Shawn Kemp vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce and Shawn Kemp 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 and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Shawn Kemp.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Paul Pierce has better scoring stats than Shawn Kemp 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 19 NBA regular seasons played, Paul Pierce averages 5.1 points more than Shawn Kemp in his 14 seasons (19.7 points against 14.6), and he also scored a total of 11,050 points more (26,397 vs. 15,347).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Shawn Kemp 14.6
14
Paul Pierce 19.7
+5.1
19

Total Points

Seasons
Shawn Kemp 15,347
14
Paul Pierce 26,397
+11,050
19

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Paul Pierce has a better career point average than Shawn Kemp (+1.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,658).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Shawn Kemp 17.3
10
Paul Pierce 18.7
+1.4
14

Total Points

Playoffs
Shawn Kemp 1,522
10
Paul Pierce 3,180
+1,658
14

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 0
Paul Pierce 1
+1

40+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 1
Paul Pierce 21
+20

30+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 22
Paul Pierce 198
+176

20+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 305
Paul Pierce 668
+363

10+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 751
Paul Pierce 1,161
+410

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Shawn Kemp 1,014
Paul Pierce 1,322
+308

0 Point Games (games without points)

Shawn Kemp 37
+16
Paul Pierce 21

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 0
Paul Pierce 3
+3

30+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 5
Paul Pierce 16
+11

20+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 39
Paul Pierce 73
+34

10+ Point Games

Shawn Kemp 72
Paul Pierce 148
+76

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Shawn Kemp 86
Paul Pierce 165
+79

0 Point Games (games without points)

Shawn Kemp 2
Paul Pierce 5
+3

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Shawn Kemp 14.6 5.2 10.7 48.8 0.0 0.1 27.7 4.1 5.5 74.1 14 1,051
difference:+5.1+1.3+3.8+4.3+1.6+4.2+9.1+1.1+0.9+6.5+5+292
Paul Pierce 19.7 6.5 14.5 44.5 1.6 4.3 36.8 5.2 6.4 80.6 19 1,343

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Shawn Kemp 15,347 5,505 11,278 48.8 33 119 27.7 4,304 5,805 74.1 14 1,051
difference:+11,050+3,163+8,187+4.3+2,110+5,697+9.1+2,614+2,773+6.5+5+292
Paul Pierce 26,397 8,668 19,465 44.5 2,143 5,816 36.8 6,918 8,578 80.6 19 1,343

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Shawn Kemp 17.3 5.8 11.7 49.8 0.0 0.2 20.0 5.6 7.0 79.7 10 88
difference:+1.4+0.2+2.5+7.5+1.6+4.4+15.5+0.5+0.9+3.3+4+82
Paul Pierce 18.7 6.0 14.2 42.3 1.6 4.6 35.5 5.1 6.1 83.0 14 170

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Shawn Kemp 1,522 514 1,032 49.8 3 15 20.0 491 616 79.7 10 88
difference:+1,658+508+1,383+7.5+273+762+15.5+369+420+3.3+4+82
Paul Pierce 3,180 1,022 2,415 42.3 276 777 35.5 860 1,036 83.0 14 170

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 6.5
199081
Paul Pierce 16.5
+10.0
199948

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 15.0
199181
Paul Pierce 19.5
+4.5
200073

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 15.5
199264
Paul Pierce 25.3
+9.8
200182

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 17.8
199378
Paul Pierce 26.1
+8.3
200282

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 18.1
199479
Paul Pierce 25.9
+7.8
200379

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 18.7
199582
Paul Pierce 23.0
+4.3
200480

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 19.6
199679
Paul Pierce 21.6
+2.0
200582

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 18.7
199781
Paul Pierce 26.8
+8.1
200679

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 18.0
199880
Paul Pierce 25.0
+7.0
200747

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 20.5
+0.9
199942
Paul Pierce 19.6
2008NBA Champion80

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 17.8
200082
Paul Pierce 20.5
+2.7
200981

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 6.5
200168
Paul Pierce 18.3
+11.8
201071

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 6.1
200275
Paul Pierce 18.9
+12.8
201180

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 6.8
200379
Paul Pierce 19.4
+12.6
201261

Paul Pierce's additional seasons:

* Paul Pierce played 5 seasons more than Shawn Kemp in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2013 to 2017—he averaged 12.0 points in a total of 318 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 18.6 ppg and his lowest 3.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp -
DNP
19900
Paul Pierce -
DNP
19990

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 13.2
+13.2
19915
Paul Pierce -
DNP
20000

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 17.4
+17.4
19929
Paul Pierce -
DNP
20010

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 16.5
199319
Paul Pierce 24.6
+8.1
200216

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 14.8
19945
Paul Pierce 27.1
+12.3
200310

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 24.8
+4.0
19954
Paul Pierce 20.8
20044

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 20.9
199620
Paul Pierce 22.9
+2.0
20057

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 21.6
+21.6
199712
Paul Pierce -
DNP
20060

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 26.0
+26.0
19984
Paul Pierce -
DNP
20070

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp -
DNP
19990
Paul Pierce 19.7
+19.7
2008NBA Champion26

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp -
DNP
20000
Paul Pierce 21.0
+21.0
200914

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp -
DNP
20010
Paul Pierce 18.8
+18.8
201024

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 3.7
20023
Paul Pierce 20.8
+17.1
20119

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Shawn Kemp 3.0
20037
Paul Pierce 18.9
+15.9
201220

Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.3 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19.2 ppg and his lowest 1.2.