Al Horford vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Al Horford, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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.

Al Horford played 18 years in the NBA, 10 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Al Horford had the first of his seasons in 2007-08, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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 achievements, 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
Al Horford 18 16 2007-08 to 2024-25
Yao Ming 8 4 2002-03 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2007-082002-03
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 81 31.4 10.1 3.1 6.6 9.7 1.5 0.7 0.9 1.7 3.3 4.1 8.2 .499 0.0 0.1 .000 1.9 2.6 .731
difference:+1+2.4+3.4+0.7+0.8+1.5+0.2+0.3+0.9-0.4-0.5+0.8+1.6+.001+0.1+1.8+1.9+.080
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 - 3.7 4.5 .811
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 7 39.6 12.6 3.1 7.3 10.4 3.6 0.4 1.0 2.1 3.7 4.9 10.3 .472 0.0 0.0 - 2.9 3.9 .741
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2008-092003-04
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 67 33.5 11.5 2.2 7.1 9.3 2.4 0.8 1.4 1.5 2.8 4.7 8.9 .525 0.0 0.0 - 2.2 3.1 .727
difference:+15+0.7+6.0+0.2+0.5+0.3+0.9+0.5+0.5-1.0-0.5+1.8+3.6+.003+2.2+2.3+.082
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 - 4.4 5.4 .809
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 9 28.0 6.9 1.3 4.4 5.8 2.0 0.7 0.7 0.4 2.9 2.8 6.6 .424 0.0 0.1 .000 1.3 2.0 .667
difference:+4+9.6+8.1+0.9+0.8+1.6+0.2+0.3+0.7-2.2-1.1+3.4+7.0+.032+0.1+1.3+1.4+.098
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

Season 3
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2009-102004-05
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 81 35.1 14.2 2.9 7.0 9.9 2.3 0.7 1.1 1.5 2.8 5.8 10.5 .551 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 3.3 .789
difference:+1+4.5+4.1+0.3+1.2+1.5+1.5+0.3+0.9-1.0-0.9+0.9+1.7+.001+2.3+2.9+.006
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 11 35.3 14.6 2.5 6.5 9.0 1.8 0.7 1.7 1.4 3.2 6.1 11.6 .523 0.1 0.1 1.000 2.4 2.8 .839
difference:+4+3.4+6.8+0.8+2.1+1.3+1.1+0.4+1.0-1.3-1.2+1.8+0.4+.132+0.1+0.1+3.3+5.1+.112
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

Season 4
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2010-112005-06
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third TeamAchievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 77 35.1 15.3 2.4 7.0 9.3 3.5 0.8 1.0 1.5 2.5 6.7 12.0 .557 0.0 0.1 .500 1.9 2.4 .798
difference:+20+0.9+7.0+0.2+0.6+0.9+2.0+0.3+0.6-1.1-0.9+1.5+3.8+.038+0.1+4.0+4.5+.055
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 - 5.9 6.9 .853
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 12 39.0 11.3 2.1 7.5 9.6 3.5 0.4 1.0 1.4 2.8 4.8 11.4 .423 0.0 0.2 .000 1.7 2.2 .769
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2011-122006-07
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 11 31.6 12.4 2.4 4.6 7.0 2.2 0.9 1.3 1.5 1.9 5.2 9.4 .553 0.0 0.1 .000 2.0 2.7 .733
difference:+37+2.2+12.6+0.3+2.7+2.4+0.2+0.5+0.7-2.0-1.4+3.6+7.7+.037+0.1+5.4+5.9+.129
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 - 7.4 8.6 .862
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 3 36.0 15.3 1.7 6.7 8.3 2.7 1.3 1.3 4.0 3.7 6.7 11.3 .588 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.7 .750
difference:+4+1.1+9.8+1.6+0.3+2.0+1.8+1.2+0.6-0.7-0.2+1.2+6.6+.148+7.4+8.0+.130
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

Season 6
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2012-132007-08
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 74 37.2 17.4 2.6 7.6 10.2 3.2 1.1 1.1 2.0 2.2 7.8 14.3 .543 0.0 0.1 .500 1.8 2.8 .644
difference:+19+4.6+0.5+0.1+0.6+0.9+0.6+0.9-1.3-0.9+0.1+1.2+.036+0.1+4.5+4.6+.206
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 - 6.3 7.4 .850
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 6 36.3 16.7 2.0 6.8 8.8 3.0 1.0 0.8 1.5 2.8 6.8 13.8 .494 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 4.5 .667
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2013-142008-09
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayRockets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 29 33.0 18.6 2.3 6.1 8.4 2.6 0.9 1.5 2.2 1.9 8.2 14.5 .567 0.1 0.4 .364 2.0 2.9 .682
difference:+48+0.6+1.1+0.3+1.1+1.5+0.8+0.5+0.4-0.8-1.4+0.8+1.1+.019+0.1+0.4+2.9+2.8+.184
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 - 4.9 5.7 .866
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford DNP------ --- ----------
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

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

Season 8
Al Horford Yao Ming
Season 2014-152010-11
Team Atlanta HawksHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 76 30.5 15.2 1.7 5.4 7.2 3.2 0.9 1.3 1.3 1.6 6.8 12.7 .538 0.1 0.5 .306 1.4 1.9 .759
difference:+71+12.3+5.0+0.3+1.4+1.8+2.4+0.9+0.3-0.1-1.0+3.2+5.3+.052+0.1+0.5+1.6+1.3+.179
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Al Horford 16 32.6 14.4 2.5 6.1 8.6 3.7 0.8 1.4 1.6 2.1 6.7 13.2 .507 0.1 0.6 .222 0.9 1.3 .750
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Al Horford played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2016 to 2025—Al Horford played in 9 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Al Horford got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 2 All-Star Game
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