Tim Duncan vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 7 NBA regular seasons played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 5.4 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (24.4 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 15,202 points more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26,496 vs. 11,294).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.4 | +5.4 | 7 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | +15,202 | 19 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 11,294 | 7 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1 |  +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+5.2 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+3,986).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | +5.2 | 4 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +3,986 | 18 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | +326 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 313 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +835 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 421 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +930 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 460 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | |||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +103 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +191 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 41 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +204 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 46 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | 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: | +5.4 | +1.1 | +2.4 | +0.5 | +1.3 | +3.6 | +17.6 | +1.8 | +0.9 | +16.6 | +12 | +930 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 24.4 | 8.5 | 17.0 | 50.1 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 35.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 86.2 | 7 | 462 |
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: | +15,202 | +6,342 | +12,462 | +0.5 | +584 | +1,561 | +17.6 | +3,102 | +5,225 | +16.6 | +12 | +930 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 11,294 | 3,943 | 7,872 | 50.1 | 614 | 1,729 | 35.5 | 2,794 | 3,243 | 86.2 | 7 | 462 |
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: | +5.2 | +1.0 | +3.4 | +3.3 | +1.5 | +4.3 | +20.7 | +1.6 | +0.4 | +17.0 | +14 | +205 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 25.8 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 46.8 | 1.5 | 4.4 | 35.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
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: | +3,986 | +1,564 | +3,061 | +3.3 | +66 | +168 | +20.7 | +924 | +1,425 | +17.0 | +14 | +205 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 1,186 | 411 | 878 | 46.8 | 71 | 203 | 35.0 | 293 | 341 | 85.9 | 4 | 46 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Tim Duncan played 12 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 19, from 2005 to 2016—he averaged 16.8 points in a total of 872 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20.3 ppg and his lowest 8.6. |
Playoffs
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 24.4 | +24.4 | 2001 | 13 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 27.6 | +27.6 | 2002 | 9 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 12 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 19.0 points in a total of 169 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.8 ppg and his lowest 5.9. |