Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of LeBron James and Stephen Curry 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.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for an staggering season total of 67,784 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. Here we compare all their scoring stats.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that LeBron James has better scoring stats than Stephen Curry in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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 22 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 2.2 points more than Stephen Curry in his 17 seasons (27.0 points against 24.8), and he also scored a total of 16,584 points more (42,184 vs. 25,600).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Stephen Curry 24.8
17
LeBron James 27.0
+2.2
22

Total Points

Seasons
Stephen Curry 25,600
17
LeBron James 42,184
+16,584
22

Scoring Titles

Stephen Curry 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+1
LeBron James 1
Scoring leader

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason LeBron James has a better career point average than Stephen Curry (+1.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,142).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Stephen Curry 26.8
10
LeBron James 28.4
+1.6
18

Total Points

Playoffs
Stephen Curry 4,147
10
LeBron James 8,289
+4,142
18

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 2
+1
LeBron James 1

50+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 15
+1
LeBron James 14

40+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 72
LeBron James 79
+7

30+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 313
LeBron James 571
+258

20+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 723
LeBron James 1,286
+563

10+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 975
LeBron James 1,554
+579

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Stephen Curry 1,029
LeBron James 1,562
+533

0 Point Games (games without points)

Stephen Curry 5
+5
LeBron James 0

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 1
LeBron James 1

40+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 8
LeBron James 29
+21

30+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 60
LeBron James 123
+63

20+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 123
LeBron James 261
+138

10+ Point Games

Stephen Curry 153
LeBron James 290
+137

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Stephen Curry 155
LeBron James 292
+137

0 Point Games (games without points)

Stephen Curry 0
LeBron James 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Stephen Curry 24.8 8.4 17.9 47.1 4.0 9.4 42.3 3.9 4.3 91.2 17 1,034
difference:+2.2+1.5+1.7+3.5+2.4+4.7+7.4+1.6+3.2+17.5+5+528
LeBron James 27.0 9.9 19.6 50.6 1.6 4.7 34.9 5.5 7.5 73.7 22 1,562

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Stephen Curry 25,600 8,717 18,508 47.1 4,093 9,679 42.3 4,073 4,467 91.2 17 1,034
difference:+16,584+6,771+12,075+3.5+1,534+2,357+7.4+4,576+7,268+17.5+5+528
LeBron James 42,184 15,488 30,583 50.6 2,559 7,322 34.9 8,649 11,735 73.7 22 1,562

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Stephen Curry 26.8 9.0 19.7 45.4 4.2 10.6 39.7 4.7 5.2 88.9 10 155
difference:+1.6+1.2+0.8+4.2+2.6+5.7+6.4+1.7+3.4+14.8+8+137
LeBron James 28.4 10.2 20.5 49.6 1.6 4.9 33.3 6.4 8.6 74.1 18 292

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Stephen Curry 4,147 1,388 3,056 45.4 650 1,637 39.7 721 811 88.9 10 155
difference:+4,142+1,583+2,928+4.2+170+194+6.4+1,146+1,708+14.8+8+137
LeBron James 8,289 2,971 5,984 49.6 480 1,443 33.3 1,867 2,519 74.1 18 292

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 17.5
201080
LeBron James 20.9
+3.4
200479

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 18.6
201174
LeBron James 27.2
+8.6
200580

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 14.7
201226
LeBron James 31.4
+16.7
200679

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 22.9
201378
LeBron James 27.3
+4.4
200778

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 24.0
201478
LeBron James Scoring leader30.0
+6.0
200875

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 23.8
2015NBA Champion80
LeBron James 28.4
+4.6
200981

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry Scoring leader30.1
+0.4
201679
LeBron James 29.7
201076

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 25.3
2017NBA Champion79
LeBron James 26.7
+1.4
201179

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 26.4
2018NBA Champion51
LeBron James 27.1
+0.7
2012NBA Champion62

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 27.3
+0.5
201969
LeBron James 26.8
2013NBA Champion76

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 20.8
20205
LeBron James 27.1
+6.3
201477

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry Scoring leader32.0
+6.7
202163
LeBron James 25.3
201569

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 25.5
+0.2
2022NBA Champion64
LeBron James 25.3
2016NBA Champion76

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 29.4
+3.0
202356
LeBron James 26.4
201774

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 26.4
202474
LeBron James 27.5
+1.1
201882

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 24.5
202570
LeBron James 27.4
+2.9
201955

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 26.8
+1.5
20268
LeBron James 25.3
2020NBA Champion67

LeBron James' additional seasons:

* LeBron James played 5 seasons more than Stephen Curry in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 18 to 22, from 2021 to 2025—he averaged 26.7 points in a total of 297 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 30.3 ppg and his lowest 24.4.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20100
LeBron James -
DNP
20040

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20110
LeBron James -
DNP
20050

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20120
LeBron James 30.8
+30.8
200613

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 23.4
201312
LeBron James 25.1
+1.7
200720

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 23.0
20147
LeBron James 28.2
+5.2
200813

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 28.3
2015NBA Champion21
LeBron James 35.3
+7.0
200914

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 25.1
201618
LeBron James 29.1
+4.0
201011

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 28.1
+4.4
2017NBA Champion17
LeBron James 23.7
201121

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 25.5
2018NBA Champion15
LeBron James 30.3
+4.8
2012NBA Champion23

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 28.2
+2.3
201922
LeBron James 25.9
2013NBA Champion23

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20200
LeBron James 27.4
+27.4
201420

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20210
LeBron James 30.1
+30.1
201520

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 27.4
+1.1
2022NBA Champion22
LeBron James 26.3
2016NBA Champion21

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 30.5
202313
LeBron James 32.8
+2.3
201718

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP
20240
LeBron James 34.0
+34.0
201822

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry 22.6
+22.6
20258
LeBron James -
DNP
20190

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Stephen Curry -
DNP *
20260
LeBron James 27.6
+27.6
2020NBA Champion21
* season in progress

LeBron James' additional Playoffs:

* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.9 points in a total of 32 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 23.3.