Alex Caruso vs. Hakeem Olajuwon Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Hakeem Olajuwon and Alex Caruso, 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings

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.

Alex Caruso played 9 years in the NBA, 9 less than Hakeem Olajuwon, who played 18. Alex Caruso had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Hakeem Olajuwon had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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
Alex Caruso	9	4	2017-18 to 2025-26
Hakeem Olajuwon	18	15	1984-85 to 2001-02

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2017-18	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	37	15.2	3.6	0.4	1.4	1.8	2.0	0.6	0.3	1.1	1.4	1.4	3.1	.431	0.4	1.2	.302	0.6	0.8	.700
difference:	+45	+20.3	+17.0	+5.0	+5.1	+10.1	+0.6	+0.6	+2.4	-1.8	-2.8	+6.9	+12.2	+.107	+0.4	+1.2		+3.5	+5.9	+.087
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478


Season 2
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2018-19	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost NBA Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	25	21.2	9.2	0.8	1.9	2.7	3.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	2.2	3.1	6.9	.445	1.0	2.0	.480	2.0	2.6	.797
difference:	+43	+15.1	+14.3	+4.1	+4.7	+8.8	+1.1	+1.0	+3.0	-1.2	-1.8	+6.1	+10.6	+.081	+1.0	+2.0		+3.1	+5.3	+.152
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638


Season 3
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2019-20	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	64	18.4	5.5	0.3	1.7	1.9	1.9	1.1	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.9	4.5	.412	0.6	1.9	.333	1.1	1.5	.734
difference:	+11	+18.4	+17.9	+3.9	+5.5	+9.5	+1.0	+0.8	+3.1	-2.2	-2.4	+7.1	+13.3	+.096	+0.6	+1.8	+.133	+4.2	+6.1	+.032
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	21	24.3	6.5	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.8	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.6	2.3	5.4	.425	0.8	2.9	.279	1.1	1.4	.800
difference:	+11	+14.6	+22.7	+3.2	+5.8	+9.0	+0.3	+0.2	+3.7	-2.1	-1.8	+8.7	+12.5	+.190	+0.8	+2.8	+.279	+6.1	+8.3	+.058
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742


Season 4
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2020-21	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	58	21.0	6.4	0.5	2.4	2.9	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.3	1.9	2.3	5.3	.436	0.9	2.4	.401	0.8	1.3	.645
difference:	+21	+14.8	+16.4	+3.3	+5.9	+9.2	+0.7	+1.0	+2.4	-1.8	-2.2	+6.7	+12.2	+.078	+0.9	+2.3	+.401	+4.0	+5.6	+.050
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	6	20.2	5.8	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.2	2.0	2.3	6.3	.368	0.8	2.8	.294	0.3	0.3	1.000
difference:	+2	+20.3	+31.7	+4.7	+10.8	+15.5	+1.3	+2.1	+2.1	-1.1	-1.5	+11.7	+18.2	+.203	+0.8	+2.5	+.294	+9.2	+10.5	+.116
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884


Season 5
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2021-22	1988-89
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	41	28.0	7.4	0.8	2.8	3.6	4.0	1.7	0.4	1.4	2.6	2.5	6.2	.398	1.0	3.1	.333	1.4	1.8	.795
difference:	+41	+8.9	+17.4	+3.3	+6.6	+9.9	+2.2	+0.9	+3.0	-2.0	-1.4	+7.1	+12.8	+.110	+1.0	+3.0	+.333	+4.1	+6.2	+.099
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	4	28.3	6.3	0.5	2.3	2.8	4.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.3	5.8	.391	1.8	4.5	.389	0.0	0.0	-
difference:		+12.2	+19.0	+3.0	+7.2	+10.2	+1.3	+1.2	+1.8	-2.2	-1.5	+8.2	+14.5	+.128	+1.8	+4.5		+4.3	+6.3
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680


Season 6
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2022-23	1989-90
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	67	23.5	5.6	0.6	2.3	2.9	2.9	1.5	0.7	1.1	2.4	1.9	4.3	.455	0.8	2.3	.364	0.9	1.1	.808
difference:	+15	+14.6	+18.7	+3.0	+8.1	+11.1		+0.6	+3.9	-2.8	-1.4	+7.9	+15.3	+.046	+0.8	+2.2	+.197	+3.8	+5.4	+.095
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706


Season 7
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2023-24	1990-91
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Blocks Leader
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	71	28.7	10.1	0.9	3.0	3.8	3.5	1.7	1.0	1.4	2.5	3.6	7.6	.468	1.9	4.7	.408	1.0	1.4	.760
difference:	+15	+8.1	+11.1	+3.0	+6.8	+10.0	+1.2	+0.5	+2.9	-1.7	-1.4	+5.1	+9.5	+.040	+1.9	+4.6	+.408	+2.8	+3.5	+.009
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824


Season 8
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2024-25	1991-92
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	54	19.3	7.1	0.7	2.2	2.9	2.5	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.9	2.6	5.8	.446	1.1	3.1	.353	0.8	0.9	.824
difference:	+16	+18.4	+14.5	+2.8	+6.4	+9.2	+0.3	+0.2	+3.7	-2.0	-1.9	+5.8	+11.0	+.056	+1.1	+3.1		+3.9	+5.2	+.058
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	23	24.4	9.2	0.7	2.0	2.7	2.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	2.7	3.1	7.0	.450	1.6	3.9	.411	1.3	1.7	.795
Hakeem Olajuwon	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Alex Caruso	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2025-26	1992-93
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	2	27.0	8.0	0.5	1.5	2.0	3.0	2.0	1.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	7.0	.357	2.0	5.5	.364	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+80	+12.5	+18.1	+3.0	+8.1	+11.0	+0.5	+0.2	+3.2	-2.7	-2.2	+7.8	+12.5	+.172	+2.0	+5.4	+.364	+4.4	+6.0	+.221
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	39.5	26.1	3.5	9.6	13.0	3.5	1.8	4.2	3.2	3.7	10.3	19.5	.529	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.0	.779

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hakeem Olajuwon	12	43.2	25.7	4.3	9.7	14.0	4.8	1.8	4.9	3.8	3.1	10.3	19.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.3	.827


Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 9 seasons more than Alex Caruso in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 18, from 1994 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 7 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 9 extra years over Alex Caruso, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 4 All-Star Game

Alex Caruso vs. Hakeem Olajuwon Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Hakeem Olajuwon and Alex Caruso, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years