Alton Lister vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Alton Lister, 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.

Alton Lister played 16 years in the NBA, 9 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Alton Lister had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
Alton Lister 16 11 1981-82 to 1997-98
Arvydas Sabonis 7 7 1995-96 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1981-821995-96
Team Milwaukee BucksPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf SemisTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 80 14.8 4.5 1.4 3.5 4.8 1.1 0.2 1.5 1.6 3.0 1.9 3.6 .519 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.5 .520
Arvydas Sabonis 73 23.8 14.5 2.0 6.0 8.1 1.8 0.9 1.1 2.1 2.9 5.4 9.9 .545 0.5 1.4 .375 3.2 4.2 .757
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 6 18.7 5.5 1.0 3.5 4.5 0.8 0.3 2.5 1.5 3.8 2.3 4.0 .583 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.2 .714
Arvydas Sabonis 5 35.4 23.6 2.4 7.8 10.2 1.8 0.8 0.6 2.0 3.4 7.0 16.2 .432 1.0 1.8 .556 8.6 12.0 .717

Season 2
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1982-831996-97
Team Milwaukee BucksPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf FinalsTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 80 23.6 8.4 2.1 5.0 7.1 1.4 0.6 2.2 2.3 4.1 3.4 6.4 .529 0.0 0.0 - 1.6 3.0 .537
Arvydas Sabonis 69 25.5 13.4 1.7 6.3 7.9 2.1 0.9 1.2 2.2 2.9 4.8 9.5 .498 0.7 1.9 .371 3.2 4.2 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 9 22.9 6.4 2.3 4.4 6.8 1.2 1.0 1.7 1.9 3.3 3.0 7.0 .429 0.0 0.1 .000 0.4 0.6 .800
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 11.3 2.0 4.5 6.5 2.3 0.8 0.8 2.3 4.8 4.5 10.5 .429 0.5 2.0 .250 1.8 2.0 .875

Season 3
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1983-841997-98
Team Milwaukee BucksPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf FinalsTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 82 23.8 7.6 1.9 5.5 7.4 1.3 0.5 1.7 1.9 4.0 3.1 6.2 .500 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.2 .626
Arvydas Sabonis 73 32.0 16.0 2.0 7.9 10.0 3.0 0.9 1.1 2.6 3.7 5.6 11.3 .493 0.4 1.6 .261 4.4 5.5 .798
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 16 23.0 6.8 1.6 4.4 6.0 0.6 0.3 1.5 1.7 3.9 2.4 4.9 .500 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 3.0 .625
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 12.3 1.8 6.0 7.8 1.5 1.8 0.8 2.5 4.8 4.5 10.0 .450 0.3 0.5 .500 3.0 3.5 .857

Season 4
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1984-851998-99
Team Milwaukee BucksPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf SemisTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 81 25.8 9.9 2.7 5.3 8.0 1.6 0.6 2.1 2.3 3.5 4.0 7.4 .538 0.0 0.0 .000 1.9 3.2 .588
Arvydas Sabonis 50 27.0 12.1 1.8 6.1 7.9 2.4 0.7 1.3 1.7 2.9 4.6 9.6 .485 0.1 0.5 .292 2.7 3.5 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 8 25.4 8.6 3.4 4.4 7.8 1.9 0.8 1.9 2.0 4.5 3.4 7.5 .450 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 4.0 .469
Arvydas Sabonis 13 30.1 10.0 0.9 7.8 8.8 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 2.7 3.5 8.7 .398 0.1 0.4 .200 3.0 3.3 .907

Season 5
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1985-861999-00
Team Milwaukee BucksPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf FinalsTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 81 22.4 9.8 2.5 4.9 7.3 1.2 0.6 1.8 2.0 3.7 3.9 7.1 .551 0.0 0.0 .000 2.0 3.3 .602
Arvydas Sabonis 66 25.6 11.8 1.5 6.3 7.8 1.8 0.7 1.2 1.5 2.8 4.6 9.1 .505 0.1 0.3 .368 2.5 3.0 .843
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 14 23.9 11.9 2.6 4.2 6.9 0.9 0.5 1.6 1.5 4.0 4.7 7.4 .641 0.0 0.1 .000 2.5 4.1 .603
Arvydas Sabonis 16 30.8 11.3 1.2 5.5 6.7 1.9 0.9 0.8 1.6 3.7 4.3 9.4 .453 0.4 1.3 .286 2.4 3.1 .796

Season 6
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1986-872000-01
Team Seattle SupersonicsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf FinalsTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 75 30.5 11.6 3.0 6.4 9.4 1.5 0.4 2.4 2.3 3.9 4.6 9.2 .504 0.0 0.0 .000 2.4 3.5 .675
Arvydas Sabonis 61 21.3 10.1 0.8 4.6 5.4 1.5 0.7 1.0 1.4 2.2 4.0 8.5 .479 0.0 0.2 .067 2.0 2.6 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 9 22.9 6.0 3.2 3.0 6.2 0.8 0.8 1.4 1.1 4.1 2.2 5.6 .400 0.0 0.0 - 1.6 2.2 .700
Arvydas Sabonis 3 35.0 11.3 2.7 5.7 8.3 2.7 0.3 2.3 0.7 4.0 4.7 9.7 .483 0.0 0.7 .000 2.0 2.7 .750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1987-882002-03
Team Seattle SupersonicsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st RdTrail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 82 22.1 5.6 2.4 5.2 7.6 0.7 0.3 1.7 1.1 3.9 2.1 4.2 .504 0.0 0.0 .500 1.4 2.3 .606
Arvydas Sabonis 78 15.5 6.1 1.1 3.2 4.3 1.8 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.8 2.2 4.6 .476 0.0 0.1 .500 1.7 2.1 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 5 15.4 5.6 1.8 4.0 5.8 1.0 0.2 1.0 0.8 3.4 2.4 3.4 .706 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.0 .800
Arvydas Sabonis 6 14.5 10.0 1.0 3.0 4.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.0 2.3 4.0 6.0 .667 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.5 .800

Season 8
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1988-89-
Team Seattle Supersonics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics 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 %
Alton Lister 82 22.0 8.0 2.5 4.1 6.6 0.7 0.3 2.2 1.4 3.8 3.3 6.6 .499 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.2 .646
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 8 20.0 7.0 1.6 3.1 4.8 0.3 0.3 2.6 1.1 3.5 2.1 4.9 .436 0.0 0.0 - 2.8 3.3 .846
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 9
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1989-90-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 3 13.3 4.0 1.7 1.0 2.7 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.7 1.3 2.7 .500 0.0 0.3 .000 1.3 2.3 .571
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 10
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1990-91-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Warriors 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 %
Alton Lister 77 20.2 6.4 1.6 4.7 6.3 1.2 0.3 1.2 1.4 3.7 2.4 5.1 .478 0.0 0.0 .000 1.5 2.6 .569
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 6 12.0 4.3 1.2 3.5 4.7 0.3 0.0 1.2 1.3 2.5 2.0 4.2 .480 0.0 0.0 - 0.3 0.8 .400
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 11
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1991-92-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Warriors 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 %
Alton Lister 26 11.3 3.9 0.8 2.7 3.5 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.8 2.3 1.7 3.0 .557 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 1.3 .424
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 4 11.8 4.0 0.8 2.0 2.8 0.3 0.0 1.0 0.8 2.3 1.5 3.8 .400 0.0 0.0 - 1.0 1.3 .800
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 12
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1992-93-
Team Golden State Warriors-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 20 8.7 2.3 0.8 1.5 2.2 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.9 2.0 1.0 2.1 .452 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 0.7 .538
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Note: Alton Lister didn't play in 1993-94.

Season 13
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1994-95-
Team Milwaukee Bucks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 60 12.9 2.8 1.1 2.8 3.9 0.2 0.3 1.0 0.6 2.4 1.1 2.2 .493 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 1.2 .500
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 14
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1995-96-
Team Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 64 11.5 2.2 1.0 3.3 4.4 0.3 0.1 0.7 0.8 2.1 0.8 1.6 .486 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.0 .641
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 15
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1996-97-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 53 9.7 1.6 1.2 1.9 3.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.6 1.8 0.6 1.5 .416 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 0.6 .742
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister ------- --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------

Season 16
Alton Lister Arvydas Sabonis
Season 1997-98-
Team Portland Trail Blazers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Trail Blazers 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 %
Alton Lister 7 6.3 0.9 0.3 1.3 1.6 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 1.7 0.4 1.1 .375 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Alton Lister 2 5.5 1.0 0.5 0.5 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 2.5 0.5 1.5 .333 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -
Arvydas Sabonis ------- --- ----------
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