Is Alton Lister Better Than Jerry West? NBA Stats Decide

This is as close as it gets. Alton Lister and Jerry West split the statistical categories evenly — 2 apiece — making this one of the most genuinely contested C comparisons in NBA history. When the numbers are this balanced, the debate comes down to which statistics matter most to you.

Jerry West's Assists Per Game of 6.7 compared to Alton Lister's 1.0 represents a 570% advantage — dramatically better than their counterpart in this critical category. Alton Lister falls 44.4% below the career average of 1.8 in this category while Jerry West exceeds it. It is the single most decisive number in this comparison and the clearest statistical argument for Jerry West's edge.

The most competitive category in this matchup is Field Goal %, where Alton Lister posts 51.2% against Jerry West's 47.4% — a gap of just 8%. Jerry West can point to this as evidence that the overall comparison is closer than the final 2-2 tally suggests. In any debate, Field Goal % is the statistical ammunition for the Jerry West side.

Centers have evolved dramatically across NBA eras — from dominant low-post scorers to modern stretch bigs. Career statistics must be evaluated with positional evolution and era context in mind.

With categories split evenly, this comparison ultimately comes down to which statistics matter most to you. Jerry West claims the tiebreaker through Assists Per Game advantage — a 570% edge — but reasonable people can, and do, argue both sides of this NBA debate.