Vince Carter vs. Yao Ming: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Yao Ming 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Vince Carter 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 Yao Ming has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Vince Carter 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 8 NBA regular seasons played, Yao Ming averages 2.3 points more than Vince Carter in his 22 seasons (19.0 points against 16.7). On the other hand Vince Carter scored a total of 16,481 points more than Yao Ming (25,728 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Vince Carter | 16.7 | 22 | |
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | +2.3 | 8 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Vince Carter | 25,728 | +16,481 | 22 |
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Vince Carter (+1.7 points per game) while Vince Carter scored more points (+1,038).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Vince Carter | 18.1 | 11 | |
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | +1.7 | 4 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Vince Carter | 1,593 | +1,038 | 11 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 2 | +2 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 597 | +365 | ||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1,094 | +654 | ||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1,473 | +990 | ||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 68 | +65 | ||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1 | +1 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 2 | +2 | ||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 40 | +25 | ||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 68 | +42 | ||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 88 | +60 | ||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 0 | |||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Vince Carter | 16.7 | 6.0 | 13.8 | 43.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 37.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 79.8 | 22 | 1,541 |
| difference: | +2.3 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +8.9 | +1.5 | +4.0 | +17.1 | +2.0 | +2.2 | +3.5 | +14 | +1,055 |
| 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 | ||||
| Vince Carter | 25,728 | 9,293 | 21,339 | 43.5 | 2,290 | 6,168 | 37.1 | 4,852 | 6,082 | 79.8 | 22 | 1,541 |
| difference: | +16,481 | +5,913 | +14,894 | +8.9 | +2,288 | +6,158 | +17.1 | +2,367 | +3,098 | +3.5 | +14 | +1,055 |
| 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 | ||||
| Vince Carter | 18.1 | 6.3 | 15.2 | 41.6 | 1.4 | 4.0 | 33.8 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 79.6 | 11 | 88 |
| difference: | +1.7 | +0.7 | +1.8 | +10.3 | +1.4 | +4.0 | +33.8 | +1.8 | +2.0 | +3.7 | +7 | +60 |
| 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 | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1,593 | 557 | 1,340 | 41.6 | 119 | 352 | 33.8 | 360 | 452 | 79.6 | 11 | 88 |
| difference: | +1,038 | +362 | +964 | +10.3 | +119 | +352 | +33.8 | +195 | +254 | +3.7 | +7 | +60 |
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Vince Carter's additional seasons: | ||||
* Vince Carter played 15 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 23, from 2007 to 2020—he averaged 12.9 points in a total of 1,075 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25.2 ppg and his lowest 5. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | 25.1 | +25.1 | 2007 | 7 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2006 | 11 |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
Vince Carter's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 15 additional NBA seasons, Vince Carter played in 7 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 13.4 points in a total of 58 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 22.3 ppg and his lowest 6.3. |