Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Chris Paul: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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.

Chris Paul is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Chris Paul 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 7 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 7.4 points more than Chris Paul in his 20 seasons (24.4 points against 17.0). On the other hand Chris Paul scored a total of 11,717 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23,011 vs. 11,294).

Points Per Game

Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 24.4
+7.4
7
Chris Paul 17.0
20

Total Points

Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 11,294
7
Chris Paul 23,011
+11,717
20

Scoring Titles

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 1
Scoring leader
+1
Chris Paul 0

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than Chris Paul (+5.8 points per game) while Chris Paul scored more points (+1,795).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 25.8
+5.8
4
Chris Paul 20.0
15

Total Points

Playoffs
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 1,186
4
Chris Paul 2,981
+1,795
15

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 4
+4
Chris Paul 0

40+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 26
+18
Chris Paul 8

30+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 178
+101
Chris Paul 77

20+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 313
Chris Paul 472
+159

10+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 421
Chris Paul 1,133
+712

1+ Point Games (games with points)

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 460
Chris Paul 1,350
+890

0 Point Games (games without points)

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 2
Chris Paul 4
+2

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 1
Chris Paul 2
+1

30+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 22
+4
Chris Paul 18

20+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 34
Chris Paul 74
+40

10+ Point Games

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 41
Chris Paul 134
+93

1+ Point Games (games with points)

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 46
Chris Paul 149
+103

0 Point Games (games without points)

S. Gilgeous-Alexander 0
Chris Paul 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 24.4 8.5 17.0 50.1 1.3 3.7 35.5 6.0 7.0 86.2 7 462
difference:+7.4+2.5+4.2+3.1+0.1+1.5+2.4+2.9+0.9+13+892
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 11,294 3,943 7,872 50.1 614 1,729 35.5 2,794 3,243 86.2 7 462
difference:+11,717+4,204+9,480+3.1+1,246+3,300+1.5+2,063+2,336+0.9+13+892
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 25.8 8.9 19.1 46.8 1.5 4.4 35.0 6.4 7.4 85.9 4 46
difference:+5.8+1.5+3.8+1.5+0.1+2.3+2.9+3.3+0.5+11+103
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 1,186 411 878 46.8 71 203 35.0 293 341 85.9 4 46
difference:+1,795+695+1,409+1.5+173+451+2.3+232+274+0.5+11+103
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

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 10.8
201982
Chris Paul 16.1
+5.3
200678

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 19.0
+1.7
202070
Chris Paul 17.3
200764

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 23.7
+2.6
202135
Chris Paul 21.1
200880

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 24.5
+1.7
202256
Chris Paul 22.8
200978

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 31.4
+12.7
202368
Chris Paul 18.7
201045

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 30.1
+14.2
202475
Chris Paul 15.9
201180

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander Scoring leader32.7
+12.9
2025NBA Champion76
Chris Paul 19.8
201260

Chris Paul's additional seasons:

* Chris Paul played 13 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 8 to 20, from 2013 to 2025—he averaged 16.0 points in a total of 869 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 19.5 ppg and his lowest 8.8.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 13.7
+13.7
20196
Chris Paul -
DNP
20060

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 16.3
+16.3
20207
Chris Paul -
DNP
20070

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander -
DNP
20210
Chris Paul 24.1
+24.1
200812

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander -
DNP
20220
Chris Paul 16.6
+16.6
20095

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander -
DNP
20230
Chris Paul -
DNP
20100

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 30.2
+8.2
202410
Chris Paul 22.0
20116

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
S. Gilgeous-Alexander 29.9
+12.3
2025NBA Champion23
Chris Paul 17.6
201211

Chris Paul's additional Playoffs:

* During his 13 additional NBA seasons, Chris Paul played in 11 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.9 points in a total of 115 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.3 ppg and his lowest 12.4.