Steven Adams vs. Dwight Howard: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Dwight Howard and Steven Adams 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.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Dwight Howard has better scoring stats than Steven Adams 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 18 NBA regular seasons played, Dwight Howard averages 6.9 points more than Steven Adams in his 12 seasons (15.7 points against 8.8), and he also scored a total of 12,711 points more (19,485 vs. 6,774).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Steven Adams 8.8
12
Dwight Howard 15.7
+6.9
18

Total Points

Seasons
Steven Adams 6,774
12
Dwight Howard 19,485
+12,711
18

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Dwight Howard has a better career point average than Steven Adams (+7.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,360).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Steven Adams 7.5
8
Dwight Howard 15.3
+7.8
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Steven Adams 549
8
Dwight Howard 1,909
+1,360
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Steven Adams 0
Dwight Howard 4
+4

30+ Point Games

Steven Adams 0
Dwight Howard 69
+69

20+ Point Games

Steven Adams 40
Dwight Howard 391
+351

10+ Point Games

Steven Adams 320
Dwight Howard 955
+635

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Steven Adams 732
Dwight Howard 1,227
+495

0 Point Games (games without points)

Steven Adams 36
+21
Dwight Howard 15

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Steven Adams 0
Dwight Howard 2
+2

30+ Point Games

Steven Adams 0
Dwight Howard 9
+9

20+ Point Games

Steven Adams 0
Dwight Howard 42
+42

10+ Point Games

Steven Adams 22
Dwight Howard 86
+64

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Steven Adams 63
Dwight Howard 121
+58

0 Point Games (games without points)

Steven Adams 10
+6
Dwight Howard 4

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Steven Adams 8.8 3.7 6.3 58.6 0.0 0.0 5.9 1.5 2.8 53.5 12 768
difference:+6.9+2.0+3.4+0.1+0.1+15.5+2.8+4.8+3.2+6+474
Dwight Howard 15.7 5.7 9.7 58.7 0.0 0.1 21.4 4.3 7.6 56.7 18 1,242

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Steven Adams 6,774 2,814 4,801 58.6 1 17 5.9 1,145 2,141 53.5 12 768
difference:+12,711+4,237+7,215+0.1+21+86+15.5+4,216+7,314+3.2+6+474
Dwight Howard 19,485 7,051 12,016 58.7 22 103 21.4 5,361 9,455 56.7 18 1,242

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Steven Adams 7.5 3.1 5.0 61.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 2.6 53.4 8 73
difference:+7.8+2.3+4.2+2.5+0.1+14.3+3.0+5.4+1.4+4+52
Dwight Howard 15.3 5.4 9.2 58.9 0.0 0.1 14.3 4.4 8.0 54.8 12 125

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Steven Adams 549 224 365 61.4 0 3 0.0 101 189 53.4 8 73
difference:+1,360+457+791+2.5+1+4+14.3+445+808+1.4+4+52
Dwight Howard 1,909 681 1,156 58.9 1 7 14.3 546 997 54.8 12 125

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 3.3
201481
Dwight Howard 12.0
+8.7
200582

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 7.7
201570
Dwight Howard 15.8
+8.1
200682

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 8.0
201680
Dwight Howard 17.6
+9.6
200782

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 11.3
201780
Dwight Howard 20.7
+9.4
200882

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 13.9
201876
Dwight Howard 20.6
+6.7
200979

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 13.9
201980
Dwight Howard 18.3
+4.4
201082

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 10.9
202063
Dwight Howard 22.9
+12.0
201178

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 7.6
202158
Dwight Howard 20.6
+13.0
201254

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 6.9
202276
Dwight Howard 17.1
+10.2
201376

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 8.6
202342
Dwight Howard 18.3
+9.7
201471

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 3.9
202558
Dwight Howard 15.8
+11.9
201541

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 7.8
20264
Dwight Howard 13.7
+5.9
201671

Dwight Howard's additional seasons:

* Dwight Howard played 6 seasons more than Steven Adams in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2017 to 2022—he averaged 10.6 points in a total of 362 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.6 ppg and his lowest 6.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 3.9
+3.9
201418
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20050

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams -
DNP
20150
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20060

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 10.1
201618
Dwight Howard 15.3
+5.2
20074

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 8.0
20175
Dwight Howard 18.9
+10.9
200810

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 10.5
20186
Dwight Howard 20.3
+9.8
200923

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 11.8
20195
Dwight Howard 18.1
+6.3
201014

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 10.1
20207
Dwight Howard 27.0
+16.9
20116

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams -
DNP
20210
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20120

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 3.4
20227
Dwight Howard 17.0
+13.6
20134

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams -
DNP
20230
Dwight Howard 26.0
+26.0
20146

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams 5.7
20257
Dwight Howard 16.4
+10.7
201517

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Steven Adams -
DNP *
20260
Dwight Howard 13.2
+13.2
20165
* season in progress

Dwight Howard's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Dwight Howard played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 5.8 points in a total of 36 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 8 ppg and his lowest 4.7.