Yao Ming vs. Mitch Richmond: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Mitch Richmond 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Mitch Richmond 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 Mitch Richmond has better scoring average and totals in the regular season while in the Playoffs both numbers are better for Yao Ming. 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Mitch Richmond averages 2 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (21.0 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 11,250 points more (20,497 vs. 9,247).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Yao Ming 19.0
8
Mitch Richmond 21.0
+2.0
14

Total Points

Seasons
Yao Ming 9,247
8
Mitch Richmond 20,497
+11,250
14

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Mitch Richmond (+0.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+106).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Yao Ming 19.8
+0.3
4
Mitch Richmond 19.5
4

Total Points

Playoffs
Yao Ming 555
+106
4
Mitch Richmond 449
4

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

40+ Point Games

Yao Ming 2
Mitch Richmond 9
+7

30+ Point Games

Yao Ming 49
Mitch Richmond 146
+97

20+ Point Games

Yao Ming 232
Mitch Richmond 584
+352

10+ Point Games

Yao Ming 440
Mitch Richmond 874
+434

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Yao Ming 483
Mitch Richmond 962
+479

0 Point Games (games without points)

Yao Ming 3
Mitch Richmond 14
+11

Playoffs

30+ Point Games

Yao Ming 3
+1
Mitch Richmond 2

20+ Point Games

Yao Ming 15
+2
Mitch Richmond 13

10+ Point Games

Yao Ming 26
+6
Mitch Richmond 20

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Yao Ming 28
+5
Mitch Richmond 23

0 Point Games (games without points)

Yao Ming 0
Mitch Richmond 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+2.0+0.5+3.1+6.9+1.4+3.5+18.8+0.4+0.6+1.7+6+490
Mitch Richmond 21.0 7.5 16.4 45.5 1.4 3.5 38.8 4.7 5.5 85.0 14 976

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:+11,250+3,925+9,593+6.9+1,324+3,407+18.8+2,076+2,381+1.7+6+490
Mitch Richmond 20,497 7,305 16,038 45.5 1,326 3,417 38.8 4,561 5,365 85.0 14 976

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:+0.3+0.5+2.2+4.0+0.8+2.7+30.2+2.2+2.8+3.6+5
Mitch Richmond 19.5 7.5 15.6 47.9 0.8 2.7 30.2 3.7 4.3 86.9 4 23

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:+106+23+17+4.0+19+63+30.2+79+99+3.6+5
Mitch Richmond 449 172 359 47.9 19 63 30.2 86 99 86.9 4 23

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 13.5
200382
Mitch Richmond 22.0
+8.5
198979

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 17.5
200482
Mitch Richmond 22.1
+4.6
199078

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 18.3
200580
Mitch Richmond 23.9
+5.6
199177

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 22.3
200657
Mitch Richmond 22.5
+0.2
199280

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 25.0
+3.1
200748
Mitch Richmond 21.9
199345

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 22.0
200855
Mitch Richmond 23.4
+1.4
199478

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 19.7
200977
Mitch Richmond 22.8
+3.1
199582

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 10.2
20115
Mitch Richmond 23.1
+12.9
199681

Mitch Richmond's additional seasons:

* Mitch Richmond played 6 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 14, from 1997 to 2002—he averaged 18.2 points in a total of 376 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25.9 ppg and his lowest 4.1.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming -
DNP
20030
Mitch Richmond 20.1
+20.1
19898

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 15.0
+15.0
20045
Mitch Richmond -
DNP
19900

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 21.4
20057
Mitch Richmond 22.3
+0.9
19919

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming -
DNP
20060
Mitch Richmond -
DNP
19920

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 25.1
+25.1
20077
Mitch Richmond -
DNP
19930

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming -
DNP
20080
Mitch Richmond -
DNP
19940

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming 17.1
+17.1
20099
Mitch Richmond -
DNP
19950

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Yao Ming -
DNP
20110
Mitch Richmond 21.0
+21.0
19964

Mitch Richmond's additional Playoffs:

* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Mitch Richmond played in one postseason and won the NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 1.5 points in a total of 2 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 1.5 ppg and his lowest 1.5.