Yao Ming vs. Paul Pierce: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Paul Pierce 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
Paul Pierce 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 Paul Pierce scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Yao Ming has a better scoring average 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 19 NBA regular seasons played, Paul Pierce averages 0.7 points more than Yao Ming in his 8 seasons (19.7 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 17,150 points more (26,397 vs. 9,247).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.0 | 8 | |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | +0.7 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Yao Ming | 9,247 | 8 | |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | +17,150 | 19 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Yao Ming has a better career point average than Paul Pierce (+1.1 points per game) while Paul Pierce scored more points (+2,625).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 19.8 | +1.1 | 4 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Yao Ming | 555 | 4 | |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | +2,625 | 14 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 232 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 668 | +436 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 440 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,161 | +721 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 483 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 1,322 | +839 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 3 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 21 | +18 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 15 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 73 | +58 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Yao Ming | 26 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 148 | +122 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 28 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 165 | +137 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Yao Ming | 0 | |||
| Paul Pierce | 5 | +5 | ||
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: | +0.7 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +7.9 | +1.6 | +4.3 | +16.8 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +2.7 | +11 | +857 |
| Paul Pierce | 19.7 | 6.5 | 14.5 | 44.5 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 36.8 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
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: | +17,150 | +5,288 | +13,020 | +7.9 | +2,141 | +5,806 | +16.8 | +4,433 | +5,594 | +2.7 | +11 | +857 |
| Paul Pierce | 26,397 | 8,668 | 19,465 | 44.5 | 2,143 | 5,816 | 36.8 | 6,918 | 8,578 | 80.6 | 19 | 1,343 |
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: | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +9.5 | +1.6 | +4.6 | +35.5 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +10 | +142 |
| Paul Pierce | 18.7 | 6.0 | 14.2 | 42.3 | 1.6 | 4.6 | 35.5 | 5.1 | 6.1 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
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: | +2,625 | +827 | +2,039 | +9.5 | +276 | +777 | +35.5 | +695 | +838 | +0.3 | +10 | +142 |
| Paul Pierce | 3,180 | 1,022 | 2,415 | 42.3 | 276 | 777 | 35.5 | 860 | 1,036 | 83.0 | 14 | 170 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Paul Pierce's additional seasons: | ||||
* Paul Pierce played 11 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 9 to 19, from 2007 to 2017—he averaged 16.5 points in a total of 738 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 25 ppg and his lowest 3.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2003 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | 15.0 | +15.0 | 2004 | 5 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | 21.4 | +21.4 | 2005 | 7 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 24.6 | +24.6 | 2002 | 16 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | 20.8 | +20.8 | 2004 | 4 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Yao Ming | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Paul Pierce | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Paul Pierce's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 11 additional NBA seasons, Paul Pierce played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.1 points in a total of 133 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21 ppg and his lowest 1.2. |