Tim Duncan vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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 and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Yao Ming.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Tim Duncan scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while they have the same scoring average in the regular season (rounded to one decimal). 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 |
Note: on this page, the numbers used to compare per game stats are rounded to one decimal.
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
Tim Duncan and Yao Ming are tied in points per game (rounded to one decimal) with and average of 19.0 points but Tim Duncan scored a total of 17,249 points more than Yao Ming (26,496 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 8 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | +17,249 | 19 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Tim Duncan has a better career point average than Yao Ming (+0.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,617).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | +0.8 | 18 |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 4 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +4,617 | 18 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | +407 | ||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +816 | ||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +907 | ||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | |||
| Yao Ming | 3 | +1 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 4 | +4 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +122 | ||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +206 | ||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +222 | ||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | +1 | ||
| Yao Ming | 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: | +0.4 | +1.3 | +1.9 | +0.1 | +2.1 | +0.9 | +13.7 | +11 | +906 | |||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 7.0 | 13.3 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
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: | +17,249 | +6,905 | +13,889 | +1.9 | +28 | +158 | +2.1 | +3,411 | +5,484 | +13.7 | +11 | +906 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 3,380 | 6,445 | 52.4 | 2 | 10 | 20.0 | 2,485 | 2,984 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
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: | +0.8 | +0.9 | +2.3 | +1.7 | +0.1 | +14.3 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +14.4 | +14 | +223 | |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 7.0 | 13.4 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | 5.9 | 7.1 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
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: | +4,617 | +1,780 | +3,563 | +1.7 | +5 | +35 | +14.3 | +1,052 | +1,568 | +14.4 | +14 | +223 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Tim Duncan played 11 seasons more than Yao Ming 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
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1998 | 9 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | 21.4 | +21.4 | 2005 | 7 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 24.4 | +24.4 | 2001 | 13 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 24.7 | +24.7 | 2003 | 24 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 23.6 | +23.6 | 2005 | 23 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
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. |