Bob Lanier vs. Rik Smits Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rik Smits 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, 2 more than Rik Smits, who played 12. Bob Lanier had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Rik Smits had his rookie season in 1988-89. 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	Rik Smits
Season	1970-71	1988-89
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First 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
Rik Smits	82	24.9	11.7	2.3	3.8	6.1	0.9	0.5	1.8	1.6	3.8	4.7	9.1	.517	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	3.1	.722
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1971-72	1989-90
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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	80	38.7	25.7	-	-	14.2	3.1	-	-	-	3.7	10.4	21.1	.493	-	-	-	4.9	6.3	.768
Rik Smits	82	29.3	15.5	1.6	4.6	6.2	1.7	0.5	2.1	1.7	4.0	6.3	11.8	.533	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	3.6	.811
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rik Smits	3	32.0	12.3	1.3	4.0	5.3	1.0	0.7	1.3	1.7	4.0	4.7	9.3	.500	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.7	.818

Season 3
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1972-73	1990-91
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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	38.9	23.8	-	-	14.9	3.2	-	-	-	3.4	10.0	20.4	.490	-	-	-	3.8	4.9	.773
Rik Smits	76	22.2	10.9	1.5	3.2	4.7	1.1	0.3	1.5	1.1	3.2	4.5	9.3	.485	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	2.5	.762
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rik Smits	5	17.6	9.8	0.8	2.8	3.6	0.4	0.2	1.4	1.0	4.6	4.2	7.4	.568	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.6	.875

Season 4
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1973-74	1991-92
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers 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
Rik Smits	74	23.9	13.8	1.7	4.0	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.4	1.8	3.1	5.9	11.6	.510	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	2.6	.788
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
Rik Smits	3	9.3	3.3	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.3	1.3	3.7	.364	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000

Season 5
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1974-75	1992-93
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers 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	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
Rik Smits	81	25.6	14.3	1.6	3.8	5.3	1.5	0.3	0.9	1.8	3.5	6.1	12.6	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.732
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
Rik Smits	4	35.8	22.5	3.3	4.8	8.0	1.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	4.5	9.3	16.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.0	5.5	.727

Season 7
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1976-77	1994-95
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Rik Smits	78	30.5	17.9	2.5	5.2	7.7	1.4	0.5	1.0	2.4	3.6	7.2	13.6	.526	0.0	0.0	.000	3.6	4.8	.753
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
Rik Smits	17	32.1	20.1	1.9	5.1	7.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	2.0	4.3	7.5	13.6	.547	0.1	0.1	1.000	5.1	6.3	.804

Season 8
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1977-78	1995-96
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers 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
Rik Smits	63	30.2	18.5	1.9	5.0	6.9	1.7	0.3	0.7	2.5	3.6	7.4	14.2	.521	0.0	0.1	.200	3.7	4.7	.788
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rik Smits	5	33.2	19.0	2.6	4.8	7.4	1.6	0.4	0.4	2.8	4.0	8.4	15.4	.545	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	2.8	.786

Season 9
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1978-79	1996-97
Team	Detroit Pistons	Indiana Pacers
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	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
Rik Smits	52	29.2	17.1	2.0	4.9	6.9	1.3	0.4	1.1	2.4	3.4	6.8	14.1	.486	0.0	0.2	.250	3.3	4.2	.797
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1979-80	1997-98
Team	Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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	33.8	19.2	2.4	6.3	8.8	2.9	1.2	1.4	2.6	3.2	7.4	13.8	.537	0.0	0.1	.167	4.4	5.6	.782
Rik Smits	73	28.6	16.7	1.7	5.2	6.9	1.4	0.5	1.2	1.8	3.3	7.0	14.2	.495	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.3	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Lanier	7	36.6	19.3	2.4	6.9	9.3	4.4	1.0	1.1	2.4	3.3	7.4	14.4	.515	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	6.0	.738
Rik Smits	16	29.8	16.6	1.1	4.3	5.3	1.3	0.5	0.9	1.3	4.2	6.6	13.1	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	4.0	.859

Season 12
	Bob Lanier	Rik Smits
Season	1981-82	1999-00
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	Pacers Lost NBA Finals

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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
Rik Smits	79	23.4	12.9	1.2	3.9	5.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	1.4	3.2	5.5	11.3	.484	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.7	.739
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
Rik Smits	22	20.9	11.0	1.1	2.5	3.5	1.0	0.5	0.9	1.2	3.8	4.7	9.4	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	1.6	1.8	.875