chris Paul | 23,011 | 8,147 | 17,352 | 47.0 | 1,860 | 5,029 | 37.0 | 4,857 | 5,579 | 87.1 | 20 | 1,354 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 7.1 | 15.9 | 44.8 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 38.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +3.6 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +2.0 | +10.8 | +7 | +85 | |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | 7.4 | 15.3 | 48.4 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 37.3 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 456 | 1,018 | 44.8 | 101 | 266 | 38.0 | 291 | 390 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +1,677 | +650 | +1,269 | +3.6 | +143 | +388 | +0.7 | +234 | +225 | +10.8 | +7 | +85 |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | 1,106 | 2,287 | 48.4 | 244 | 654 | 37.3 | 525 | 615 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Chris Paul's additional seasons: | ||||
* Chris Paul played 5 seasons more than Penny Hardaway in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 20, from 2021 to 2025—he averaged 12.5 points in a total of 334 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.4 ppg and his lowest 8.8. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 18.7 | +18.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 19.6 | +19.6 | 1995 | 21 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 22.8 | +22.8 | 2013 | 6 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 19.8 | +19.8 | 2014 | 13 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 21.1 | +21.1 | 2018 | 15 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 17.0 | +17.0 | 2019 | 11 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 21.3 | +21.3 | 2020 | 7 |
Chris Paul's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Chris Paul played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 17.5 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 12.4. |