Tim Duncan vs. Zach LaVine: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Zach LaVine 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 and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Zach LaVine.

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 Zach LaVine has a better scoring average in the regular season. 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 12 NBA regular seasons played, Zach LaVine averages 1.8 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (20.8 points against 19.0). On the other hand Tim Duncan scored a total of 12,452 points more than Zach LaVine (26,496 vs. 14,044).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Tim Duncan 19.0
19
Zach LaVine 20.8
+1.8
12

Total Points

Seasons
Tim Duncan 26,496
+12,452
19
Zach LaVine 14,044
12

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Tim Duncan has a better career point average than Zach LaVine (+1.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+5,095).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Tim Duncan 20.6
+1.3
18
Zach LaVine 19.3
1

Total Points

Playoffs
Tim Duncan 5,172
+5,095
18
Zach LaVine 77
1

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 1
Zach LaVine 2
+1

40+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 5
Zach LaVine 24
+19

30+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 122
Zach LaVine 128
+6

20+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 639
+256
Zach LaVine 383

10+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 1,256
+676
Zach LaVine 580

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Duncan 1,390
+722
Zach LaVine 668

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Duncan 2
Zach LaVine 8
+6

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 4
+4
Zach LaVine 0

30+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 36
+36
Zach LaVine 0

20+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 137
+135
Zach LaVine 2

10+ Point Games

Tim Duncan 232
+228
Zach LaVine 4

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Duncan 250
+246
Zach LaVine 4

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Duncan 1
+1
Zach LaVine 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+1.8+1.2+3.6+2.4+5.9+21.2+0.6+1.8+13.8+7+716
Zach LaVine 20.8 7.4 15.8 47.0 2.4 6.0 39.1 3.6 4.3 83.4 12 676

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:+12,452+5,272+9,672+3.6+1,564+3,911+21.2+3,472+5,561+13.8+7+716
Zach LaVine 14,044 5,013 10,662 47.0 1,594 4,079 39.1 2,424 2,907 83.4 12 676

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:+1.3+1.1+0.1+7.3+2.3+5.9+23.2+1.3+3.2+24.4+17+247
Zach LaVine 19.3 6.8 15.8 42.9 2.3 6.0 37.5 3.5 3.8 93.3 1 4

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:+5,095+1,948+3,876+7.3+4+11+23.2+1,203+1,751+24.4+17+247
Zach LaVine 77 27 63 42.9 9 24 37.5 14 15 93.3 1 4

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 21.1
+11.0
199882
Zach LaVine 10.1
201577

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 21.7
+7.7
1999NBA Champion50
Zach LaVine 14.0
201682

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.2
+4.3
200074
Zach LaVine 18.9
201747

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.2
+5.5
200182
Zach LaVine 16.7
201824

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 25.5
+1.8
200282
Zach LaVine 23.7
201963

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.3
2003NBA Champion81
Zach LaVine 25.5
+2.2
202060

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.3
200469
Zach LaVine 27.4
+5.1
202158

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.3
2005NBA Champion66
Zach LaVine 24.4
+4.1
202267

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 18.6
200680
Zach LaVine 24.8
+6.2
202377

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.0
+0.5
2007NBA Champion80
Zach LaVine 19.5
202425

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.3
200878
Zach LaVine 23.3
+4.0
202574

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.3
200975
Zach LaVine 20.6
+1.3
202622

Tim Duncan's additional seasons:

* Tim Duncan played 7 seasons more than Zach LaVine in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 13 to 19, from 2010 to 2016—he averaged 14.7 points in a total of 493 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.9 ppg and his lowest 8.6.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.7
+20.7
19989
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20150

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.2
+23.2
1999NBA Champion17
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20160

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan -
DNP
20000
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20170

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 24.4
+24.4
200113
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20180

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 27.6
+27.6
20029
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20190

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 24.7
+24.7
2003NBA Champion24
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20200

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.1
+22.1
200410
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20210

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 23.6
+4.3
2005NBA Champion23
Zach LaVine 19.3
20224

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 25.8
+25.8
200613
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20230

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 22.2
+22.2
2007NBA Champion20
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20240

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 20.2
+20.2
200817
Zach LaVine -
DNP
20250

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Duncan 19.8
+19.8
20095
Zach LaVine -
DNP *
20260
* season in progress

Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs:

* During his 7 additional NBA seasons, Tim Duncan played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 15.9 points in a total of 91 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 19 ppg and his lowest 5.9.