Artis Gilmore vs. Paul Pierce Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Pierce and Artis Gilmore, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Artis Gilmore played 12 years in the NBA, 7 less than Paul Pierce, who played 19. Artis Gilmore had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Paul Pierce had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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.

Rookie Season
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1976-77	1998-99
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Bulls Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	35.1	18.6	3.8	9.2	13.0	2.4	0.5	2.5	-	3.2	7.0	13.3	.522	-	-	-	4.7	7.1	.660
difference:	+34	+1.1	+2.1	+1.4	+5.2	+6.6		+1.2	+1.5		-0.3	+1.1	+0.2	+.083				+1.8	+3.0	+.053
Paul Pierce	48	34.0	16.5	2.4	4.0	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.9	5.9	13.5	.439	1.8	4.3	.412	2.9	4.1	.713
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	3	42.0	18.7	5.0	8.0	13.0	2.0	1.0	2.7	-	3.0	6.3	13.3	.475	-	-	-	6.0	7.7	.783
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1977-78	1999-00
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	37.4	22.9	3.9	9.2	13.1	3.2	0.5	2.2	4.5	3.2	8.6	15.4	.559	-	-	-	5.7	8.2	.704
difference:	+9	+2.0	+3.4	+2.8	+4.9	+7.7	+0.2	+1.6	+1.4	-2.1		+1.9	+0.3	+.117				+0.8	+2.0	+.094
Paul Pierce	73	35.4	19.5	1.1	4.3	5.4	3.0	2.1	0.8	2.4	3.2	6.7	15.1	.442	1.3	3.8	.343	4.9	6.2	.798
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Artis Gilmore nor Paul Pierce played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1978-79	2000-01
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	39.8	23.7	3.6	9.1	12.7	3.3	0.6	1.9	3.8	3.4	9.2	16.0	.575	-	-	-	5.3	7.2	.739
difference:		+1.8	+1.6	+2.5	+3.9	+6.3	+0.2	+1.1	+1.1	-0.6	-0.3	+0.8	+2.5	+.121				+1.4	+1.8	+.006
Paul Pierce	82	38.0	25.3	1.1	5.2	6.4	3.1	1.7	0.8	3.2	3.1	8.4	18.5	.454	1.8	4.7	.383	6.7	9.0	.745
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Artis Gilmore nor Paul Pierce played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1979-80	2001-02
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Artis Gilmore	48	32.7	17.8	2.3	6.8	9.0	2.8	0.6	1.2	2.8	3.5	6.4	10.7	.595	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.2	.712
difference:	+34	+7.6	+8.3	+1.3	+0.9	+2.1	+0.4	+1.3	+0.2	-0.1	-0.6	+2.2	+8.8	+.153	+2.6	+6.3		+1.2	+0.6	+.097
Paul Pierce	82	40.3	26.1	1.0	5.9	6.9	3.2	1.9	1.0	2.9	2.9	8.6	19.5	.442	2.6	6.3	.404	6.3	7.8	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	16	42.0	24.6	1.7	6.9	8.6	4.1	1.7	1.3	3.8	3.3	7.6	18.9	.403	1.9	6.5	.288	7.5	9.8	.764

Season 5
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1980-81	2002-03
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.5	17.9	2.7	7.4	10.1	2.1	0.6	2.4	2.9	3.6	6.7	10.0	.670	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.5	.705
difference:	+3	+4.7	+8.0	+1.4	+1.4	+2.8	+2.3	+1.2	+1.6	-0.7	-0.7	+1.7	+10.2	+.254	+1.5	+4.9		+3.0	+3.0	+.097
Paul Pierce	79	39.2	25.9	1.3	6.0	7.3	4.4	1.8	0.8	3.6	2.9	8.4	20.2	.416	1.5	4.9	.302	7.6	9.5	.802
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	6	41.2	18.0	4.0	7.2	11.2	2.0	1.0	2.8	2.8	2.5	5.8	10.0	.583	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	9.2	.691
difference:	+4	+3.3	+9.1	+2.9	+0.7	+2.2	+4.7	+1.1	+2.0	-1.6	-1.3	+1.9	+9.3	+.184	+1.6	+4.5		+3.8	+2.5	+.172
Paul Pierce	10	44.5	27.1	1.1	7.9	9.0	6.7	2.1	0.8	4.4	3.8	7.7	19.3	.399	1.6	4.5	.356	10.1	11.7	.863

Season 6
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1981-82	2003-04
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.1	18.5	2.7	7.5	10.2	1.7	0.6	2.7	2.8	3.5	6.7	10.2	.652	0.0	0.0	-	5.2	6.7	.768
difference:	+2	+4.6	+4.5	+1.8	+1.8	+3.7	+3.4	+1.0	+2.0	-1.0	-0.6	+0.8	+8.5	+.250	+1.4	+4.8		+1.3	+1.2	+.051
Paul Pierce	80	38.7	23.0	0.9	5.7	6.5	5.1	1.6	0.7	3.8	2.9	7.5	18.7	.402	1.4	4.8	.299	6.5	7.9	.819
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	4	40.8	20.8	1.5	7.3	8.8	2.5	1.3	1.0	6.3	3.0	6.5	19.0	.342	1.3	4.3	.294	6.5	7.8	.839

Season 7
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1982-83	2004-05
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Artis Gilmore	82	34.1	18.0	3.6	8.4	12.0	1.5	0.5	2.3	3.1	3.3	6.8	10.8	.626	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	6.0	.740
difference:		+2.0	+3.6	+2.6	+2.8	+5.4	+2.7	+1.1	+1.8	-0.3	-0.2		+4.1	+.171	+1.3	+3.5	+.370	+2.2	+2.1	+.082
Paul Pierce	82	36.1	21.6	1.0	5.6	6.6	4.2	1.6	0.5	2.8	3.1	6.8	14.9	.455	1.3	3.6	.370	6.7	8.1	.822
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	11	36.5	16.7	3.4	9.5	12.9	1.6	0.8	3.1	2.5	4.2	6.9	12.0	.576	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	4.2	.696
difference:	+4	+3.2	+6.2	+2.4	+2.8	+5.2	+3.0	+1.1	+1.7	-0.2	-1.6	+0.2	+1.3	+.071	+1.0	+3.9		+5.5	+5.5	+.172
Paul Pierce	7	39.7	22.9	1.0	6.7	7.7	4.6	1.9	1.4	2.7	2.6	6.7	13.3	.505	1.0	3.9	.259	8.4	9.7	.868

Season 8
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1983-84	2005-06
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Artis Gilmore	64	31.8	15.3	3.3	7.0	10.3	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.3	3.6	5.5	8.7	.631	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	6.1	.718
difference:	+15	+7.2	+11.5	+2.3	+1.3	+3.6	+3.6	+0.8	+1.7	-1.2	-0.8	+3.2	+9.8	+.160	+1.4	+4.0		+3.5	+4.2	+.054
Paul Pierce	79	39.0	26.8	1.0	5.7	6.7	4.7	1.4	0.4	3.5	2.8	8.7	18.5	.471	1.4	4.0	.354	7.9	10.3	.772
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Artis Gilmore nor Paul Pierce played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 10
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1985-86	2007-08
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	71	33.7	16.7	2.3	6.1	8.5	1.4	0.5	1.5	2.6	3.4	6.0	9.6	.618	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	6.8	.701
difference:	+9	+2.2	+2.9	+1.6	+1.6	+3.4	+3.1	+0.8	+1.0	-0.2	-0.9	+0.4	+4.1	+.154	+1.8	+4.6		+0.3	+0.7	+.142
Paul Pierce	80	35.9	19.6	0.7	4.5	5.1	4.5	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.5	6.4	13.7	.464	1.8	4.6	.392	5.1	6.1	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	3	35.7	13.3	2.3	3.7	6.0	1.0	2.3	0.3	3.3	3.7	5.3	8.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	4.7	.571
difference:	+23	+2.4	+6.4	+1.5	+0.5	+1.0	+3.6	+1.2		-0.1	-0.2	+1.0	+6.2	+.226	+1.7	+4.6		+2.8	+2.1	+.231
Paul Pierce	26	38.1	19.7	0.8	4.2	5.0	4.6	1.1	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.3	14.2	.441	1.7	4.6	.361	5.5	6.8	.802

Season 11
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1986-87	2008-09
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	82	29.3	11.4	2.3	4.8	7.1	1.8	0.5	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.2	7.1	.597	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.680
difference:	+1	+8.2	+9.1	+1.6	+0.2	+1.5	+1.8	+0.5	+0.9	-0.6	-0.2	+2.5	+7.5	+.140	+1.5	+3.8		+2.7	+2.5	+.150
Paul Pierce	81	37.5	20.5	0.7	5.0	5.6	3.6	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.7	6.7	14.6	.457	1.5	3.8	.391	5.7	6.8	.830
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Paul Pierce	14	39.7	21.0	0.3	5.5	5.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	2.4	3.1	6.8	15.8	.430	1.4	4.1	.333	6.1	7.2	.842

Season 12
	Artis Gilmore	Paul Pierce
Season	1987-88	2009-10
Team	Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	71	12.6	3.7	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.9	2.1	1.4	2.5	.547	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.523
difference:		+21.4	+14.6	+0.5	+1.8	+1.4	+2.8	+1.0		-1.4	-0.7	+4.4	+9.7	+.075	+1.5	+3.7		+4.3	+4.3	+.329
Paul Pierce	71	34.0	18.3	0.5	3.8	4.4	3.1	1.2	0.4	2.3	2.8	5.8	12.2	.472	1.5	3.7	.414	5.2	6.1	.852
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Artis Gilmore	14	6.1	1.1	0.3	1.1	1.4	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.3	0.6	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.0	.500
difference:	+10	+32.7	+17.7	+0.5	+4.0	+4.6	+3.3	+1.0	+0.3	-2.4	-2.3	+5.8	+13.4	+.062	+1.7	+4.3		+4.4	+4.9	+.324
Paul Pierce	24	38.8	18.8	0.8	5.1	6.0	3.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	3.3	6.1	14.0	.438	1.7	4.3	.392	4.9	5.9	.824

Additional Years
* Paul Pierce played 7 seasons more than Artis Gilmore in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 2011 to 2017—Paul Pierce played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Artis Gilmore, Paul Pierce got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game