Yao Ming vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.
Karl-Anthony Towns has one of the highest career point averages in NBA history, 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 Karl-Anthony Towns scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while they have the same scoring average in the postseason (rounded to one decimal). 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 |
Note: on this page, the numbers used to compare per game stats are rounded to one decimal.
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 11 NBA regular seasons played, Karl-Anthony Towns averages 4 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (23.0 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 5,723 points more (14,970 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 8 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | +4.0 | 11 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 14,970 | +5,723 | 11 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Yao Ming and Karl-Anthony Towns are tied in points per game (rounded to one decimal, 19.8 ppg) but Karl-Anthony Towns scored more points (+434).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | 4 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 5 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | +434 | 5 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2 | +2 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 435 | +203 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 630 | +190 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 650 | +167 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | +3 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 27 | +12 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 47 | +21 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 50 | +22 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
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: | +4.0 | +1.4 | +2.8 | +0.2 | +1.7 | +4.3 | +20.0 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +3 | +164 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | 8.4 | 16.1 | 52.3 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 40.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.8 | 11 | 650 |
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: | +5,723 | +2,105 | +4,047 | +0.2 | +1,123 | +2,806 | +20.0 | +390 | +447 | +0.5 | +3 | +164 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 14,970 | 5,485 | 10,492 | 52.3 | 1,125 | 2,816 | 40.0 | 2,875 | 3,431 | 83.8 | 11 | 650 |
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: | +0.1 | +1.1 | +4.3 | +1.5 | +4.3 | +35.0 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +0.2 | +1 | +22 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 6.9 | 14.5 | 47.6 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 35.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
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: | +434 | +151 | +351 | +4.3 | +75 | +214 | +35.0 | +57 | +69 | +0.2 | +1 | +22 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 346 | 727 | 47.6 | 75 | 214 | 35.0 | 222 | 267 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
Regular Season
Karl-Anthony Towns' additional seasons: | ||||
* Karl-Anthony Towns played 3 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 11, from 2024 to 2026—he averaged 23.0 points in a total of 139 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.4 ppg and his lowest 18. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | 15.0 | +15.0 | 2004 | 5 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | 25.1 | +25.1 | 2007 | 7 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 18.2 | +18.2 | 2023 | 5 |
Karl-Anthony Towns' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Karl-Anthony Towns played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.3 points in a total of 34 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.4 ppg and his lowest 19.1. |