Vince Carter vs. Michael Jordan: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Jordan and Vince Carter 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.

Michael Jordan and Vince Carter are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 58,020 points—. MJ is also the all-time leader 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 Michael Jordan has better scoring stats than Vince Carter 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 15 NBA regular seasons played, Michael Jordan averages 13.4 points more than Vince Carter in his 22 seasons (30.1 points against 16.7), and he also scored a total of 6,564 points more (32,292 vs. 25,728).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Vince Carter	16.7		22
Michael Jordan	30.1	+13.4	15

Total Points			Seasons
Vince Carter	25,728		22
Michael Jordan	32,292	+6,564	15

Scoring Titles
Vince Carter	0
Michael Jordan	10	+10

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	18.3		1999	50
Michael Jordan	28.2	+9.9	1985	82

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	25.7	+3.0	2000	82
Michael Jordan	22.7		1986	18

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	27.6		2001	75
Michael Jordan	37.1	+9.5	1987	82

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	24.7		2002	60
Michael Jordan	35.0	+10.3	1988	82

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	20.6		2003	43
Michael Jordan	32.5	+11.9	1989	81

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	22.5		2004	73
Michael Jordan	33.6	+11.1	1990	82

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	24.5		2005	77
Michael Jordan	31.5	+7.0	1991	82

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	24.2		2006	79
Michael Jordan	30.1	+5.9	1992	80

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	25.2		2007	82
Michael Jordan	32.6	+7.4	1993	78

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	21.3		2008	76
Michael Jordan	26.9	+5.6	1995	17

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	20.8		2009	80
Michael Jordan	30.4	+9.6	1996	82

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	16.6		2010	75
Michael Jordan	29.6	+13.0	1997	82

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	14.0		2011	73
Michael Jordan	28.7	+14.7	1998	82

Season 14	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	14.0		2011	73
Michael Jordan	22.9	+8.9	2002	60

Season 15	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	10.1		2012	61
Michael Jordan	20.0	+9.9	2003	82

Vince Carter's additional seasons:

* Vince Carter played 8 seasons more than Michael Jordan in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 23, from 2013 to 2020—he averaged 8.3 points in a total of 555 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 13.4 ppg and his lowest 5.

Playoffs

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	1999	0
Michael Jordan	29.3	+29.3	1985	4

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	19.3		2000	3
Michael Jordan	43.7	+24.4	1986	3

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	27.3		2001	12
Michael Jordan	35.7	+8.4	1987	3

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2002	0
Michael Jordan	36.3	+36.3	1988	10

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2003	0
Michael Jordan	34.8	+34.8	1989	17

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2004	0
Michael Jordan	36.7	+36.7	1990	16

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	26.8		2005	4
Michael Jordan	31.1	+4.3	1991	17

Season 8	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	29.6		2006	11
Michael Jordan	34.5	+4.9	1992	22

Season 9	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	22.3		2007	12
Michael Jordan	35.1	+12.8	1993	19

Season 10	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2008	0
Michael Jordan	31.5	+31.5	1995	10

Season 11	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2009	0
Michael Jordan	30.7	+30.7	1996	18

Season 12	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	15.5		2010	14
Michael Jordan	31.1	+15.6	1997	19

Season 13	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2011	0
Michael Jordan	32.4	+32.4	1998	21

Season 14	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	-	DNP	2011	0
Michael Jordan	-	DNP	2002	0

Season 15	Points per game		Year	Games
Vince Carter	8.3	+8.3	2012	4
Michael Jordan	-	DNP	2003	0

Vince Carter's additional Playoffs:

* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Vince Carter played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 9.2 points in a total of 28 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 12.6 ppg and his lowest 6.3.