Bob Lanier vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and Bob Lanier, 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.

Bob Lanier played 14 years in the NBA, 6 more than Donovan Mitchell, who played 8. Bob Lanier had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Donovan Mitchell had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Bob Lanier	14	9	1970-71 to 1983-84
Donovan Mitchell	8	8	2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1970-71	2017-18
Team	Detroit Pistons	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	82	24.6	15.6	-	-	8.1	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	6.1	13.5	.455	-	-	-	3.3	4.6	.726
difference:	+3	+8.8	+4.9			+4.4	+1.9				-0.6	+1.4	+3.7	+.018				+0.3	+0.8	+.079
Donovan Mitchell	79	33.4	20.5	0.7	3.1	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.5	17.2	.437	2.4	7.0	.340	3.0	3.8	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	11	37.4	24.4	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.2	1.5	0.4	2.9	3.2	9.3	22.1	.420	2.3	7.3	.313	3.5	3.9	.907


Season 2
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1971-72	2018-19
Team	Detroit Pistons	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	80	38.7	25.7	-	-	14.2	3.1	-	-	-	3.7	10.4	21.1	.493	-	-	-	4.9	6.3	.768
difference:	+3	+5.0	+1.9			+10.1	+1.1				-1.0	+1.8	+1.2	+.061				+0.8	+1.2	+.038
Donovan Mitchell	77	33.7	23.8	0.8	3.3	4.1	4.2	1.4	0.4	2.8	2.7	8.6	19.9	.432	2.4	6.7	.362	4.1	5.1	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	5	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.6	5.0	3.2	1.6	0.2	4.2	3.0	7.2	22.4	.321	2.2	8.6	.256	4.8	6.6	.727


Season 3
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1972-73	2019-20
Team	Detroit Pistons	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	81	38.9	23.8	-	-	14.9	3.2	-	-	-	3.4	10.0	20.4	.490	-	-	-	3.8	4.9	.773
difference:	+12	+4.6	+0.2			+10.5	+1.1				-0.9	+1.3	+1.0	+.041				+0.2	+0.2	+.090
Donovan Mitchell	69	34.3	24.0	0.8	3.6	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.5	8.7	19.4	.449	2.5	6.9	.366	4.0	4.7	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	7	37.7	36.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.9	1.0	0.3	4.1	1.6	11.9	22.4	.529	4.7	9.1	.516	7.9	8.3	.948


Season 4
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1973-74	2020-21
Team	Detroit Pistons	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	81	37.6	22.5	3.3	9.9	13.3	4.2	1.4	3.0	-	3.4	9.2	18.3	.504	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.797
difference:	+28	+4.2	+3.9	+2.4	+6.4	+8.9	+1.0	+0.4	+2.7		-1.2	+0.2	+2.3	+.066				+1.0	+1.0	+.048
Donovan Mitchell	53	33.4	26.4	0.9	3.5	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.0	20.6	.438	3.4	8.7	.386	5.0	6.0	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	7	43.3	26.3	3.7	11.6	15.3	3.0	0.6	2.0	-	4.0	11.0	21.7	.507	-	-	-	4.3	5.4	.789
difference:	+3	+8.7	+6.0	+3.4	+7.7	+11.1	+2.5	+0.5	+1.8		-2.0	+0.5	+1.8	+.060				+2.0	+2.2	+.040
Donovan Mitchell	10	34.6	32.3	0.3	3.9	4.2	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.8	2.0	10.5	23.5	.447	5.0	11.5	.435	6.3	7.6	.829


Season 5
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1974-75	2021-22
Team	Detroit Pistons	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	76	39.3	24.0	3.0	9.1	12.0	4.6	1.0	2.3	-	3.1	9.6	18.9	.510	-	-	-	4.8	5.9	.802
difference:	+9	+5.5	+1.9	+2.2	+5.7	+7.8	+0.7	+0.5	+2.1		-0.7	+0.4	+1.6	+.062				+0.8	+1.2	+.051
Donovan Mitchell	67	33.8	25.9	0.8	3.4	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.4	9.2	20.5	.448	3.5	9.8	.355	4.0	4.7	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	3	42.7	20.3	1.7	9.0	10.7	6.3	1.3	4.0	-	3.3	8.7	17.0	.510	-	-	-	3.0	4.0	.750
difference:	+3	+4.5	+5.2	+0.7	+5.7	+6.4	+0.6	+0.6	+3.5		-1.0	+0.1	+5.2	+.112				+3.2	+3.0	+.131
Donovan Mitchell	6	38.2	25.5	1.0	3.3	4.3	5.7	0.7	0.5	2.7	2.3	8.8	22.2	.398	1.7	8.0	.208	6.2	7.0	.881


Season 6
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1975-76	2022-23
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	64	36.9	21.3	3.4	8.3	11.7	3.4	1.2	1.3	-	3.2	8.5	15.9	.532	-	-	-	4.4	5.8	.768
difference:	+4	+1.1	+7.0	+2.5	+5.0	+7.4	+1.0	+0.3	+0.9		-0.7	+1.5	+4.7	+.048				+0.3	+0.4	+.099
Donovan Mitchell	68	35.8	28.3	0.9	3.3	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	2.6	2.5	10.0	20.6	.484	3.6	9.3	.386	4.7	5.4	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	9	39.9	26.1	4.3	8.3	12.7	3.3	0.9	2.3	-	3.8	10.6	19.1	.552	-	-	-	5.0	5.6	.900
difference:	+4	+1.5	+2.9	+3.7	+3.9	+7.7	+3.9	+1.1	+1.7		-1.0	+1.6	+1.7	+.119				+2.4	+2.0	+.178
Donovan Mitchell	5	41.4	23.2	0.6	4.4	5.0	7.2	2.0	0.6	3.8	2.8	9.0	20.8	.433	2.6	9.0	.289	2.6	3.6	.722


Season 7
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1976-77	2023-24
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	64	38.2	25.3	3.1	8.5	11.6	3.3	1.1	2.0	-	2.7	10.6	19.8	.534	-	-	-	4.1	5.0	.818
difference:	+9	+2.9	+1.3	+2.3	+4.2	+6.5	+2.8	+0.7	+1.5		-0.6	+1.5		+.072				+0.9	+0.8	+.047
Donovan Mitchell	55	35.3	26.6	0.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	2.8	2.1	9.1	19.8	.462	3.3	9.0	.368	5.0	5.8	.865

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	3	39.3	28.0	4.3	12.3	16.7	2.0	1.0	2.3	-	3.3	11.3	18.0	.630	-	-	-	5.3	6.3	.842
difference:	+7	+1.1	+1.6	+3.7	+7.5	+11.3	+2.7	+0.3	+2.0		-0.4	+0.6	+4.5	+.154					+0.2	+.027
Donovan Mitchell	10	38.2	29.6	0.6	4.8	5.4	4.7	1.3	0.3	2.8	2.9	10.7	22.5	.476	2.9	8.2	.354	5.3	6.5	.815


Season 8
	Bob Lanier	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1977-78	2024-25
Team	Detroit Pistons	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	63	36.7	24.5	3.1	8.2	11.3	3.4	1.3	1.5	3.6	2.9	9.9	18.4	.537	-	-	-	4.7	6.1	.772
difference:	+8	+5.3	+0.5	+2.3	+4.5	+6.8	+1.6		+1.3	-1.5	-0.9	+1.7	+0.2	+.094				+0.5	+1.0	+.051
Donovan Mitchell	71	31.4	24.0	0.8	3.7	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	2.1	2.0	8.2	18.6	.443	3.3	8.9	.368	4.2	5.1	.823

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	9	32.0	29.6	1.2	3.4	4.7	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.0	9.6	21.6	.443	3.1	9.3	.333	7.3	9.9	.742


Additional Years
* Bob Lanier played 6 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 14, from 1979 to 1984—Bob Lanier played in 5 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, Bob Lanier got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game

Bob Lanier vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and Bob Lanier, 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

Additional Years