Stephen Curry vs. Tim Duncan: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Tim Duncan 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
Tim Duncan and Stephen Curry are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 51,882 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 averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Tim Duncan 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.
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 16 NBA regular seasons played, Stephen Curry averages 5.7 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (24.7 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 1,110 points more than Stephen Curry (26,496 vs. 25,386).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 24.7 | +5.7 | 16 |
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 25,386 | 16 | |
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | +1,110 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Stephen Curry | 2 |  +2 |
| Tim Duncan | 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 Tim Duncan (+6.2 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+1,025).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 26.8 | +6.2 | 10 |
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 4,147 | 10 | |
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +1,025 | 18 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 2 | +2 | ||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 717 | +78 | ||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 967 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +289 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1,021 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +369 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 5 | +3 | ||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1 | +1 | ||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 123 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +14 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 153 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +79 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 155 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +95 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 0 | |||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 24.7 | 8.4 | 17.9 | 47.1 | 4.0 | 9.3 | 42.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 91.1 | 16 | 1,026 |
| difference: | +5.7 | +1.0 | +3.3 | +3.5 | +4.0 | +9.2 | +24.4 | +0.3 | +1.8 | +21.5 | +3 | +366 |
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 7.4 | 14.6 | 50.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 17.9 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 25,386 | 8,648 | 18,356 | 47.1 | 4,058 | 9,589 | 42.3 | 4,032 | 4,424 | 91.1 | 16 | 1,026 |
| difference: | +1,110 | +1,637 | +1,978 | +3.5 | +4,028 | +9,421 | +24.4 | +1,864 | +4,044 | +21.5 | +3 | +366 |
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 10,285 | 20,334 | 50.6 | 30 | 168 | 17.9 | 5,896 | 8,468 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
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: | +6.2 | +1.1 | +4.0 | +4.7 | +4.2 | +10.5 | +25.4 | +0.1 | +1.8 | +20.0 | +8 | +96 |
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 7.9 | 15.7 | 50.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
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: | +1,025 | +587 | +883 | +4.7 | +645 | +1,602 | +25.4 | +496 | +955 | +20.0 | +8 | +96 |
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 1,975 | 3,939 | 50.1 | 5 | 35 | 14.3 | 1,217 | 1,766 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Tim Duncan played 3 seasons more than Stephen Curry in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 17 to 19, from 2014 to 2016—he averaged 12.8 points in a total of 212 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 15.1 ppg and his lowest 8.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1998 | 9 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | 23.2 | +23.2 | 1999 | 17 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2008 | 17 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | 19.8 | +19.8 | 2009 | 5 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| Tim Duncan | 17.4 | +17.4 | 2012 | 14 |
Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 14.0 points in a total of 40 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 17.9 ppg and his lowest 5.9. |