Tim Duncan vs. Kyrie Irving: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kyrie Irving 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Tim Duncan is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points while Kyrie Irving 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 Kyrie Irving 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 14 NBA regular seasons played, Kyrie Irving averages 4.7 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (23.7 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 8,063 points more than Kyrie Irving (26,496 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | +4.7 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | +8,063 | 19 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kyrie Irving has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+2.4 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+2,961).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | +2.4 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +2,961 | 18 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | +104 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +517 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +613 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +71 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +140 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +154 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 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: | +4.7 | +1.3 | +3.8 | +3.2 | +2.4 | +6.0 | +21.5 | +0.4 | +1.8 | +19.2 | +5 | +613 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +8,063 | +3,498 | +6,021 | +3.2 | +1,846 | +4,595 | +21.5 | +2,913 | +5,108 | +19.2 | +5 | +613 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +2.4 | +0.6 | +2.9 | +4.4 | +2.3 | +5.9 | +24.9 | +1.1 | +2.8 | +19.4 | +11 | +155 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
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: | +2,961 | +1,160 | +2,158 | +4.4 | +220 | +539 | +24.9 | +861 | +1,363 | +19.4 | +11 | +155 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Tim Duncan played 5 seasons more than Kyrie Irving in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2012 to 2016—he averaged 14.3 points in a total of 339 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 8.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1998 | 9 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 23.2 | +23.2 | 1999 | 17 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 22.1 | +22.1 | 2004 | 10 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 25.8 | +25.8 | 2006 | 13 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 19.8 | +19.8 | 2009 | 5 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 12.7 | +12.7 | 2011 | 6 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 15.8 points in a total of 75 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.1 ppg and his lowest 5.9. |