Tim Hardaway vs. Dwight Howard: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Dwight Howard and Tim Hardaway 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Tim Hardaway has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Dwight Howard 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 13 NBA regular seasons played, Tim Hardaway averages 2 points more than Dwight Howard in his 18 seasons (17.7 points against 15.7). On the other hand Dwight Howard scored a total of 4,112 points more than Tim Hardaway (19,485 vs. 15,373).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Tim Hardaway 17.7
+2.0
13
Dwight Howard 15.7
18

Total Points

Seasons
Tim Hardaway 15,373
13
Dwight Howard 19,485
+4,112
18

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Tim Hardaway has a better career point average than Dwight Howard (+1.5 points per game) while Dwight Howard scored more points (+966).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Tim Hardaway 16.8
+1.5
9
Dwight Howard 15.3
12

Total Points

Playoffs
Tim Hardaway 943
9
Dwight Howard 1,909
+966
12

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 5
+1
Dwight Howard 4

30+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 62
Dwight Howard 69
+7

20+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 360
Dwight Howard 391
+31

10+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 719
Dwight Howard 955
+236

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Hardaway 853
Dwight Howard 1,227
+374

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Hardaway 14
Dwight Howard 15
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 0
Dwight Howard 2
+2

30+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 7
Dwight Howard 9
+2

20+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 24
Dwight Howard 42
+18

10+ Point Games

Tim Hardaway 42
Dwight Howard 86
+44

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Tim Hardaway 53
Dwight Howard 121
+68

0 Point Games (games without points)

Tim Hardaway 3
Dwight Howard 4
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Hardaway 17.7 6.5 15.1 43.1 1.8 5.0 35.5 2.9 3.8 78.2 13 867
difference:+2.0+0.8+5.4+15.5+1.8+4.9+14.1+1.4+3.8+21.5+5+375
Dwight Howard 15.7 5.7 9.7 58.7 0.0 0.1 21.4 4.3 7.6 56.7 18 1,242

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Hardaway 15,373 5,640 13,076 43.1 1,542 4,345 35.5 2,551 3,263 78.2 13 867
difference:+4,112+1,411+1,060+15.5+1,520+4,242+14.1+2,810+6,192+21.5+5+375
Dwight Howard 19,485 7,051 12,016 58.7 22 103 21.4 5,361 9,455 56.7 18 1,242

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Hardaway 16.8 5.9 14.9 39.3 2.0 6.1 32.0 3.1 4.2 75.1 9 56
difference:+1.5+0.5+5.7+19.6+2.0+6.0+17.7+1.3+3.8+20.3+3+69
Dwight Howard 15.3 5.4 9.2 58.9 0.0 0.1 14.3 4.4 8.0 54.8 12 125

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Tim Hardaway 943 329 837 39.3 110 344 32.0 175 233 75.1 9 56
difference:+966+352+319+19.6+109+337+17.7+371+764+20.3+3+69
Dwight Howard 1,909 681 1,156 58.9 1 7 14.3 546 997 54.8 12 125

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 14.7
+2.7
199079
Dwight Howard 12.0
200582

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 22.9
+7.1
199182
Dwight Howard 15.8
200682

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 23.4
+5.8
199281
Dwight Howard 17.6
200782

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 21.5
+0.8
199366
Dwight Howard 20.7
200882

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 20.1
199562
Dwight Howard 20.6
+0.5
200979

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 15.2
199680
Dwight Howard 18.3
+3.1
201082

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 20.3
199781
Dwight Howard 22.9
+2.6
201178

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 18.9
199881
Dwight Howard 20.6
+1.7
201254

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 17.4
+0.3
199948
Dwight Howard 17.1
201376

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 13.4
200052
Dwight Howard 18.3
+4.9
201471

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 14.9
200177
Dwight Howard 15.8
+0.9
201541

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 9.6
200268
Dwight Howard 13.7
+4.1
201671

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 4.9
200310
Dwight Howard 13.5
+8.6
201774

Dwight Howard's additional seasons:

- Dwight Howard played 5 seasons more than Tim Hardaway in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2018 to 2022—he averaged 9.8 points in a total of 288 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 16.6 ppg and his lowest 6.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway -
DNP
19900
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20050

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 25.2
+25.2
19919
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20060

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 24.5
+9.2
19924
Dwight Howard 15.3
20074

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway -
DNP
19930
Dwight Howard 18.9
+18.9
200810

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway -
DNP
19950
Dwight Howard 20.3
+20.3
200923

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 17.7
19963
Dwight Howard 18.1
+0.4
201014

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 18.7
199717
Dwight Howard 27.0
+8.3
20116

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 26.0
+26.0
19985
Dwight Howard -
DNP
20120

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 9.0
19995
Dwight Howard 17.0
+8.0
20134

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 7.7
20007
Dwight Howard 26.0
+18.3
20146

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 2.5
20012
Dwight Howard 16.4
+13.9
201517

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway -
DNP
20020
Dwight Howard 13.2
+13.2
20165

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Tim Hardaway 3.3
20034
Dwight Howard 8.0
+4.7
20176

Dwight Howard's additional Playoffs:

- During his 5 additional NBA seasons, Dwight Howard played in two Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 5.3 points in a total of 30 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 5.8 ppg and his lowest 4.7.