Alex Caruso vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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 / 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.

Alex Caruso played 9 years in the NBA, 7 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Alex Caruso had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, 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 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
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


Rookie Season
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2017-18	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+39	+9.3	+6.7	+0.1	+0.1	+0.2	+0.1	+0.1	+0.2	-0.3	-0.4	+2.5	+6.7	+.037	+0.7	+2.5	+.014	+0.9	+1.3	+.011
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
* Neiher Alex Caruso nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2018-19	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+30	+3.2	+1.5	+0.5	+0.2	+0.7	+2.0	+0.3	+0.3	-0.7	-0.6	+0.5	+0.2	+.052	+0.1	+0.5	+.109	+0.5	+0.8	+.025
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
* Neiher Alex Caruso nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2019-20	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+1	+4.9	+7.5	+0.2	+0.1	+0.4	+0.5	+0.3	+0.2	-0.5	-0.8	+2.6	+5.7	+.029	+1.8	+4.2	+.057	+0.5	+0.5	+.076
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		%
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:	+17	+12.5	+2.0	+0.4	+0.4		+2.3	+0.1	+0.3	-0.7	-1.1	+0.8	+0.1	+.152	+0.8	+0.1	+.279	+0.4	+0.1	+.200
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2020-21	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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:	+16	+1.8	+5.9	+0.1	+0.9	+0.8	+1.1	+0.3	+0.1	-0.2		+1.9	+3.8	+.025	+1.2	+2.9	+.002	+0.9	+1.1	+.074
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		%
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	+6.8	+12.5		+0.5	+0.5	+1.3	+0.8	+0.7	-0.1	-1.0	+3.5	+4.5	+.167	+1.0	+2.7	+.024	+4.7	+5.7	+.167
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2021-22	2008-09
Team	Chicago Bulls	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+40	+0.3	+7.8	+0.3	+0.3	+0.1	+1.2	+0.7	+0.2	-0.5	-0.3	+2.7	+5.5	+.048	+1.2	+2.5	+.064	+1.1	+1.6	+.041
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		%
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	+1.1	+8.6	+0.2	+0.3	+0.5	+1.5	+0.2	+0.7	-1.3	-0.4	+3.2	+6.3	+.063	+0.6	+2.1	+.031	+1.6	+2.9
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2022-23	2009-10
Team	Chicago Bulls	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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:	+8	+4.3	+9.8	+0.2	+0.4	+0.2	+0.5	+0.2	+0.4	-0.8	-0.1	+3.8	+9.5	+.041	+1.3	+3.9	+.026	+1.0	+1.6	+.102
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		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2023-24	2010-11
Team	Chicago Bulls	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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:	+8	+3.8	+2.2	+0.3	+0.5	+0.3	+1.3	+0.5	+0.8	-0.1	-0.3	+0.7	+2.3	+.033	+0.3	+0.7	+.018	+1.1	+1.4	+.022
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		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2024-25	2011-12
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+19	+8.3	+5.4	+0.1	+0.9	+1.0	+0.1	+0.1	+0.4	-0.6	-0.6	+2.1	+5.8	+.039	+0.8	+2.4	+.006	+0.3	+0.7	+.115
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		%
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
difference:	+18	+10.6	+3.0	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1		+0.8	+0.4	-1.4	-1.1	+1.7	+8.2	+.134	+0.6	+1.7	+.232	+0.3	+0.1	+.205
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
	Alex Caruso	J.R. Smith
Season	2025-26	2012-13
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East 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	13	18.2	5.8	0.3	1.8	2.1	2.7	1.7	0.3	0.8	0.8	2.1	5.2	.403	1.2	3.4	.364	0.5	0.6	.750
difference:	+67	+15.3	+12.3	+0.5	+2.7	+3.2		+0.4		-0.9	-2.0	+4.5	+10.4	+.019	+0.7	+2.1	+.008	+2.5	+3.3	+.012
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		%
Alex Caruso	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Additional Years

* J.R. Smith played 7 seasons more than Alex Caruso in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 10 to 16, from 2014 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

Alex Caruso vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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