Penny Hardaway vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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 scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while Yao Ming has a better scoring average in the regular season. 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, Yao Ming averages 3.8 points more than Penny Hardaway in his 14 seasons (19.0 points against 15.2). On the other hand Penny Hardaway scored a total of 1,437 points more than Yao Ming (10,684 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 14 | |
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | +3.8 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | +1,437 | 14 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Penny Hardaway has a better career point average than Yao Ming (+0.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+749).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | +0.6 | 8 |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 4 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | +749 | 8 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| Yao Ming | 232 | +17 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | +62 | ||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | +200 | ||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | +18 | ||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 2 | +2 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | +11 | ||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | +36 | ||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | +36 | ||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Yao Ming | 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: | +3.8 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +6.7 | +0.7 | +2.3 | +11.6 | +2.0 | +2.1 | +5.9 | +6 | +218 |
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 7.0 | 13.3 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
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: | +1,437 | +615 | +2,286 | +6.7 | +501 | +1,581 | +11.6 | +294 | +153 | +5.9 | +6 | +218 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 3,380 | 6,445 | 52.4 | 2 | 10 | 20.0 | 2,485 | 2,984 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
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: | +0.6 | +0.1 | +2.5 | +7.1 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +38.0 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +8.7 | +4 | +36 |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 7.0 | 13.4 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | 5.9 | 7.1 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
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: | +749 | +261 | +642 | +7.1 | +101 | +266 | +38.0 | +126 | +192 | +8.7 | +4 | +36 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Penny Hardaway's additional seasons: | ||||
- Penny Hardaway played 8 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 16, from 2002 to 2008—he averaged 9.5 points in a total of 423 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 12 ppg and his lowest 2.5. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 18.7 | +18.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 31.0 | +31.0 | 1997 | 5 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | 25.1 | +25.1 | 2007 | 7 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | 19.0 | +19.0 | 1999 | 4 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
Penny Hardaway's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Penny Hardaway played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 15.2 points in a total of 18 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 16.5 ppg and his lowest 12.7. |