Tim Duncan vs. LeBron James: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Tim Duncan and LeBron James all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Ever wondered how Tim Duncan and LeBron James truly stack up against each other? This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Tim Duncan, with a career spanning 19 seasons from 1998 to 2016, and LeBron James, with 23 seasons played from 2004 to 2026, stand among the league's historical elite.

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Tim Duncan vs. LeBron James
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan LeBron James Tim Duncan LeBron James
Points
17th
1st
6th
1st
Rebounds
6th
25th
3rd
4th
Assists
110th
4th
33rd
2nd
Steals
172nd
6th
48th
1st
Blocks
5th
71st
1st
9th
Years19231818

Tim Duncan vs. LeBron James
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan LeBron James Tim Duncan LeBron James
Points
99th
8th
81st
6th
Rebounds
33rd
190th
26th
103rd
Assists
+300th
25th
+300th
25th
Steals
+300th
82nd
+300th
37th
Blocks
20th
271st
10th
164th

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
17th
1st
16 26,496 vs. 42,40615,910
Rebounds
6th
25th
19 15,091 vs. 11,7933,298
Assists
110th
4th
106 4,225 vs. 11,6627,437
Steals
172nd
6th
166 1,025 vs. 2,3551,330
Blocks
5th
71st
66 3,020 vs. 1,1571,863
Offensive Rebounds
11th
145th
134 3,859 vs. 1,8082,051
Defensive Rebounds
3rd
7th
4 11,232 vs. 9,9851,247
Field Goals Made
15th
2nd
13 10,285 vs. 15,5715,286
Field Goals Attempted
18th
1st
17 20,334 vs. 30,75610,422
3-Pointers Made
+300th
6th
+294 30 vs. 2,5742,544
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
5th
+295 168 vs. 7,3757,207
Free Throws Made
26th
2nd
24 5,896 vs. 8,6902,794
Free Throws Attempted
15th
3rd
12 8,468 vs. 11,7953,327

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
11th
2nd
9 1,392 vs. 1,573181
Seasons
13th
1st
12 19 vs. 234

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
5th
129 4 vs. 122118

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
152nd
6th
146 5 vs. 7974
50+ point games
76th
8th
68 1 vs. 1413
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
6th
1st
5 5,172 vs. 8,2893,117
Rebounds
3rd
4th
1 2,859 vs. 2,628231
Assists
33rd
2nd
31 764 vs. 2,0951,331
Steals
48th
1st
47 168 vs. 493325
Blocks
1st
9th
8 568 vs. 284284
Offensive Rebounds
2nd
15th
13 778 vs. 442336
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
1st
1 2,081 vs. 2,186105
Field Goals Made
6th
1st
5 1,975 vs. 2,971996
Field Goals Attempted
5th
1st
4 3,939 vs. 5,9842,045
3-Pointers Made
+300th
3rd
+297 5 vs. 480475
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
2nd
+298 35 vs. 1,4431,408
Free Throws Made
6th
1st
5 1,217 vs. 1,867650
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
1st
2 1,766 vs. 2,519753

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
1st
2 251 vs. 29241
Playoffs
3rd
3rd
0 18 vs. 180

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
13th
2nd
11 4 vs. 2824

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
2nd
34 4 vs. 2925
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
99th
8th
91 19.03 vs. 26.967.92
Rebounds per game
33rd
190th
157 10.84 vs. 7.503.34
Assists per game
+300th
25th
+275 3.04 vs. 7.414.38
Steals per game
+300th
82nd
+218 0.74 vs. 1.500.76
Blocks per game
20th
271st
251 2.17 vs. 0.741.43
Offensive Rebounds per game
54th
+300th
+246 2.77 vs. 1.151.62
Defensive Rebounds per game
10th
64th
54 8.07 vs. 6.351.72
Field Goals Made per game
86th
6th
80 7.39 vs. 9.902.51
Field Goals Attempted per game
142nd
14th
128 14.61 vs. 19.554.94
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
133rd
+167 0.02 vs. 1.641.61
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
77th
+223 0.12 vs. 4.694.57
Free Throws Made per game
106th
35th
71 4.24 vs. 5.521.29
Free Throws Attempted per game
74th
27th
47 6.08 vs. 7.501.42

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan LeBron James Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
81st
6th
75 20.61 vs. 28.397.78
Rebounds per game
26th
103rd
77 11.39 vs. 9.002.39
Assists per game
+300th
25th
+275 3.04 vs. 7.174.13
Steals per game
+300th
37th
+263 0.67 vs. 1.691.02
Blocks per game
10th
164th
154 2.26 vs. 0.971.29
Offensive Rebounds per game
39th
+300th
+261 3.10 vs. 1.511.59
Defensive Rebounds per game
15th
30th
15 8.29 vs. 7.490.80
Field Goals Made per game
71st
10th
61 7.87 vs. 10.172.31
Field Goals Attempted per game
118th
19th
99 15.69 vs. 20.494.80
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
120th
+180 0.02 vs. 1.641.62
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
95th
+205 0.14 vs. 4.944.80
Free Throws Made per game
87th
22nd
65 4.85 vs. 6.391.55
Free Throws Attempted per game
51st
17th
34 7.04 vs. 8.631.59

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.