Richard Jefferson vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Richard Jefferson, 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.

Richard Jefferson played 17 years in the NBA, 1 more than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Richard Jefferson had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Richard Jefferson	17	12	2001-02 to 2017-18
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

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


Rookie Season
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2001-02	2004-05
Team	New Jersey Nets	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	79	24.3	9.4	1.1	2.6	3.7	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.4	2.7	3.4	7.5	.457	0.2	0.7	.232	2.4	3.4	.713
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	20	22.1	7.0	0.8	3.8	4.6	1.3	0.6	0.5	1.3	2.0	2.7	5.7	.465	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	3.0	.550
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2002-03	2005-06
Team	New Jersey Nets	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	80	36.0	15.5	1.9	4.6	6.4	2.5	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.7	5.7	11.4	.501	0.1	0.3	.250	4.1	5.5	.743
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	20	35.7	14.1	1.5	4.9	6.4	2.4	0.8	0.2	2.3	3.4	5.5	11.6	.476	0.0	0.2	.000	3.1	4.3	.718
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2003-04	2006-07
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	82	38.2	18.5	1.3	4.3	5.7	3.8	1.1	0.3	2.4	2.7	6.8	13.6	.498	0.6	1.6	.364	4.4	5.7	.763
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	11	41.6	19.8	1.3	5.0	6.3	3.8	1.3	0.7	3.9	3.2	6.0	14.4	.418	0.8	3.0	.273	7.0	9.8	.713
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2004-05	2007-08
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	33	41.1	22.2	1.5	5.8	7.3	4.0	1.0	0.5	4.0	3.3	7.2	17.1	.422	0.9	2.7	.337	6.9	8.2	.844
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	4	35.5	15.8	2.0	3.5	5.5	2.3	0.8	0.0	2.0	3.5	5.0	12.5	.400	0.5	2.5	.200	5.3	7.8	.677
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2005-06	2008-09
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	78	39.2	19.5	1.2	5.6	6.8	3.8	0.8	0.2	2.2	2.5	6.3	12.9	.493	0.8	2.4	.319	6.0	7.4	.812
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	11	39.7	22.2	0.6	3.5	4.1	4.1	0.9	0.4	2.7	2.9	8.2	15.0	.545	1.1	2.6	.414	4.7	5.7	.825
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2006-07	2009-10
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	55	35.6	16.3	0.9	3.5	4.4	2.7	0.6	0.1	2.2	2.2	5.5	12.1	.456	0.9	2.6	.359	4.3	5.9	.733
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	12	40.8	19.7	0.3	5.3	5.6	2.3	0.8	0.4	2.3	2.0	6.8	14.0	.482	1.1	3.3	.325	5.1	5.5	.924
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2007-08	2010-11
Team	New Jersey Nets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	82	39.0	22.6	1.1	3.0	4.2	3.1	0.9	0.3	2.4	2.7	7.5	16.2	.466	0.9	2.6	.362	6.6	8.3	.798
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2008-09	2011-12
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	82	35.8	19.6	0.7	3.9	4.6	2.4	0.8	0.2	2.0	3.1	6.5	14.9	.439	1.4	3.6	.397	5.1	6.3	.805
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2009-10	2012-13
Team	San Antonio Spurs	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	81	31.1	12.3	0.7	3.7	4.4	2.0	0.6	0.5	1.3	2.2	4.5	9.6	.467	0.7	2.3	.316	2.6	3.5	.735
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	10	33.4	9.4	0.8	4.5	5.3	1.8	0.6	0.6	1.5	2.0	3.4	7.0	.486	0.1	0.5	.200	2.5	3.3	.758
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2010-11	2013-14
Team	San Antonio Spurs	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	81	30.4	11.0	0.7	3.2	3.8	1.3	0.5	0.4	1.1	2.0	3.8	7.9	.474	1.7	3.8	.440	1.8	2.4	.759
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	6	29.3	6.5	0.3	3.8	4.2	0.8	0.5	0.5	1.0	2.2	2.0	5.2	.387	1.0	2.8	.353	1.5	1.8	.818
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2011-12	2014-15
Team	San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	63	27.7	9.2	0.4	3.1	3.5	1.4	0.6	0.3	0.8	1.9	3.2	7.7	.416	1.8	4.3	.420	0.9	1.3	.694
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2012-13	2015-16
Team	Golden State Warriors	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	56	10.1	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.8	1.1	2.4	.456	0.3	0.8	.311	0.7	0.9	.717
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	7	5.6	1.9	0.3	0.7	1.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.7	0.6	1.3	.444	0.3	0.4	.667	0.4	1.3	.333
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2013-14	2016-17
Team	Utah Jazz	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	82	27.0	10.1	0.2	2.5	2.7	1.6	0.7	0.2	1.1	2.0	3.6	8.0	.450	1.5	3.7	.409	1.5	2.0	.741
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2014-15	2017-18
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	74	16.8	5.8	0.3	2.1	2.5	0.8	0.4	0.1	0.7	1.6	1.9	4.4	.444	0.9	2.1	.426	1.1	1.5	.684
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	4	12.8	3.8	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.0	0.8	2.3	1.3	3.5	.357	0.8	2.0	.375	0.5	0.5	1.000
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2015-16	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	74	17.9	5.5	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.8	0.4	0.2	0.6	1.7	1.9	4.2	.458	0.9	2.3	.382	0.8	1.2	.667
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	21	18.1	5.4	0.8	2.8	3.5	0.7	0.5	0.0	0.6	1.6	2.1	4.0	.524	0.5	1.3	.393	0.7	1.0	.750
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2016-17	2019-20
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	79	20.4	5.7	0.4	2.2	2.6	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.7	1.9	1.9	4.3	.446	0.8	2.4	.333	1.0	1.4	.741
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	14	12.8	3.9	0.7	1.1	1.8	0.5	0.1	0.2	0.6	2.1	1.1	2.7	.421	0.4	1.4	.263	1.3	2.0	.643
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-


Season 17
	Richard Jefferson	J.R. Smith
Season	2017-18	-
Team	Denver Nuggets	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	20	8.2	1.5	0.1	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.6	0.6	1.4	.444	0.1	0.4	.286	0.2	0.4	.571
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Richard Jefferson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Richard Jefferson vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Richard Jefferson, 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

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17