Alton Lister vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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

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, 7 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 9. Alton Lister had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
Karl-Anthony Towns	9	4	2015-16 to 2023-24

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	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1981-82	2015-16
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	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	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	32.0	18.3	2.8	7.7	10.5	2.0	0.7	1.7	2.2	3.0	7.6	14.1	.542	0.4	1.1	.341	2.7	3.4	.811

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1982-83	2016-17
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Finals	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	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	37.0	25.1	3.6	8.7	12.3	2.7	0.7	1.3	2.6	2.9	9.8	18.0	.542	1.2	3.4	.367	4.3	5.2	.832

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1983-84	2017-18
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Finals	Timberwolves 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
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	35.6	21.3	2.9	9.4	12.3	2.4	0.8	1.4	1.9	3.5	7.8	14.3	.545	1.5	3.5	.421	4.2	4.9	.858

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	34.0	15.2	3.0	10.4	13.4	2.2	0.4	1.0	2.4	2.8	5.6	12.0	.467	0.6	2.2	.273	3.4	4.6	.739


Season 4
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1984-85	2018-19
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	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	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	77	33.1	24.4	3.4	9.0	12.4	3.4	0.9	1.6	3.1	3.8	8.8	17.1	.518	1.8	4.6	.400	4.9	5.8	.836

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1985-86	2019-20
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Finals	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	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	35	33.9	26.5	2.7	8.1	10.8	4.4	0.9	1.2	3.1	3.3	9.0	17.8	.508	3.3	7.9	.412	5.1	6.5	.796

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1986-87	2020-21
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	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	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	50	33.8	24.8	2.7	7.9	10.6	4.5	0.8	1.1	3.2	3.7	8.5	17.5	.486	2.4	6.3	.387	5.3	6.2	.859

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1987-88	2021-22
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves 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
Karl-Anthony Towns	74	33.5	24.6	2.6	7.2	9.8	3.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	3.6	8.7	16.4	.529	2.0	4.9	.410	5.2	6.3	.822

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	6	37.0	21.8	1.8	9.0	10.8	2.2	0.7	2.0	4.5	4.2	6.5	13.3	.488	1.7	3.7	.455	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 8
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1988-89	2022-23
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Timberwolves 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	22.0	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
Karl-Anthony Towns	29	33.0	20.8	1.7	6.5	8.1	4.8	0.7	0.6	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.8	.495	2.1	5.7	.366	4.1	4.7	.874

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	36.0	18.2	1.2	9.0	10.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	3.6	4.2	6.4	14.0	.457	1.2	4.8	.250	4.2	5.6	.750


Season 9
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1989-90	2023-24
Team	Golden State Warriors	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Timberwolves TBD

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	62	32.7	21.8	1.5	6.8	8.3	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.9	3.3	7.7	15.3	.504	2.2	5.3	.416	4.1	4.7	.873

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alton Lister	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	10	31.7	18.4	2.0	7.0	9.0	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.7	3.8	6.7	13.1	.511	2.1	4.4	.477	2.9	3.6	.806


Season 10
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alton Lister	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 13
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alton Lister	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alton Lister	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Alton Lister	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Alton Lister	Karl-Anthony Towns
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	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Alton Lister vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.

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