Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 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.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas played 13 years in the NBA, 4 more than Nikola Jokic, who played 9. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had the first of his seasons in 1997-98, while Nikola Jokic 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
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	13	7	1997-98 to 2010-11
Nikola Jokic	9	6	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


Rookie Season
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	1997-98	2015-16
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	82	29.0	13.9	3.4	5.4	8.8	0.9	0.6	1.6	1.8	3.5	5.5	10.7	.518	0.0	0.0	.250	2.8	3.7	.762
Nikola Jokic	80	21.7	10.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.8	7.5	.512	0.4	1.1	.333	1.9	2.4	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	4	36.8	17.3	3.5	4.0	7.5	0.5	0.5	1.3	2.5	5.5	7.0	12.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	6.3	.520
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	1998-99	2016-17
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	5	34.2	15.2	3.4	5.4	8.8	0.8	0.8	1.4	1.8	4.8	5.8	11.4	.509	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	6.0	.600
Nikola Jokic	73	27.9	16.7	2.9	6.9	9.8	4.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	2.9	6.8	11.7	.578	0.6	1.9	.324	2.6	3.1	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Zydrunas Ilgauskas didn't play in 1999-00.


Season 3
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2000-01	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	24	25.7	11.7	2.7	4.0	6.7	0.8	0.6	1.5	2.5	3.3	4.8	9.8	.487	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	3.3	.679
Nikola Jokic	75	32.6	18.5	2.6	8.1	10.7	6.1	1.2	0.8	2.8	2.8	6.7	13.5	.499	1.5	3.7	.396	3.5	4.2	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2001-02	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	62	21.4	11.1	2.2	3.2	5.4	1.1	0.3	1.4	1.5	3.0	3.9	9.1	.425	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	4.5	.754
Nikola Jokic	80	31.3	20.1	2.9	8.0	10.8	7.3	1.4	0.7	3.1	2.9	7.7	15.1	.511	1.0	3.4	.307	3.6	4.4	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	14	39.8	25.1	3.9	9.1	13.0	8.4	1.1	0.9	2.6	3.9	9.4	18.6	.506	1.6	4.0	.393	4.7	5.6	.846


Season 5
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2002-03	2019-20
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	81	30.0	17.2	3.0	4.6	7.5	1.6	0.7	1.9	2.6	3.4	6.1	13.9	.441	0.0	0.1	.000	4.9	6.3	.781
Nikola Jokic	73	32.0	19.9	2.3	7.5	9.7	7.0	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.0	7.7	14.7	.528	1.1	3.5	.314	3.4	4.1	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	19	36.5	24.4	1.9	7.9	9.8	5.7	1.1	0.8	3.3	3.6	9.4	18.1	.519	2.2	5.2	.429	3.5	4.2	.835


Season 6
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2003-04	2020-21
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	81	31.3	15.3	3.4	4.6	8.1	1.3	0.5	2.5	2.0	3.4	5.8	11.9	.483	0.0	0.1	.286	3.7	5.0	.746
Nikola Jokic	72	34.6	26.4	2.8	8.0	10.8	8.3	1.3	0.7	3.1	2.7	10.2	18.0	.566	1.3	3.3	.388	4.8	5.5	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	10	34.5	29.8	3.7	7.9	11.6	5.0	0.6	0.9	2.4	2.3	11.6	22.8	.509	2.0	5.3	.377	4.6	5.5	.836


Season 7
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2004-05	2021-22
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	78	33.5	16.9	3.8	4.8	8.6	1.3	0.7	2.1	2.4	4.0	5.9	12.6	.468	0.0	0.1	.286	5.2	6.4	.799
Nikola Jokic	74	33.5	27.1	2.8	11.0	13.8	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.8	2.6	10.3	17.7	.583	1.3	3.9	.337	5.1	6.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	5	34.2	31.0	3.4	9.8	13.2	5.8	1.6	1.0	4.8	4.0	12.2	21.2	.575	1.0	3.6	.278	5.6	6.6	.848


Season 8
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2005-06	2022-23
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	78	29.3	15.6	3.1	4.4	7.6	1.2	0.5	1.7	2.0	3.6	5.8	11.4	.506	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	4.9	.834
Nikola Jokic	69	33.7	24.5	2.4	9.4	11.8	9.8	1.3	0.7	3.6	2.5	9.4	14.8	.632	0.8	2.2	.383	4.9	6.0	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	13	27.2	10.4	2.5	3.8	6.3	0.8	0.4	2.1	1.8	3.5	4.2	9.2	.454	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.750
Nikola Jokic	20	39.5	30.0	3.5	10.0	13.5	9.5	1.1	1.0	3.5	3.5	11.4	20.7	.548	1.8	3.8	.461	5.6	7.0	.799


Season 9
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2006-07	2023-24
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	78	27.3	11.9	3.1	4.6	7.7	1.6	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.3	4.9	10.2	.485	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.5	.807
Nikola Jokic	79	34.6	26.4	2.8	9.5	12.4	9.0	1.4	0.9	3.0	2.5	10.4	17.9	.583	1.1	2.9	.359	4.5	5.5	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	20	32.5	12.6	3.3	6.4	9.7	0.9	0.5	0.8	1.6	3.0	4.9	9.9	.492	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	3.4	.838
Nikola Jokic	12	40.2	28.7	3.6	9.8	13.4	8.7	1.4	0.7	3.3	2.7	11.1	20.3	.545	1.2	4.4	.264	5.3	5.9	.901


Season 10
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2007-08	-
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	73	30.4	14.1	3.6	5.7	9.3	1.4	0.5	1.6	1.8	3.4	5.7	12.0	.474	0.0	0.0	.000	2.7	3.3	.802
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	13	30.2	13.1	2.5	5.0	7.5	1.6	0.4	1.1	1.6	2.7	5.2	10.8	.479	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.4	.818
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2008-09	-
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	65	27.2	12.9	2.4	5.1	7.5	1.0	0.4	1.3	1.4	2.8	5.3	11.1	.472	0.2	0.6	.385	2.1	2.7	.799
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	14	29.1	10.5	1.9	5.9	7.8	1.2	0.4	0.9	0.6	3.4	4.4	9.9	.449	0.1	0.9	.154	1.5	2.4	.636
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2009-10	-
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers 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		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	64	20.9	7.4	1.8	3.6	5.4	0.8	0.2	0.8	1.0	2.9	3.0	6.8	.443	0.2	0.4	.478	1.2	1.6	.743
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	7	9.9	1.7	1.0	0.6	1.6	0.4	0.0	1.0	0.1	1.4	0.7	1.9	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.3	0.4	.667
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Nikola Jokic
Season	2010-11	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	72	15.9	5.0	1.5	2.5	4.0	0.4	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.6	2.3	4.4	.508	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.6	.783
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Zydrunas Ilgauskas	9	11.6	3.6	1.7	1.9	3.6	0.3	0.0	0.3	1.0	1.8	1.6	3.3	.467	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.7	.667
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Zydrunas Ilgauskas vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13