Yao Ming vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton 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
Gary Payton 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 Gary Payton 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 2.7 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (19.0 points against 16.3). On the other hand Gary Payton scored a total of 12,566 points more than Yao Ming (21,813 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | +2.7 | 8 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | +12,566 | 17 |
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 Gary Payton (+5.8 points per game) while Gary Payton scored more points (+1,600).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | +5.8 | 4 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | +1,600 | 15 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
| Gary Payton | 515 | +283 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | +595 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +821 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +28 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
| Gary Payton | 47 | +32 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
| Gary Payton | 92 | +66 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
| Gary Payton | 150 | +122 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +4 | ||
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: | +2.7 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +5.9 | +0.8 | +2.7 | +11.7 | +2.7 | +2.7 | +10.4 | +9 | +849 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
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: | +12,566 | +5,328 | +12,253 | +5.9 | +1,130 | +3,560 | +11.7 | +780 | +1,496 | +10.4 | +9 | +849 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
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: | +5.8 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +7.7 | +0.9 | +2.8 | +31.5 | +3.9 | +4.3 | +12.7 | +11 | +126 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
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: | +1,600 | +660 | +1,562 | +7.7 | +137 | +435 | +31.5 | +143 | +238 | +12.7 | +11 | +126 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Gary Payton's additional seasons: | ||||
* Gary Payton played 9 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 17, from 1999 to 2007—he averaged 16.7 points in a total of 681 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.2 ppg and his lowest 5.3. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 15.8 | +15.8 | 1994 | 5 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1996 | 21 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 24.0 | +24.0 | 1998 | 10 |
Gary Payton's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, Gary Payton played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 10.4 points in a total of 70 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 25.8 ppg and his lowest 0. |