Vince Carter vs. Zion Williamson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Zion Williamson 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 while Zion Williamson has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that in the regular season Zion Williamson has a better scoring average and Vince Carter scored more points, and since Zion Williamson didn't play in the postseason, you could also say that Vince Carter has better playoff stats. 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 6 NBA regular seasons played, Zion Williamson averages 7.9 points more than Vince Carter in his 22 seasons (24.6 points against 16.7). On the other hand Vince Carter scored a total of 20,228 points more than Zion Williamson (25,728 vs. 5,500).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Vince Carter | 16.7 | 22 | |
| Zion Williamson | 24.6 | +7.9 | 6 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Vince Carter | 25,728 | +20,228 | 22 |
| Zion Williamson | 5,500 | 6 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Zion Williamson didn't play in the NBA postseason, so obviously Vince Carter has better playoff stats in points per game and total points scored.
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Vince Carter | 18.1 | +18.1 | 11 |
| Zion Williamson | 0 | 0 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Vince Carter | 1,593 | +1,593 | 11 |
| Zion Williamson | 0 | 0 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 2 | +2 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 597 | +422 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 175 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1,094 | +874 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 220 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 1,473 | +1249 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 224 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Vince Carter | 68 | +68 | ||
| Zion Williamson | 0 | |||
Playoffs
Zion Williamson didn't play in the NBA postseason, so Vince Carter's point thresholds are omited here.
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: | +7.9 | +3.4 | +2.3 | +15.0 | +1.4 | +3.5 | +5.4 | +2.4 | +4.1 | +10.7 | +16 | +1,317 |
| Zion Williamson | 24.6 | 9.4 | 16.1 | 58.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 31.7 | 5.5 | 8.0 | 69.1 | 6 | 224 |
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: | +20,228 | +7,178 | +17,726 | +15.0 | +2,258 | +6,067 | +5.4 | +3,614 | +4,291 | +10.7 | +16 | +1,317 |
| Zion Williamson | 5,500 | 2,115 | 3,613 | 58.5 | 32 | 101 | 31.7 | 1,238 | 1,791 | 69.1 | 6 | 224 |
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: | +18.1 | +6.3 | +15.2 | +41.6 | +1.4 | +4.0 | +33.8 | +4.1 | +5.1 | +79.6 | +11 | +88 |
| Zion Williamson | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
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: | +1,593 | +557 | +1,340 | +41.6 | +119 | +352 | +33.8 | +360 | +452 | +79.6 | +11 | +88 |
| Zion Williamson | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Vince Carter's additional seasons: | ||||
* Vince Carter played 16 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 7 to 22, from 2005 to 2020—he averaged 14.4 points in a total of 1,158 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 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | 19.3 | +19.3 | 2000 | 3 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | 27.3 | +27.3 | 2001 | 12 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Vince Carter | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Zion Williamson | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Vince Carter's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 16 additional NBA seasons, Vince Carter played in 9 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 73 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 29.6 ppg and his lowest 6.3. |