Tim Duncan vs. LeBron James: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of LeBron James 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
LeBron James and Tim Duncan are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for a total of 68,680 points—. LeBron James 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 LeBron James has better scoring stats than Tim Duncan 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.
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 22 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 8 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (27.0 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 15,688 points more (42,184 vs. 26,496).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +8.0 | 22 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 19 | |
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +15,688 | 22 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |
| LeBron James | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason LeBron James has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+7.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,117).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +7.8 | 18 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 18 | |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +3,117 | 18 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +647 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +298 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | |||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +172 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | +2 | ||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | |||
| LeBron James | 261 | +124 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | |||
| LeBron James | 290 | +58 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | |||
| LeBron James | 292 | +42 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| LeBron James | 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: | +8.0 | +2.5 | +5.0 | +0.1 | +1.6 | +4.6 | +17.0 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +4.1 | +3 | +170 |
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 9.9 | 19.6 | 50.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 34.9 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
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: | +15,688 | +5,203 | +10,249 | +0.1 | +2,529 | +7,154 | +17.0 | +2,753 | +3,267 | +4.1 | +3 | +170 |
| LeBron James | 42,184 | 15,488 | 30,583 | 50.6 | 2,559 | 7,322 | 34.9 | 8,649 | 11,735 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
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: | +7.8 | +2.3 | +4.8 | +0.5 | +1.6 | +4.8 | +19.0 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +5.2 | +41 | |
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 49.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
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: | +3,117 | +996 | +2,045 | +0.5 | +475 | +1,408 | +19.0 | +650 | +753 | +5.2 | +41 | |
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 3 seasons more than Tim Duncan in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 20 to 22, from 2023 to 2025—he averaged 26.1 points in a total of 196 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 28.9 ppg and his lowest 24.4. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1998 | 9 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 23.2 | +23.2 | 1999 | 17 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| LeBron James | 30.8 | +30.8 | 2006 | 13 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 18.1 | +18.1 | 2013 | 21 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 19 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 5.9 | +5.9 | 2016 | 10 |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 24.5. |