Penny Hardaway vs. Steve Nash: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Steve Nash 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 Steve Nash 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 0.9 points more than Steve Nash in his 18 seasons (15.2 points against 14.3). On the other hand Steve Nash scored a total of 6,703 points more than Penny Hardaway (17,387 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | +0.9 | 14 |
| Steve Nash | 14.3 | 18 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| Steve Nash | 17,387 | +6,703 | 18 |
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 Steve Nash (+3.1 points per game) while Steve Nash scored more points (+768).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | +3.1 | 8 |
| Steve Nash | 17.3 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| Steve Nash | 2,072 | +768 | 12 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| Steve Nash | 309 | +94 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| Steve Nash | 875 | +373 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| Steve Nash | 1,177 | +494 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | |||
| Steve Nash | 40 | +19 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | |||
| Steve Nash | 48 | +22 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| Steve Nash | 103 | +41 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| Steve Nash | 115 | +51 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Steve Nash | 5 | +5 | ||
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: | +0.9 | +0.5 | +1.8 | +3.3 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +11.2 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +13.0 | +4 | +513 |
| Steve Nash | 14.3 | 5.2 | 10.6 | 49.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 42.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 90.4 | 18 | 1,217 |
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: | +6,703 | +2,326 | +4,161 | +3.3 | +1,182 | +2,348 | +11.2 | +869 | +553 | +13.0 | +4 | +513 |
| Steve Nash | 17,387 | 6,321 | 12,892 | 49.0 | 1,685 | 3,939 | 42.8 | 3,060 | 3,384 | 90.4 | 18 | 1,217 |
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: | +3.1 | +0.9 | +2.7 | +2.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +2.6 | +1.2 | +2.4 | +15.4 | +4 | +56 |
| Steve Nash | 17.3 | 6.2 | 13.2 | 47.3 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 40.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 90.0 | 12 | 120 |
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: | +768 | +293 | +566 | +2.5 | +77 | +172 | +2.6 | +105 | +50 | +15.4 | +4 | +56 |
| Steve Nash | 2,072 | 749 | 1,584 | 47.3 | 178 | 438 | 40.6 | 396 | 440 | 90.0 | 12 | 120 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Steve Nash's additional seasons: | ||||
* Steve Nash played 3 seasons more than Penny Hardaway in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 18, from 2012 to 2014—he averaged 11.9 points in a total of 127 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 12.7 ppg and his lowest 6.8. |
Playoffs
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 23.3 | +23.3 | 1996 | 12 |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 31.0 | +31.0 | 1997 | 5 |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | 13.6 | +13.6 | 2001 | 10 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | 13.6 | +13.6 | 2004 | 5 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | 23.9 | +23.9 | 2005 | 15 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | 17.8 | +17.8 | 2010 | 16 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
Steve Nash's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Steve Nash played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 12.5 points in a total of 2 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 12.5 ppg and his lowest 12.5. |