Yao Ming vs. Lionel Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lionel Simmons and Yao Ming, 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.

Yao Ming played 8 years in the NBA, 1 more than Lionel Simmons, who played 7. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Lionel Simmons had his rookie season in 1990-91. 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
Yao Ming 8 4 2002-03 to 2010-11
Lionel Simmons 7 1 1990-91 to 1996-97

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2002-031990-91
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
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 %
Yao Ming 82 29.0 13.5 2.4 5.8 8.2 1.7 0.4 1.8 2.1 2.8 4.9 9.8 .498 0.0 0.0 .500 3.7 4.5 .811
Lionel Simmons 79 37.7 18.0 2.4 6.4 8.8 4.0 1.4 1.1 2.9 3.2 6.9 16.5 .422 0.0 0.1 .273 4.1 5.5 .736
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2003-041991-92
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets 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 %
Yao Ming 82 32.8 17.5 2.4 6.6 9.0 1.5 0.3 1.9 2.5 3.3 6.5 12.5 .522 0.0 0.0 .000 4.4 5.4 .809
Lionel Simmons 78 37.1 17.1 1.9 6.2 8.1 4.3 1.7 1.7 2.8 2.6 6.8 14.9 .454 0.0 0.1 .200 3.6 4.7 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming 5 37.6 15.0 2.2 5.2 7.4 1.8 0.4 1.4 2.6 4.0 6.2 13.6 .456 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 3.4 .765
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2004-051992-93
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets 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 %
Yao Ming 80 30.6 18.3 2.6 5.8 8.4 0.8 0.4 2.0 2.5 3.7 6.7 12.2 .552 0.0 0.0 - 4.9 6.2 .783
Lionel Simmons 69 36.3 17.9 2.3 4.9 7.2 4.5 1.4 0.6 2.8 2.9 6.8 15.3 .444 0.0 0.2 .091 4.3 5.3 .819
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming 7 31.9 21.4 3.3 4.4 7.7 0.7 0.3 2.7 2.7 4.4 7.9 12.0 .655 0.0 0.0 - 5.7 7.9 .727
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2005-061993-94
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
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 %
Yao Ming 57 34.2 22.3 2.6 7.6 10.2 1.5 0.5 1.6 2.6 3.4 8.2 15.8 .519 0.0 0.0 .000 5.9 6.9 .853
Lionel Simmons 75 36.0 15.1 2.2 5.3 7.5 4.1 1.4 0.7 2.4 2.5 5.8 13.3 .438 0.1 0.2 .353 3.3 4.3 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2006-071994-95
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets 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 %
Yao Ming 48 33.8 25.0 2.1 7.3 9.4 2.0 0.4 2.0 3.5 3.3 8.8 17.1 .516 0.0 0.0 .000 7.4 8.6 .862
Lionel Simmons 58 18.3 5.6 1.1 2.3 3.4 1.5 0.5 0.4 1.2 2.0 2.3 5.4 .420 0.1 0.3 .375 1.0 1.4 .702
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming 7 37.1 25.1 3.3 7.0 10.3 0.9 0.1 0.7 4.7 3.9 7.9 17.9 .440 0.0 0.0 - 9.4 10.7 .880
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2007-081995-96
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKings 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 %
Yao Ming 55 37.2 22.0 3.1 7.7 10.8 2.3 0.5 2.0 3.3 3.1 7.9 15.5 .507 0.0 0.0 .000 6.3 7.4 .850
Lionel Simmons 54 15.0 4.6 0.8 1.9 2.7 1.5 0.6 0.4 0.9 1.6 1.6 4.0 .396 0.4 0.9 .373 1.0 1.4 .733
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Lionel Simmons 4 19.3 9.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 2.0 1.5 0.5 1.5 3.0 3.8 8.3 .455 0.8 2.3 .333 1.3 1.8 .714

Season 7
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2008-091996-97
Team Houston RocketsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Rockets 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 %
Yao Ming 77 33.6 19.7 2.6 7.2 9.9 1.8 0.4 1.9 3.0 3.3 7.4 13.4 .548 0.0 0.0 1.000 4.9 5.7 .866
Lionel Simmons 41 12.7 3.4 0.7 1.8 2.5 1.4 0.2 0.3 0.8 1.5 1.1 3.3 .331 0.2 0.7 .233 1.0 1.2 .875
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming 9 35.9 17.1 2.1 8.8 10.9 1.0 0.4 1.2 1.9 3.0 6.0 11.0 .545 0.0 0.0 - 5.1 5.7 .902
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
Yao Ming Lionel Simmons
Season 2010-11-
Team Houston Rockets-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
Yao Ming 5 18.2 10.2 1.4 4.0 5.4 0.8 0.0 1.6 1.4 2.6 3.6 7.4 .486 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.2 .938
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Yao Ming ------- --- ----------
Lionel Simmons ------- --- ----------
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