Tim Duncan vs. Jayson Tatum: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Jayson Tatum and Tim Duncan 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.
Tim Duncan is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Jayson Tatum has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Jayson Tatum 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: |
|
Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 8 NBA regular seasons played, Jayson Tatum averages 4.6 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (23.6 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 12,712 points more than Jayson Tatum (26,496 vs. 13,784).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | +4.6 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | +12,712 | 19 |
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Jayson Tatum has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+3.7 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+2,236).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | +3.7 | 8 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +2,236 | 18 |
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | +264 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 375 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +706 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 550 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +806 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 584 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | +1 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 1 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| Jayson Tatum | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +53 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 84 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +117 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 115 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +129 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 121 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Jayson Tatum | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +4.6 | +0.8 | +3.2 | +4.7 | +2.6 | +7.0 | +19.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +14.4 | +11 | +807 |
| Jayson Tatum | 23.6 | 8.2 | 17.8 | 45.9 | 2.6 | 7.1 | 37.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 10,285 | 20,334 | 50.6 | 30 | 168 | 17.9 | 5,896 | 8,468 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
| difference: | +12,712 | +5,496 | +9,905 | +4.7 | +1,516 | +4,013 | +19.1 | +3,236 | +5,301 | +14.4 | +11 | +807 |
| Jayson Tatum | 13,784 | 4,789 | 10,429 | 45.9 | 1,546 | 4,181 | 37.0 | 2,660 | 3,167 | 84.0 | 8 | 585 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 7.9 | 15.7 | 50.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +3.7 | +0.2 | +2.8 | +6.3 | +2.4 | +6.8 | +20.5 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +15.2 | +10 | +130 |
| Jayson Tatum | 24.3 | 8.1 | 18.5 | 43.9 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 34.8 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 1,975 | 3,939 | 50.1 | 5 | 35 | 14.3 | 1,217 | 1,766 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +2,236 | +992 | +1,698 | +6.3 | +287 | +805 | +20.5 | +539 | +960 | +15.2 | +10 | +130 |
| Jayson Tatum | 2,936 | 983 | 2,241 | 43.9 | 292 | 840 | 34.8 | 678 | 806 | 84.1 | 8 | 121 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
- Tim Duncan played 11 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 19, from 2006 to 2016—he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 806 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20 ppg and his lowest 8.6. |
Playoffs
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Jayson Tatum | 25.7 | +25.7 | 2020 | 17 |
Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 11 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 18.3 points in a total of 146 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.8 ppg and his lowest 5.9. |