Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Joe Johnson: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Joe Johnson 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.

Joe Johnson 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 Joe Johnson 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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 8.8 points more than Joe Johnson in his 18 seasons (24.8 points against 16.0). On the other hand Joe Johnson scored a total of 8,392 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20,407 vs. 12,015).

Points Per Game			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.8	+8.8	8
Joe Johnson	16.0		18

Total Points			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	12,015		8
Joe Johnson	20,407	+8,392	18

Scoring Titles
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	1	+1
Joe Johnson	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	10.8	+3.3	2019	82
Joe Johnson	7.5		2002	77

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	19.0	+9.2	2020	70
Joe Johnson	9.8		2003	82

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	23.7	+7.0	2021	35
Joe Johnson	16.7		2004	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.5	+7.4	2022	56
Joe Johnson	17.1		2005	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	31.4	+11.2	2023	68
Joe Johnson	20.2		2006	82

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.1	+5.1	2024	75
Joe Johnson	25.0		2007	57

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.7	+11.0	2025	76
Joe Johnson	21.7		2008	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.8	+11.4	2026	22
Joe Johnson	21.4		2009	79

Joe Johnson's additional seasons:

* Joe Johnson played 12 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 20, from 2010 to 2022—he averaged 13.7 points in a total of 764 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 21.3 ppg and his lowest 2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	13.7	+13.7	2019	6
Joe Johnson	-	DNP	2002	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	16.3	+11.0	2020	7
Joe Johnson	5.3		2003	6

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2021	0
Joe Johnson	-	DNP	2004	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2022	0
Joe Johnson	18.8	+18.8	2005	9

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2023	0
Joe Johnson	-	DNP	2006	0

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.2	+30.2	2024	10
Joe Johnson	-	DNP	2007	0

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	29.9	+9.9	2025	23
Joe Johnson	20.0		2008	7

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP *	2026	0
Joe Johnson	16.4	+16.4	2009	11
* season in progress

Joe Johnson's additional Playoffs:

* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, Joe Johnson played in 11 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 12.9 points in a total of 103 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 1.5.