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

We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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.

Paul Pierce 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 Paul Pierce 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 5 points more than Paul Pierce in his 19 seasons (24.7 points against 19.7). On the other hand Paul Pierce scored a total of 14,647 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26,397 vs. 11,750).

Points Per Game			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.7	+5.0	8
Paul Pierce	19.7		19

Total Points			Seasons
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	11,750		8
Paul Pierce	26,397	+14,647	19

Scoring Titles
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	1	+1
Paul Pierce	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		2019	82
Paul Pierce	16.5	+5.7	1999	48

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	19.0		2020	70
Paul Pierce	19.5	+0.5	2000	73

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	23.7		2021	35
Paul Pierce	25.3	+1.6	2001	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	24.5		2022	56
Paul Pierce	26.1	+1.6	2002	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	31.4	+5.5	2023	68
Paul Pierce	25.9		2003	79

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.1	+7.1	2024	75
Paul Pierce	23.0		2004	80

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.7	+11.1	2025	76
Paul Pierce	21.6		2005	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	32.6	+5.8	2026	14
Paul Pierce	26.8		2006	79

Paul Pierce's additional seasons:

* Paul Pierce played 11 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 19, from 2007 to 2017—he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 738 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25 ppg and his lowest 3.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	13.7	+13.7	2019	6
Paul Pierce	-	DNP	1999	0

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	16.3	+16.3	2020	7
Paul Pierce	-	DNP	2000	0

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2021	0
Paul Pierce	-	DNP	2001	0

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2022	0
Paul Pierce	24.6	+24.6	2002	16

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP	2023	0
Paul Pierce	27.1	+27.1	2003	10

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	30.2	+9.4	2024	10
Paul Pierce	20.8		2004	4

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	29.9	+7.0	2025	23
Paul Pierce	22.9		2005	7

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
S. Gilgeous-Alexander	-	DNP *	2026	0
Paul Pierce	-	DNP	2006	0
* season in progress

Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs:

* During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.1 points in a total of 133 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21 ppg and his lowest 1.2.