Penny Hardaway vs. Kyrie Irving: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kyrie Irving 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.
Kyrie Irving has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, 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 Kyrie Irving has better scoring stats than Penny Hardaway in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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, Kyrie Irving averages 8.5 points more than Penny Hardaway in his 14 seasons (23.7 points against 15.2), and he also scored a total of 7,749 points more (18,433 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 14 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | +8.5 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | +7,749 | 14 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kyrie Irving has a better career point average than Penny Hardaway (+2.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+907).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 8 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | +2.6 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | +907 | 7 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 6 | +6 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | +320 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | +237 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | +94 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | +19 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | +40 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | +30 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | +32 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 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: | +8.5 | +3.0 | +6.0 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +3.8 | +7.8 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +11.4 | +75 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +7,749 | +2,792 | +5,582 | +1.7 | +1,373 | +3,172 | +7.8 | +792 | +529 | +11.4 | +75 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +2.6 | +1.4 | +2.7 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +1.8 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +1.9 | +13.7 | +1 | +32 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
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: | +907 | +359 | +763 | +1.0 | +124 | +308 | +1.2 | +65 | +13 | +13.7 | +1 | +32 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Kyrie Irving's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kyrie Irving played 1 season more than Penny Hardaway in the NBA. In that year—his season 16 in 2025—he averaged 24.7 points in a total of 50 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 18.7 | +18.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 19.6 | +19.6 | 1995 | 21 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 23.3 | +23.3 | 1996 | 12 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | 25.2 | +25.2 | 2016 | 21 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2000 | 9 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | 21.3 | +21.3 | 2019 | 9 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 16.5 | +16.5 | 2004 | 4 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | 22.1 | +22.1 | 2024 | 22 |
Kyrie Irving's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Kyrie Irving didn't play in the postseason. |