Dennis Johnson vs. Mitch Kupchak Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mitch Kupchak and Dennis Johnson, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Dennis Johnson played 14 years in the NBA, 5 more than Mitch Kupchak, who played 9. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Mitch Kupchak had his rookie season in 1976-77. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Dennis Johnson 14 13 1976-77 to 1989-90
Mitch Kupchak 9 6 1976-77 to 1985-86

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14

Rookie Season

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1976-771976-77
Team Seattle SupersonicsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayBullets Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 81 20.6 9.2 2.0 1.7 3.7 1.5 1.5 0.7 - 2.7 3.5 7.0 .504 - - - 2.2 3.5 .624
Mitch Kupchak 82 18.5 10.4 2.2 3.8 6.0 0.8 0.3 0.4 - 2.5 4.2 7.3 .572 - - - 2.1 3.0 .691
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson ------- --- ----------
Mitch Kupchak 9 28.0 16.2 3.1 4.4 7.6 1.1 0.2 0.3 - 3.8 5.9 10.0 .589 - - - 4.4 6.6 .678

Season 2

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1977-781977-78
Team Seattle SupersonicsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics Lost NBA FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 81 27.3 12.7 1.9 1.8 3.6 2.8 1.5 0.6 2.0 2.6 4.5 10.9 .417 - - - 3.7 5.0 .732
Mitch Kupchak 67 26.3 15.9 2.4 4.4 6.9 1.1 0.4 0.6 2.7 2.9 5.9 11.5 .512 - - - 4.2 6.0 .697
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 22 37.6 16.1 2.1 2.5 4.6 3.3 1.0 1.0 2.5 2.9 5.5 13.4 .412 - - - 5.1 7.2 .704
Mitch Kupchak 21 24.0 10.1 2.3 3.7 6.0 1.0 0.2 0.1 2.0 2.8 4.0 9.5 .422 - - - 2.1 3.3 .652

Season 3

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1978-791978-79
Team Seattle SupersonicsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionBullets Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 80 34.0 15.9 1.8 2.9 4.7 3.5 1.3 1.2 2.4 2.6 6.0 13.9 .434 - - - 3.8 4.9 .781
Mitch Kupchak 66 24.3 14.6 2.3 4.2 6.5 1.3 0.3 0.3 1.8 2.1 5.6 10.4 .539 - - - 3.4 4.5 .743
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 17 40.1 20.9 2.6 3.5 6.1 4.1 1.6 1.5 3.0 3.7 8.0 17.8 .450 - - - 4.9 6.4 .771
Mitch Kupchak 8 17.1 6.5 2.0 2.3 4.3 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.6 1.5 2.6 6.5 .404 - - - 1.3 1.9 .667

Season 4

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1979-801979-80
Team Seattle SupersonicsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 81 36.3 19.0 2.1 3.0 5.1 4.1 1.8 1.0 2.8 3.3 7.1 16.8 .422 0.1 0.7 .207 4.7 6.0 .780
Mitch Kupchak 40 11.3 4.7 0.8 1.8 2.6 0.4 0.2 0.2 1.0 1.2 1.7 4.0 .419 0.0 0.1 .000 1.3 1.9 .693
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 15 38.8 17.1 1.7 2.6 4.3 3.8 1.8 0.7 2.9 3.2 6.7 16.3 .410 0.3 1.0 .333 3.5 4.1 .839
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1980-811980-81
Team Phoenix SunsWashington Bullets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 79 33.1 18.8 2.0 2.6 4.6 3.7 1.7 0.8 2.6 3.1 6.7 15.4 .436 0.1 0.6 .216 5.2 6.3 .820
Mitch Kupchak 82 23.6 12.5 2.4 4.5 6.9 0.8 0.4 0.3 2.0 2.4 4.8 9.1 .525 0.0 0.0 .000 2.9 4.1 .706
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 7 38.1 19.6 1.0 3.7 4.7 2.9 1.3 1.3 2.7 2.6 7.4 15.7 .473 0.1 0.7 .200 4.6 6.0 .762
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1981-821981-82
Team Phoenix SunsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 80 36.7 19.5 1.8 3.4 5.1 4.6 1.3 0.7 2.9 3.2 7.2 15.4 .470 0.1 0.5 .190 5.0 6.2 .806
Mitch Kupchak 26 31.6 14.3 2.5 5.6 8.1 1.3 0.5 0.4 1.7 3.1 5.9 10.3 .573 0.0 0.0 - 2.5 3.8 .663
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 7 38.7 22.3 1.9 2.6 4.4 4.6 2.1 0.6 3.6 4.0 9.0 18.9 .477 0.0 0.4 .000 4.3 5.6 .769
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Note: Mitch Kupchak didn't play in 1982-83.

Season 7

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1982-831983-84
Team Phoenix SunsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf 1st RdLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 77 33.1 14.2 1.2 3.2 4.4 5.0 1.3 0.5 2.6 2.6 5.2 11.2 .462 0.1 0.4 .161 3.8 4.8 .791
Mitch Kupchak 34 9.5 3.1 1.0 1.5 2.6 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.6 1.4 1.2 3.2 .380 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 1.0 .647
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 3 36.0 18.0 2.0 5.7 7.7 5.7 1.7 0.7 2.7 3.0 7.3 16.0 .458 0.0 0.3 .000 3.3 4.0 .833
Mitch Kupchak 9 7.7 2.0 1.3 1.9 3.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.7 1.3 0.6 1.9 .294 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.6 .571

Season 8

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1983-841984-85
Team Boston CelticsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 80 33.3 13.2 1.1 2.4 3.5 4.2 1.2 0.7 2.2 3.1 4.8 11.0 .437 0.1 0.4 .125 3.5 4.1 .852
Mitch Kupchak 58 12.3 5.3 1.2 2.0 3.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.8 1.8 2.1 4.2 .504 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 1.6 .659
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 22 36.7 16.6 1.4 2.2 3.6 4.4 1.1 0.3 2.4 3.4 5.9 14.5 .404 0.1 0.3 .429 4.7 5.5 .867
Mitch Kupchak 16 12.3 4.7 0.7 2.3 3.0 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.6 2.6 1.9 3.3 .585 0.0 0.1 .000 0.8 1.4 .591

Season 9

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1984-851985-86
Team Boston CelticsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsLakers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 80 37.2 15.7 1.1 2.8 4.0 6.8 1.2 0.5 2.7 2.8 6.2 13.3 .462 0.1 0.3 .269 3.3 3.8 .853
Mitch Kupchak 55 14.2 6.0 1.3 2.2 3.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 1.2 1.9 2.3 4.7 .482 0.0 0.0 .000 1.5 2.0 .750
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 21 40.4 17.3 1.1 2.9 4.0 7.3 1.5 0.4 3.4 3.1 6.8 15.2 .445 0.0 0.7 .000 3.8 4.4 .860
Mitch Kupchak 5 11.2 4.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.6 1.2 1.6 3.0 .533 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.2 .667

Season 10

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1985-86-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 78 35.0 15.6 0.9 2.6 3.4 5.8 1.4 0.4 2.2 2.6 6.2 13.6 .455 0.1 0.5 .143 3.1 3.8 .818
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 18 39.7 16.2 1.3 2.9 4.2 5.9 2.2 0.3 2.8 3.2 6.1 13.6 .445 0.3 0.9 .375 3.7 4.7 .798
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1986-87-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 79 37.1 13.4 0.6 2.7 3.3 7.5 1.1 0.5 2.2 2.5 5.4 12.1 .444 0.1 0.8 .113 2.6 3.2 .833
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 23 41.9 18.9 1.0 2.9 4.0 8.9 0.7 0.3 1.9 3.1 7.3 15.7 .465 0.1 1.1 .115 4.2 4.9 .850
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1987-88-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 77 34.7 12.6 0.8 2.3 3.1 7.8 1.2 0.4 2.5 2.6 4.6 10.4 .438 0.2 0.6 .261 3.3 3.9 .856
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 17 41.3 15.9 0.9 3.6 4.5 8.2 1.4 0.5 2.6 3.0 5.4 12.4 .433 0.4 0.9 .375 4.8 6.1 .796
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 13

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1988-89-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 72 32.1 10.0 0.4 2.2 2.6 6.6 1.3 0.3 2.4 2.9 3.8 8.9 .434 0.1 0.7 .140 2.2 2.7 .821
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 3 19.7 2.7 0.7 0.7 1.3 3.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 2.7 1.3 5.0 .267 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------

Season 14

Dennis Johnson Mitch Kupchak
Season 1989-90-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 75 27.1 7.1 0.6 2.0 2.7 6.5 1.1 0.2 1.6 2.4 2.7 6.3 .434 0.0 0.3 .042 1.6 1.9 .843
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dennis Johnson 5 32.4 13.8 0.4 2.4 2.8 5.6 0.4 0.4 2.0 3.4 6.0 12.4 .484 0.4 1.2 .333 1.4 1.4 1.000
Mitch Kupchak ------- --- ----------