Stephen Curry vs. Chris Paul: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Chris Paul and Stephen Curry 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
Stephen Curry and Chris Paul are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 48,686 points—. Stephen Curry is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Stephen Curry has better scoring stats than Chris Paul 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, Stephen Curry averages 7.9 points more than Chris Paul in his 21 seasons (24.8 points against 16.9), and he also scored a total of 2,628 points more (25,657 vs. 23,029).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 24.8 | +7.9 | 17 |
| Chris Paul | 16.9 | 21 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 25,657 | +2,628 | 17 |
| Chris Paul | 23,029 | 21 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Stephen Curry | 2 |  +2 |
| Chris Paul | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Stephen Curry has a better career point average than Chris Paul (+6.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,166).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 26.8 | +6.8 | 10 |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 4,147 | +1,166 | 10 |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 2 | +2 | ||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 15 | +15 | ||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 724 | +252 | ||
| Chris Paul | 472 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 977 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,133 | +156 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1,031 | |||
| Chris Paul | 1,355 | +324 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 5 | |||
| Chris Paul | 7 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1 | +1 | ||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 123 | +49 | ||
| Chris Paul | 74 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 153 | +19 | ||
| Chris Paul | 134 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 155 | +6 | ||
| Chris Paul | 149 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 0 | |||
| Chris Paul | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 24.8 | 8.4 | 17.9 | 47.1 | 4.0 | 9.4 | 42.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 91.2 | 17 | 1,036 |
| difference: | +7.9 | +2.4 | +5.1 | +0.2 | +2.6 | +5.7 | +5.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +4.1 | +4 | +326 |
| Chris Paul | 16.9 | 6.0 | 12.8 | 46.9 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 36.9 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 87.1 | 21 | 1,362 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 25,657 | 8,734 | 18,546 | 47.1 | 4,099 | 9,700 | 42.3 | 4,090 | 4,486 | 91.2 | 17 | 1,036 |
| difference: | +2,628 | +581 | +1,169 | +0.2 | +2,234 | +4,652 | +5.4 | +768 | +1,094 | +4.1 | +4 | +326 |
| Chris Paul | 23,029 | 8,153 | 17,377 | 46.9 | 1,865 | 5,048 | 36.9 | 4,858 | 5,580 | 87.1 | 21 | 1,362 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 26.8 | 9.0 | 19.7 | 45.4 | 4.2 | 10.6 | 39.7 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 88.9 | 10 | 155 |
| difference: | +6.8 | +1.6 | +4.4 | +2.9 | +2.6 | +6.2 | +2.4 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +3.5 | +5 | +6 |
| Chris Paul | 20.0 | 7.4 | 15.3 | 48.4 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 37.3 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 4,147 | 1,388 | 3,056 | 45.4 | 650 | 1,637 | 39.7 | 721 | 811 | 88.9 | 10 | 155 |
| difference: | +1,166 | +282 | +769 | +2.9 | +406 | +983 | +2.4 | +196 | +196 | +3.5 | +5 | +6 |
| Chris Paul | 2,981 | 1,106 | 2,287 | 48.4 | 244 | 654 | 37.3 | 525 | 615 | 85.4 | 15 | 149 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Chris Paul's additional seasons: | ||||
* Chris Paul played 4 seasons more than Stephen Curry in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 21, from 2023 to 2026—he averaged 10.1 points in a total of 207 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 13.9 ppg and his lowest 2.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 24.1 | +24.1 | 2008 | 12 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | 23.0 | +23.0 | 2014 | 7 |
| Chris Paul | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 23.8 | +23.8 | 2016 | 4 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 25.3 | +25.3 | 2017 | 7 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 21.3 | +21.3 | 2020 | 7 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Chris Paul | 17.5 | +17.5 | 2022 | 13 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Chris Paul's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Chris Paul played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 12.4 points in a total of 7 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 12.4 ppg and his lowest 12.4. |