Joe Johnson vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns and Joe 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 / Games against each other

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.

Joe Johnson played 18 years in the NBA, 9 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 9. Joe Johnson had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
Joe Johnson 18 13 2001-02 to 2021-22
Karl-Anthony Towns 9 4 2015-16 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18

Rookie Season

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2001-022015-16
Team Boston Celtics, Phoenix SunsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 77 24.9 7.5 1.0 2.4 3.3 2.3 0.8 0.3 0.9 1.5 3.3 7.6 .430 0.5 1.7 .292 0.5 0.7 .774
Karl-Anthony Towns 82 32.0 18.3 2.8 7.7 10.5 2.0 0.7 1.7 2.2 3.0 7.6 14.1 .542 0.4 1.1 .341 2.7 3.4 .811
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2002-032016-17
Team Phoenix SunsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 82 27.5 9.8 0.7 2.5 3.2 2.6 0.8 0.2 1.3 1.7 3.9 9.7 .397 0.9 2.5 .366 1.2 1.5 .774
Karl-Anthony Towns 82 37.0 25.1 3.6 8.7 12.3 2.7 0.7 1.3 2.6 2.9 9.8 18.0 .542 1.2 3.4 .367 4.3 5.2 .832
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 6 27.3 5.3 1.0 3.3 4.3 1.3 0.7 0.3 2.0 2.5 2.3 8.5 .275 0.3 2.2 .154 0.3 0.8 .400
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2003-042017-18
Team Phoenix SunsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 82 40.6 16.7 1.0 3.7 4.7 4.4 1.1 0.3 2.4 2.2 6.8 15.7 .430 1.0 3.3 .305 2.1 2.8 .750
Karl-Anthony Towns 82 35.6 21.3 2.9 9.4 12.3 2.4 0.8 1.4 1.9 3.5 7.8 14.3 .545 1.5 3.5 .421 4.2 4.9 .858
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns 5 34.0 15.2 3.0 10.4 13.4 2.2 0.4 1.0 2.4 2.8 5.6 12.0 .467 0.6 2.2 .273 3.4 4.6 .739

Season 4

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2004-052018-19
Team Phoenix SunsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns 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 %
Joe Johnson 82 39.5 17.1 1.5 3.7 5.1 3.5 1.0 0.3 1.8 2.0 6.6 14.4 .461 2.2 4.5 .478 1.6 2.2 .750
Karl-Anthony Towns 77 33.1 24.4 3.4 9.0 12.4 3.4 0.9 1.6 3.1 3.8 8.8 17.1 .518 1.8 4.6 .400 4.9 5.8 .836
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 9 39.3 18.8 0.8 3.6 4.3 3.3 1.1 0.4 1.1 2.0 7.0 13.9 .504 2.2 4.0 .556 2.6 3.7 .697
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 5

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2005-062019-20
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 82 40.7 20.2 1.2 2.9 4.1 6.5 1.3 0.4 3.3 2.3 7.7 17.0 .453 1.6 4.4 .356 3.2 4.0 .791
Karl-Anthony Towns 35 33.9 26.5 2.7 8.1 10.8 4.4 0.9 1.2 3.1 3.3 9.0 17.8 .508 3.3 7.9 .412 5.1 6.5 .796
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2006-072020-21
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 57 41.4 25.0 0.9 3.3 4.2 4.4 1.1 0.2 3.1 2.0 9.4 20.0 .471 2.1 5.5 .381 4.1 5.5 .748
Karl-Anthony Towns 50 33.8 24.8 2.7 7.9 10.6 4.5 0.8 1.1 3.2 3.7 8.5 17.5 .486 2.4 6.3 .387 5.3 6.2 .859
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2007-082021-22
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 82 40.8 21.7 1.0 3.5 4.5 5.8 1.0 0.2 2.7 2.0 7.9 18.3 .432 2.1 5.4 .381 3.9 4.6 .834
Karl-Anthony Towns 74 33.5 24.6 2.6 7.2 9.8 3.6 1.0 1.1 3.1 3.6 8.7 16.4 .529 2.0 4.9 .410 5.2 6.3 .822
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 7 39.3 20.0 1.3 2.6 3.9 4.0 0.3 0.0 2.3 2.3 6.7 16.4 .409 2.3 5.1 .444 4.3 4.7 .909
Karl-Anthony Towns 6 37.0 21.8 1.8 9.0 10.8 2.2 0.7 2.0 4.5 4.2 6.5 13.3 .488 1.7 3.7 .455 7.2 8.3 .860

Season 8

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2008-092022-23
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 79 39.5 21.4 0.8 3.6 4.4 5.8 1.1 0.2 2.5 2.2 7.8 18.0 .437 1.9 5.2 .360 3.8 4.6 .826
Karl-Anthony Towns 29 33.0 20.8 1.7 6.5 8.1 4.8 0.7 0.6 3.0 3.8 7.3 14.8 .495 2.1 5.7 .366 4.1 4.7 .874
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 11 39.0 16.4 1.5 2.9 4.5 3.5 1.3 0.0 2.9 2.2 6.4 15.3 .417 1.1 3.2 .343 2.5 4.1 .622
Karl-Anthony Towns 5 36.0 18.2 1.2 9.0 10.2 2.0 0.6 0.8 3.6 4.2 6.4 14.0 .457 1.2 4.8 .250 4.2 5.6 .750

Season 9

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2009-102023-24
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisTimberwolves TBD
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 76 38.0 21.3 1.0 3.7 4.6 4.9 1.1 0.1 1.9 1.9 8.4 18.2 .458 1.7 4.6 .369 2.9 3.5 .818
Karl-Anthony Towns 62 32.7 21.8 1.5 6.8 8.3 3.0 0.7 0.7 2.9 3.3 7.7 15.3 .504 2.2 5.3 .416 4.1 4.7 .873
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 11 40.0 17.9 1.8 3.3 5.1 5.0 0.9 0.3 2.3 2.0 7.0 18.1 .387 0.8 3.7 .220 3.1 3.8 .810
Karl-Anthony Towns 7 30.3 19.7 1.4 7.0 8.4 2.4 0.4 0.3 1.9 4.0 6.9 12.0 .571 2.6 4.4 .581 3.4 4.0 .857

Season 10

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2010-11-
Team Atlanta Hawks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Hawks 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 %
Joe Johnson 72 35.5 18.2 0.8 3.2 4.0 4.7 0.7 0.1 2.0 1.8 7.1 16.1 .443 1.2 4.2 .297 2.7 3.4 .802
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 12 41.4 18.8 1.5 3.1 4.6 3.3 1.1 0.1 2.6 1.6 7.3 16.5 .439 1.5 3.5 .429 2.8 3.5 .810
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2011-12-
Team Atlanta Hawks-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Hawks 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 %
Joe Johnson 60 35.5 18.8 0.9 2.8 3.7 3.9 0.8 0.2 1.9 1.3 7.1 15.5 .454 2.1 5.4 .388 2.6 3.1 .849
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 6 40.5 17.2 1.0 2.5 3.5 3.5 1.3 0.2 2.7 1.8 6.3 17.0 .373 1.5 6.0 .250 3.0 4.0 .750
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2012-13-
Team Brooklyn Nets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nets 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 %
Joe Johnson 72 36.7 16.3 0.7 2.3 3.0 3.5 0.7 0.2 1.7 1.4 6.2 14.6 .423 2.1 5.5 .375 1.8 2.2 .820
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 7 38.7 14.9 0.6 2.6 3.1 2.7 1.1 0.0 1.7 1.9 6.1 14.7 .417 1.4 5.6 .256 1.1 1.3 .889
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 13

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2013-14-
Team Brooklyn Nets-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nets 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 %
Joe Johnson 79 32.6 15.8 0.6 2.8 3.4 2.7 0.6 0.1 1.5 1.6 5.8 12.9 .454 2.1 5.1 .401 2.0 2.5 .815
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 12 39.1 21.2 0.8 3.1 3.8 2.9 0.5 0.3 1.6 1.7 8.2 15.3 .533 1.8 4.4 .415 3.0 3.6 .837
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 14

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2014-15-
Team Brooklyn Nets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nets 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 %
Joe Johnson 80 34.9 14.4 0.7 4.1 4.8 3.7 0.7 0.2 1.7 1.5 5.6 12.8 .435 1.5 4.2 .359 1.8 2.2 .801
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 6 41.5 16.5 0.8 6.8 7.7 4.8 1.2 0.0 0.8 2.7 5.7 15.7 .362 2.0 6.8 .293 3.2 4.0 .792
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 15

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2015-16-
Team Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Heat 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 %
Joe Johnson 81 33.4 12.2 0.6 3.0 3.6 3.9 0.8 0.0 2.0 1.8 4.7 10.6 .439 1.5 3.9 .383 1.5 1.8 .831
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 14 35.1 12.1 0.5 4.2 4.7 2.5 0.6 0.2 1.3 1.9 4.9 11.3 .430 0.9 3.3 .283 1.5 1.7 .875
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 16

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2016-17-
Team Utah Jazz-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Jazz Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 78 23.6 9.2 0.4 2.7 3.1 1.8 0.5 0.2 0.9 1.2 3.5 8.0 .436 1.4 3.3 .411 0.8 1.0 .818
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 11 29.6 12.9 0.7 3.2 3.9 2.5 0.5 0.1 1.2 1.9 5.3 12.1 .436 1.4 4.1 .333 1.0 1.4 .733
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 17

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2017-18-
Team Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Rockets 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 %
Joe Johnson 55 21.9 6.8 0.3 2.9 3.1 1.5 0.3 0.1 0.9 1.2 2.7 6.5 .406 0.7 2.6 .276 0.7 0.8 .889
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 8 6.8 1.5 0.0 1.3 1.3 0.4 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.8 2.1 .353 0.0 0.4 .000 0.0 0.0 -
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Note: Joe Johnson didn't play in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 18

Joe Johnson Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2021-22-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson 1 2.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.000 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Joe Johnson ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------