Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Yao Ming.
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 stats than Yao Ming in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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 7 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 5.4 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (24.4 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 2,047 points more (11,294 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.4 | +5.4 | 7 |
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 8 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 11,294 | +2,047 | 7 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 |  +1 |
| Yao Ming | 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 Yao Ming (+6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+631).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +6.0 | 4 |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 4 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | +631 | 4 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 4 | +4 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 313 | +81 | ||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 421 | |||
| Yao Ming | 440 | +19 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 460 | |||
| Yao Ming | 483 | +23 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | |||
| Yao Ming | 3 | +1 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 | +1 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | +19 | ||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | +15 | ||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | +18 | ||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 0 | |||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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: | +5.4 | +1.5 | +3.7 | +2.4 | +1.3 | +3.7 | +15.5 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +2.9 | +1 | +24 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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: | +2,047 | +563 | +1,427 | +2.4 | +612 | +1,719 | +15.5 | +309 | +259 | +2.9 | +1 | +24 |
| 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 | ||||
| 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 | +1.9 | +5.7 | +5.1 | +1.5 | +4.4 | +35.0 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +2.6 | +18 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 411 | 878 | 46.8 | 71 | 203 | 35.0 | 293 | 341 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
| difference: | +631 | +216 | +502 | +5.1 | +71 | +203 | +35.0 | +128 | +143 | +2.6 | +18 | |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Yao Ming's additional seasons: | ||||
* Yao Ming played 1 season more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In that year—his season 8 in 2011—he averaged 10.2 points in a total of 5 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 13.7 | +13.7 | 2019 | 6 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | 21.4 | +21.4 | 2005 | 7 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | 25.1 | +25.1 | 2007 | 7 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 30.2 | +30.2 | 2024 | 10 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Yao Ming's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Yao Ming didn't play in the postseason. |