Head to head · 2025-26 regular season · stats.nba.com

AJ Johnson vs Kobe Bufkin

12-4categories
Johnson · Bufkin

Johnson

Pelicans

2025-26

Bufkin

Free agent

Games

availability

9.4

Minutes

per game

7.5

3.3

Points

per game

2.9

1.1

Rebounds

per game

0.8

1.0

Assists

per game

0.6

0.3

Steals + blocks

per game

0.3

0.6

Turnovers

per game · lower is better

0.3

32.4%

Field goal %

30.0%

21.1%

Three-point %

1.2 vs 1.6 attempts

19.2%

85.0%

Free throw %

91.7%

41.3%

True shooting

TS%

41.6%

19.5%

Usage

USG%

21.9%

15.1%

Assist %

of teammates' baskets

12.8%

5.7%

Rebound %

of available

5.5%

-6.4

Net rating

on court

-30.2

4.5%

PIE

player impact estimate

3.8%

-1.1

Plus-minus

per game

-4.3

Bars show each player's share of the pair's total; the better number is in the club's color (turnovers: fewer is better).

Where the gap is

from the numbers above

AJ Johnson scored more in 2025-26, 0.4 points a game apart (3.3 vs 2.9), on Bufkin's heavier usage (21.9% vs 19.5%).

Efficiency is a wash: true shooting within a point of each other (41.3% vs 41.6%).

Playmaking goes to Johnson (1.0 vs 0.6 assists), the glass to Johnson (1.1 vs 0.8 rebounds).

Availability is part of the comparison: Johnson played 32 more games (48 vs 16 of 82).

With Johnson on the floor his team outscored opponents by -6.4 per 100 possessions, against -30.2 for Bufkin; on-court net rating carries the teammates with it, so read it next to PIE.

On the books for 2026-27: Johnson $3.2M through 2027-28, Bufkin — through —. Whether either fits a trade is a Trade Machine question, not a stat one.

Splits

2025-26 · from the game logs

Johnson

2025-26

Bufkin

9-39

Record when playing

10-6

5.1

Points at home

2.3

2.0

Points on the road

4.8

5.3

Points in wins

1.9

2.9

Points in losses

4.5

Season high

30-point games

Double-doubles

Last games & contracts

test a trade in the Trade Machine →

Johnson · last 5

Fri, Oct 16 vs WAS2 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast

Wed, Oct 14 at DAL8 pts · 1 reb · 0 ast

Thu, Oct 8 at MIA0 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast

Sun, Apr 12 vs CHI20 pts · 1 reb · 1 ast

Fri, Apr 10 at SAS13 pts · 1 reb · 2 ast

Bufkin · last 5

Fri, Oct 16 vs WAS0 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast

Wed, Oct 14 at DAL0 pts · 1 reb · 0 ast

Thu, Oct 8 at MIA9 pts · 1 reb · 1 ast

Tue, Oct 6 at OKC6 pts · 1 reb · 0 ast

Thu, Apr 9 at GSW2 pts · 0 reb · 1 ast

Johnson · contract

2026-27$3.2M

2027-28$5.5M

Bufkin · contract

No contract on file (free agent, two-way, or not yet signed).

More comparisons

pick any two players →

Johnson vs
Tyus Jones · Bronny James · Cam Christie · Noah Penda

Bufkin vs
Bronny James · Tyus Jones · Cam Christie · AJ Johnson

Per-game numbers and percentages are 2025-26 regular season from stats.nba.com; splits and last games from our own game logs; contract figures are cap hits from public salary data and can lag a signing by a day. Bold marks the better number in each row (turnovers: fewer is better).