Dončić vs Gilgeous-Alexander: who got more from every shot
Luka Dončić averaged 33.5 points a game in 2025–26. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1. Dončić needed 3.8 more scoring plays a game to get there.
A scoring play here means a field-goal attempt plus 0.44 of a free-throw attempt, the usual estimate of how many possessions a player ends by shooting. Dončić used 27.2 a game. Gilgeous-Alexander used 23.4.
Where the radar separates them
The chart below scales each skill from the lowest to the highest rotation player in the league, using the 420 players who qualified in 2025–26. A shape that reaches further out sits higher in the league range.
Dončić’s shape is bigger on scoring, playmaking and rebounding. Gilgeous-Alexander’s is bigger on efficiency, FG% and 3P%. Behind the rebounding and playmaking spokes: Dončić grabbed 7.7 rebounds a game to 4.3 and passed for 8.3 assists to 6.6.
What the extra shots bought
Each of Dončić’s scoring plays produced 1.23 points. Each of Gilgeous-Alexander’s produced 1.33. True shooting puts the same difference in percentage terms: 61.5% for Dončić and 66.6% for Gilgeous-Alexander. The average qualified player shot 57.6%.
The shot mix differs. Dončić took 10.8 threes a game and made 36.6%. Gilgeous-Alexander took 4.4 and made 38.6%. Overall, Gilgeous-Alexander made 55.3% of his field goals to Dončić’s 47.6%, and 87.9% of his free throws to 78.0%.
| # | Player | PPG | TS% | Plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokić DEN | 27.7 | 67.1 | 20.7 |
| 2 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC | 31.1 | 66.6 | 23.4 |
| 3 | Stephen Curry GSW | 26.6 | 63.8 | 20.8 |
| 4 | Kawhi Leonard LAC | 27.9 | 62.8 | 22.2 |
| 5 | Anthony Edwards MIN | 28.8 | 61.6 | 23.4 |
| 6 | Donovan Mitchell CLE | 27.9 | 61.5 | 22.7 |
| 7 | Luka Dončić LAL | 33.5 | 61.5 | 27.2 |
| 8 | Lauri Markkanen UTA | 26.7 | 60.6 | 22.0 |
| 9 | Tyrese Maxey PHI | 28.3 | 58.9 | 24.0 |
| 10 | Devin Booker PHO | 26.1 | 58.6 | 22.3 |
| 11 | Jalen Brunson NYK | 26.0 | 58.0 | 22.4 |
| 12 | Jaylen Brown BOS | 28.7 | 57.4 | 25.0 |
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 66.6% ranks second in that group, behind Nikola Jokić at 67.1%. Dončić’s 61.5% ranks seventh.
Passing and turnovers
Dončić recovered some of the gap as a passer, with 8.3 assists to 6.6. He also turned the ball over 4.0 times a game to Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2.2. That works out to 2.1 assists per turnover for Dončić and 3.0 for Gilgeous-Alexander.
What these numbers leave out
True shooting measures how well a player scores. It says nothing about defense, teammates or how much of the offense a player runs. Per-game averages also ignore playing time: Dončić played 35.8 minutes a night and Gilgeous-Alexander 33.2.
Check it against this season
The rosters list both players on the same teams for 2026–27. The compare page uses current-season numbers, so you can watch the radar shapes move as games pile up: Dončić vs Gilgeous-Alexander. Each player also has a full page with league rankings and a career table: Dončić and Gilgeous-Alexander. The points leaders page shows who sits where right now.
Numbers are the final 2025–26 regular season from Basketball Reference. Scoring plays = field-goal attempts + 0.44 × free-throw attempts. True shooting = points ÷ (2 × scoring plays). Qualified players have 15 games and 10 minutes a game, the same rule the site uses.