Jordan vs LeBron: scoring
Jordan has the highest career scoring average in NBA history, 30.1 points a game, and ten scoring titles. LeBron has the most career points of anyone, 43,440 through 2025–26, and is the only player to average 25 or more in 20 seasons. Jordan is ahead on rate, LeBron on total.
| Measure | Jordan | LeBron |
|---|---|---|
| Career points per game | 30.1 | 26.8 |
| Career regular-season points | 32,292 | 43,440 |
| Seasons averaging 30+ | 8 | 2 |
| Seasons averaging 25+ | 12 | 20 |
| Scoring titles | 10 | 1 |
| Playoff points per game | 33.4 | 28.2 |
| Career playoff points | 5,987 | 8,521 |
Efficiency
Jordan shot 49.7 percent from the field for his career, an exceptional figure for a guard who lived in the mid-range. LeBron has shot about 50.7 percent, with far more of his attempts at the rim and from three, and his true shooting percentage is a few points higher. How much of that is era, and how much is the players, is one of the better arguments in the debate.
Best seasons
Jordan's best scoring season was 1986–87, at 37.1 points a game, the highest by anyone other than Wilt Chamberlain. LeBron's only scoring title came in 2007–08, at 30.0.
Questions
What is Jordan's career points per game?
30.1 (30.12), the highest in NBA history.
How many points has LeBron scored?
43,440 regular-season points through 2025–26, the NBA record. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 on 7 February 2023.
How many scoring titles do they have?
Jordan won ten, in every full season he played between 1987 and 1998. LeBron won one, in 2007–08.
Statistics are drawn from the NBA's official records and Basketball-Reference and are current through the 2025–26 regular season unless noted. LeBron James is still active, so his career totals change. Spotted an error? Tell us.
The full argument: Scoring: 30.1 a game or 40,000 in total?.