Bob Lanier vs. Josh Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Josh Smith 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.

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, 1 more than Josh Smith, who played 13. Bob Lanier had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Josh Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1970-71	2004-05
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Josh Smith	74	27.7	9.7	2.0	4.2	6.2	1.7	0.8	1.9	1.8	2.1	3.7	8.1	.455	0.1	0.3	.174	2.2	3.2	.688
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1971-72	2005-06
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Josh Smith	80	32.0	11.3	2.2	4.4	6.6	2.4	0.8	2.6	2.0	3.3	4.1	9.7	.425	0.4	1.4	.309	2.6	3.7	.719
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1972-73	2006-07
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Josh Smith	72	36.8	16.4	2.3	6.3	8.6	3.3	1.4	2.9	3.2	3.3	6.1	13.8	.439	0.5	2.1	.250	3.7	5.4	.693
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josh Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1973-74	2007-08
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Josh Smith	81	35.5	17.2	2.0	6.2	8.2	3.4	1.5	2.8	3.0	3.3	6.4	14.0	.457	0.3	1.2	.253	4.1	5.8	.710
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
Josh Smith	7	33.9	15.7	1.0	5.4	6.4	2.9	1.7	2.9	3.7	3.7	5.0	12.6	.398	0.4	2.6	.167	5.3	6.3	.841

Season 5
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1974-75	2008-09
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Josh Smith	69	35.1	15.6	1.9	5.3	7.2	2.4	1.4	1.6	2.3	2.7	6.1	12.3	.492	0.4	1.3	.299	3.1	5.2	.588
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
Josh Smith	11	37.3	17.1	2.2	5.3	7.5	2.2	1.1	1.5	1.9	3.3	6.1	14.5	.421	0.2	1.4	.133	4.7	6.5	.732

Season 6
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1975-76	2009-10
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Josh Smith	81	35.4	15.7	2.8	6.0	8.7	4.2	1.6	2.1	2.4	3.0	6.2	12.3	.505	0.0	0.1	.000	3.2	5.2	.618
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
Josh Smith	11	35.6	14.1	3.4	5.6	9.0	2.6	1.2	1.7	1.5	2.7	5.6	11.7	.481	0.2	0.5	.333	2.6	4.0	.659

Season 7
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1976-77	2010-11
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Josh Smith	77	34.4	16.5	1.7	6.8	8.5	3.3	1.3	1.6	2.6	2.8	6.5	13.5	.477	0.7	2.0	.331	3.0	4.1	.725
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
Josh Smith	12	36.5	15.1	1.5	7.0	8.5	2.9	1.1	2.1	2.2	3.3	5.8	14.3	.404	0.3	2.0	.125	3.3	5.6	.597

Season 8
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1977-78	2011-12
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Josh Smith	66	35.3	18.8	2.1	7.5	9.6	3.9	1.4	1.7	2.5	2.6	7.6	16.7	.458	0.4	1.7	.257	3.1	4.9	.630
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josh Smith	5	39.2	16.8	2.0	11.6	13.6	4.8	0.6	1.0	3.0	2.8	6.8	17.6	.386	0.0	0.8	.000	3.2	4.2	.762

Season 9
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1978-79	2012-13
Team	Detroit Pistons	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	53	34.6	23.6	3.1	6.2	9.3	2.6	0.9	1.4	3.3	3.4	9.2	17.9	.515	-	-	-	5.2	6.9	.749
Josh Smith	76	35.3	17.5	1.8	6.7	8.4	4.2	1.2	1.8	3.0	2.3	7.2	15.6	.465	0.8	2.6	.303	2.2	4.2	.517
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Josh Smith	6	33.2	17.0	1.7	5.8	7.5	3.5	1.8	0.5	2.7	3.5	6.5	15.0	.433	0.8	3.3	.250	3.2	6.0	.528

Season 12
	Bob Lanier	Josh Smith
Season	1981-82	2015-16
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	74	26.8	13.5	1.2	4.0	5.2	3.0	1.0	0.8	2.2	2.9	5.5	9.9	.558	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.3	.752
Josh Smith	55	16.0	6.0	0.9	2.6	3.5	1.6	0.6	0.9	1.4	2.1	2.3	6.3	.364	0.7	2.6	.287	0.7	1.2	.552
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	6	35.3	16.0	3.0	4.5	7.5	3.7	1.3	0.8	2.3	3.5	6.8	13.3	.513	0.0	0.2	.000	2.3	4.2	.560
Josh Smith	4	9.5	4.0	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.3	1.3	1.8	1.5	3.3	.462	1.0	2.0	.500	0.0	0.5	.000

Note: Josh Smith didn't play in 2016-17.