Steven Adams vs. LaMelo Ball: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of LaMelo Ball 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that in the regular season LaMelo Ball has a better scoring average and Steven Adams scored more points, and since LaMelo Ball didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that Steven Adams has better playoff stats. 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 5 NBA regular seasons played, LaMelo Ball averages 12.2 points more than Steven Adams in his 11 seasons (21.0 points against 8.8). On the other hand Steven Adams scored a total of 1,884 points more than LaMelo Ball (6,743 vs. 4,859).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Steven Adams | 8.8 | 11 | |
| LaMelo Ball | 21.0 | +12.2 | 5 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Steven Adams | 6,743 | +1,884 | 11 |
| LaMelo Ball | 4,859 | 5 | |
Points in the Playoffs
LaMelo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously Steven Adams has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Steven Adams | 7.5 | +7.5 | 8 |
| LaMelo Ball | 0 | 0 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Steven Adams | 549 | +549 | 8 |
| LaMelo Ball | 0 | 0 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| LaMelo Ball | 1 | +1 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| LaMelo Ball | 2 | +2 | ||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| LaMelo Ball | 39 | +39 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 40 | |||
| LaMelo Ball | 130 | +90 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 318 | +108 | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 210 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 728 | +498 | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 230 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 36 | +35 | ||
| LaMelo Ball | 1 | |||
Playoffs
LaMelo Ball didn't play in the NBA postseason, so Steven Adams' point thresholds are omited here.
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
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 | 53.3 | 11 | 764 |
| difference: | +12.2 | +3.7 | +11.3 | +16.5 | +3.1 | +8.4 | +30.6 | +1.6 | +0.9 | +30.4 | +6 | +533 |
| LaMelo Ball | 21.0 | 7.4 | 17.6 | 42.1 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 36.5 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 83.7 | 5 | 231 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Steven Adams | 6,743 | 2,804 | 4,786 | 58.6 | 1 | 17 | 5.9 | 1,134 | 2,129 | 53.3 | 11 | 764 |
| difference: | +1,884 | +1,088 | +713 | +16.5 | +704 | +1,917 | +30.6 | +412 | +1,266 | +30.4 | +6 | +533 |
| LaMelo Ball | 4,859 | 1,716 | 4,073 | 42.1 | 705 | 1,934 | 36.5 | 722 | 863 | 83.7 | 5 | 231 |
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: | +7.5 | +3.1 | +5.0 | +61.4 | +1.4 | +2.6 | +53.4 | +8 | +73 | |||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
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: | +549 | +224 | +365 | +61.4 | +3 | +101 | +189 | +53.4 | +8 | +73 | ||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Steven Adams' additional seasons: | ||||
* Steven Adams played 6 seasons more than LaMelo Ball in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 6 to 11, from 2019 to 2025—he averaged 8.9 points in a total of 377 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 13.9 ppg and his lowest 3.9. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | 3.9 | +3.9 | 2014 | 18 |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | 10.1 | +10.1 | 2016 | 18 |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | 8.0 | +8.0 | 2017 | 5 |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | 10.5 | +10.5 | 2018 | 6 |
| LaMelo Ball | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Steven Adams' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Steven Adams played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 7.5 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 11.8 ppg and his lowest 3.4. |