Penny Hardaway vs. J.R. Smith: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of J.R. Smith 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
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Penny Hardaway has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while J.R. Smith 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 14 NBA regular seasons played, Penny Hardaway averages 2.8 points more than J.R. Smith in his 16 seasons (15.2 points against 12.4). On the other hand J.R. Smith scored a total of 1,464 points more than Penny Hardaway (12,148 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | +2.8 | 14 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | +1,464 | 16 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Penny Hardaway has a better career point average than J.R. Smith (+9.7 points per game) while J.R. Smith scored more points (+189).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | +9.7 | 8 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | +189 | 12 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | +55 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 160 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 604 | +102 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 932 | +249 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 45 | +24 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 2 | +2 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 8 | +8 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | +12 | ||
| J.R. Smith | 14 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 77 | +15 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 130 | +66 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| J.R. Smith | 10 | +10 | ||
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: | +2.8 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +3.9 | +1.3 | +3.0 | +5.7 | +1.6 | +2.0 | +4.1 | +2 | +273 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.4 | 4.5 | 10.7 | 41.9 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 37.3 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
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: | +1,464 | +385 | +1,734 | +3.9 | +1,427 | +3,587 | +5.7 | +733 | +841 | +4.1 | +2 | +273 |
| J.R. Smith | 12,148 | 4,380 | 10,465 | 41.9 | 1,930 | 5,178 | 37.3 | 1,458 | 1,990 | 73.3 | 16 | 977 |
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: | +9.7 | +3.4 | +6.6 | +5.1 | +0.5 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +4.5 | +4.0 | +4 | +76 |
| J.R. Smith | 10.7 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 2.1 | 5.7 | 36.7 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
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: | +189 | +63 | +288 | +5.1 | +193 | +535 | +1.3 | +130 | +162 | +4.0 | +4 | +76 |
| J.R. Smith | 1,493 | 519 | 1,306 | 39.7 | 294 | 801 | 36.7 | 161 | 228 | 70.6 | 12 | 140 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
J.R. Smith's additional seasons: | ||||
* J.R. Smith played 2 seasons more than Penny Hardaway in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 17, from 2019 to 2020—he averaged 5.4 points in a total of 17 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 18.7 | +18.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 19.6 | +19.6 | 1995 | 21 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 14.9 | +14.9 | 2009 | 16 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 12.2 | +12.2 | 2012 | 5 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 14.3 | +14.3 | 2013 | 11 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 12.7 | +12.7 | 2003 | 6 |
| J.R. Smith | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 11.5 | +11.5 | 2016 | 21 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 8.1 | +8.1 | 2017 | 18 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| J.R. Smith | 8.7 | +8.7 | 2018 | 22 |
J.R. Smith's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, J.R. Smith played in one postseason and won the NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 2.0 points in a total of 10 games. |