Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Karl-Anthony Towns have two of the highest career scoring 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 and also scored more points in during the postseason while Karl-Anthony Towns scored more points 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, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 1.7 points more than Karl-Anthony Towns in his 11 seasons (24.8 points against 23.1). On the other hand Karl-Anthony Towns scored a total of 3,341 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15,356 vs. 12,015).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | +1.7 | 8 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.1 | 11 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 8 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15,356 | +3,341 | 11 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 |  +1 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than Karl-Anthony Towns (+6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+197).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +6.0 | 4 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 5 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | +197 | 4 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 5 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 335 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 446 | +111 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 443 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 645 | +202 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 482 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 666 | +184 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | +2 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 | +1 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | +7 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 27 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 47 | +6 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 50 | +4 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.8 | 8.6 | 17.2 | 50.3 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 36.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
| difference: | +1.7 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.9 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +3.8 | +1.7 | +1.9 | +2.4 | +3 | +182 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.1 | 8.4 | 16.2 | 52.2 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 39.8 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 83.9 | 11 | 666 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 12,015 | 4,181 | 8,306 | 50.3 | 663 | 1,842 | 36.0 | 2,990 | 3,466 | 86.3 | 8 | 484 |
| difference: | +3,341 | +1,436 | +2,454 | +1.9 | +492 | +1,061 | +3.8 | +23 | +70 | +2.4 | +3 | +182 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15,356 | 5,617 | 10,760 | 52.2 | 1,155 | 2,903 | 39.8 | 2,967 | 3,536 | 83.9 | 11 | 666 |
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: | +6.0 | +2.0 | +4.6 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +2.0 | +2.1 | +2.8 | +1 | +4 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 6.9 | 14.5 | 47.6 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 35.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
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: | +197 | +65 | +151 | +0.8 | +4 | +11 | +71 | +74 | +2.8 | +1 | +4 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 346 | 727 | 47.6 | 75 | 214 | 35.0 | 222 | 267 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 10.8 | 2019 | 82 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 18.3 | +7.5 | 2016 | 82 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 19.0 | 2020 | 70 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 25.1 | +6.1 | 2017 | 82 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 23.7 | +2.4 | 2021 | 35 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 21.3 | 2018 | 82 | |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.5 | +0.1 | 2022 | 56 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 24.4 | 2019 | 77 | |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 31.4 | +4.9 | 2023 | 68 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 26.5 | 2020 | 35 | |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 30.1 | +5.3 | 2024 | 75 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 24.8 | 2021 | 50 | |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 32.7 | +8.1 | 2025 | 76 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 24.6 | 2022 | 74 | |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 32.8 | +12.0 | 2026 | 22 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 20.8 | 2023 | 29 | |
Karl-Anthony Towns' additional seasons: | ||||
* Karl-Anthony Towns played 3 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 11, from 2024 to 2026—he averaged 23.1 points in a total of 155 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.4 ppg and his lowest 21.8. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2019 | 6 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2020 | 7 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2018 | 5 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 30.2 | +30.2 | 2024 | 10 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 18.2 | +18.2 | 2023 | 5 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Karl-Anthony Towns' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Karl-Anthony Towns played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.3 points in a total of 34 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.4 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |