Bill Walton vs. Jerry West Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jerry West and Bill Walton, 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.

Bill Walton played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Jerry West, who played 14. Bill Walton had the first of his seasons in 1974-75, while Jerry West had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1974-75	1960-61
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Div Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	35	32.9	12.8	2.6	10.0	12.6	4.8	0.8	2.7	-	3.3	5.1	9.9	.513	-	-	-	2.7	3.9	.686
difference:	+44	+2.5	+4.8			+4.9	+0.6				-0.6	+1.6	+6.1	+.094				+1.5	+2.4	+.020
Jerry West	79	35.4	17.6	-	-	7.7	4.2	-	-	-	2.7	6.7	16.0	.419	-	-	-	4.2	6.3	.666
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	12	38.4	22.9	-	-	8.7	5.3	-	-	-	3.3	8.3	16.8	.490	-	-	-	6.4	8.8	.726

Season 2
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1975-76	1961-62
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers 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		%
Bill Walton	51	33.1	16.1	2.6	10.8	13.4	4.3	1.0	1.6	-	2.8	6.8	14.4	.471	-	-	-	2.6	4.5	.583
difference:	+24	+8.1	+14.7			+5.5	+1.1				-0.5	+3.9	+9.5	+.026				+6.9	+7.8	+.186
Jerry West	75	41.2	30.8	-	-	7.9	5.4	-	-	-	2.3	10.7	23.9	.445	-	-	-	9.5	12.3	.769
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	13	42.8	31.5	-	-	6.8	4.4	-	-	-	2.9	11.1	23.8	.465	-	-	-	9.3	11.5	.807

Season 3
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1976-77	1962-63
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	65	34.8	18.6	3.2	11.1	14.4	3.8	1.0	3.2	-	2.7	7.6	14.3	.528	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	.697
difference:	+10	+4.5	+8.5			+7.4	+1.8					+2.6	+7.8	+.067				+3.2	+3.7	+.081
Jerry West	55	39.3	27.1	-	-	7.0	5.6	-	-	-	2.7	10.2	22.1	.461	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.778
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	19	39.7	18.2	2.9	12.2	15.2	5.5	1.1	3.4	-	4.2	8.1	15.9	.507	-	-	-	2.1	3.0	.684
difference:	+6	+1.7	+9.6			+7.0	+0.8				-1.6	+3.0	+6.1	+.004				+3.6	+4.7	+.056
Jerry West	13	41.4	27.8	-	-	8.2	4.7	-	-	-	2.6	11.1	22.0	.503	-	-	-	5.7	7.7	.740

Season 4
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1977-78	1963-64
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

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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		%
Bill Walton	58	33.3	18.9	2.0	11.2	13.2	5.0	1.0	2.5	3.6	2.5	7.9	15.2	.522	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.720
difference:	+14	+7.1	+9.8			+7.2	+0.6				-0.3	+2.4	+6.0	+.038				+5.0	+5.6	+.112
Jerry West	72	40.4	28.7	-	-	6.0	5.6	-	-	-	2.8	10.3	21.2	.484	-	-	-	8.1	9.8	.832
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	2	24.5	13.5	2.5	8.5	11.0	2.0	1.5	1.5	3.0	0.5	5.5	9.0	.611	-	-	-	2.5	3.5	.714
difference:	+3	+16.7	+17.7			+3.8	+1.4				-3.5	+5.9	+14.0	+.115				+5.9	+7.1	+.078
Jerry West	5	41.2	31.2	-	-	7.2	3.4	-	-	-	4.0	11.4	23.0	.496	-	-	-	8.4	10.6	.792

Note: Bill Walton didn't play in 1978-79.

Season 5
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1979-80	1964-65
Team	San Diego Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Bill Walton	14	24.1	13.9	2.0	7.0	9.0	2.4	0.6	2.7	2.6	2.6	5.8	11.5	.503	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.9	.593
difference:	+60	+17.3	+17.1			+3.0	+2.5				-0.4	+5.3	+10.9	+.006				+6.5	+6.8	+.228
Jerry West	74	41.4	31.0	-	-	6.0	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	11.1	22.4	.497	-	-	-	8.8	10.7	.821
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	11	42.7	40.6	-	-	5.7	5.3	-	-	-	3.4	14.1	31.9	.442	-	-	-	12.5	14.0	.890

Note: Bill Walton didn't play in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

Season 6
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1982-83	1965-66
Team	San Diego Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	33	33.3	14.1	2.3	7.5	9.8	3.6	1.0	3.6	3.2	3.4	6.1	11.5	.528	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.5	.556
difference:	+46	+7.4	+17.2			+2.7	+2.5				-0.3	+4.3	+10.4	+.055				+8.6	+8.9	+.304
Jerry West	79	40.7	31.3	-	-	7.1	6.1	-	-	-	3.1	10.4	21.9	.473	-	-	-	10.6	12.4	.860
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	14	44.2	34.2	-	-	6.3	5.6	-	-	-	2.9	13.2	25.5	.518	-	-	-	7.8	8.9	.872

Season 7
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1983-84	1966-67
Team	San Diego Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

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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		%
Bill Walton	55	26.8	12.1	2.4	6.3	8.7	3.3	0.8	1.6	3.2	2.8	5.2	9.4	.556	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.597
difference:	+11	+13.7	+16.6			+2.8	+3.5				-0.4	+4.6	+11.6	+.092				+7.4	+7.6	+.281
Jerry West	66	40.5	28.7	-	-	5.9	6.8	-	-	-	2.4	9.8	21.0	.464	-	-	-	9.1	10.4	.878
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	1	1.0	0.0	-	-	1.0	0.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-

Season 8
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1984-85	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	67	24.6	10.1	2.5	6.4	9.0	2.3	0.7	2.1	2.6	2.7	4.0	7.7	.521	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.0	.680
difference:	+16	+13.0	+16.2			+3.2	+3.8				-0.3	+5.3	+10.5	+.007				+5.6	+6.5	+.131
Jerry West	51	37.6	26.3	-	-	5.8	6.1	-	-	-	3.0	9.3	18.2	.514	-	-	-	7.7	9.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	15	41.5	30.8	-	-	5.4	5.5	-	-	-	3.1	11.0	20.9	.527	-	-	-	8.8	11.3	.781

Season 9
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1985-86	1968-69
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	80	19.3	7.6	1.7	5.1	6.8	2.1	0.5	1.3	1.9	2.6	2.9	5.1	.562	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.5	.713
difference:	+19	+19.9	+18.3			+2.5	+4.8					+6.0	+13.9	+.091				+6.2	+7.3	+.108
Jerry West	61	39.2	25.9	-	-	4.3	6.9	-	-	-	2.6	8.9	19.0	.471	-	-	-	8.0	9.8	.821
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	16	18.2	7.9	1.6	4.9	6.4	1.7	0.4	0.8	1.4	2.8	3.4	5.8	.581	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.4	.826
difference:	+2	+23.9	+23.0			+2.5	+5.8				-0.1	+7.5	+17.7	+.118				+7.9	+9.9	+.022
Jerry West	18	42.1	30.9	-	-	3.9	7.5	-	-	-	2.9	10.9	23.5	.463	-	-	-	9.1	11.3	.804

Season 10
	Bill Walton	Jerry West
Season	1986-87	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Bill Walton	10	11.2	2.8	1.1	2.0	3.1	0.9	0.1	1.0	1.5	2.3	1.0	2.6	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.533
difference:	+64	+30.8	+28.4			+1.5	+6.6				-0.1	+10.2	+20.0	+.112				+7.9	+9.1	+.291
Jerry West	74	42.0	31.2	-	-	4.6	7.5	-	-	-	2.2	11.2	22.6	.497	-	-	-	8.7	10.6	.824
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bill Walton	12	8.5	2.4	0.8	1.8	2.6	0.8	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.9	1.0	2.1	.480	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.2	.357
difference:	+6	+37.6	+28.8			+1.1	+7.6				-1.2	+9.9	+21.1	+.011				+9.0	+10.6	+.445
Jerry West	18	46.1	31.2	-	-	3.7	8.4	-	-	-	3.1	10.9	23.2	.469	-	-	-	9.4	11.8	.802

Additional Years
* Jerry West played 4 seasons more than Bill Walton in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 1971 to 1974—Jerry West played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 4 extra years over Bill Walton, Jerry West got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 Assists Leader 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP