Yao Ming vs. Arvydas Sabonis: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Arvydas Sabonis and Yao Ming 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
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 and also scored more total points during the season while Arvydas Sabonis scored more points in the postseason. 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 7 points more than Arvydas Sabonis in his 7 seasons (19.0 points against 12.0), and he also scored a total of 3,618 points more (9,247 vs. 5,629).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | +7.0 | 8 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 7 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | +3,618 | 8 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 7 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Arvydas Sabonis (+7.7 points per game) while Arvydas Sabonis scored more points (+62).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | +7.7 | 4 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 7 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | +62 | 7 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 2 | +2 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 232 | +166 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 440 | +143 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 297 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 483 | +24 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 459 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11 | +8 | ||
Playoffs
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | +3 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 15 | +9 | ||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 6 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 35 | +9 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 49 | +21 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Arvydas Sabonis | 2 | +2 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 7.0 | 13.3 | 52.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
| difference: | +7.0 | +2.6 | +4.4 | +2.4 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +12.8 | +2.3 | +2.5 | +4.7 | +1 | +16 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.0 | 4.4 | 8.9 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 32.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 3,380 | 6,445 | 52.4 | 2 | 10 | 20.0 | 2,485 | 2,984 | 83.3 | 8 | 486 |
| difference: | +3,618 | +1,298 | +2,285 | +2.4 | +134 | +405 | +12.8 | +1,156 | +1,294 | +4.7 | +1 | +16 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 5,629 | 2,082 | 4,160 | 50.0 | 136 | 415 | 32.8 | 1,329 | 1,690 | 78.6 | 7 | 470 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 7.0 | 13.4 | 51.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | 5.9 | 7.1 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
| difference: | +7.7 | +2.6 | +3.8 | +6.6 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +31.9 | +2.8 | +3.2 | +3.1 | +3 | +23 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 12.1 | 4.4 | 9.6 | 45.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 31.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 195 | 376 | 51.9 | 0 | 0 | - | 165 | 198 | 83.3 | 4 | 28 |
| difference: | +62 | +27 | +115 | +6.6 | +15 | +47 | +31.9 | +7 | +1 | +3.1 | +3 | +23 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 617 | 222 | 491 | 45.2 | 15 | 47 | 31.9 | 158 | 197 | 80.2 | 7 | 51 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Yao Ming's additional seasons: | ||||
* Yao Ming played 1 season more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In that year—his season 8 in 2011—he averaged 10.2 points in a total of 5 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 23.6 | +23.6 | 1996 | 5 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 10.0 | +10.0 | 1999 | 13 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Arvydas Sabonis | 11.3 | +11.3 | 2001 | 3 |
Yao Ming's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Yao Ming didn't play in the postseason. |