Bob Pettit vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Bob Pettit, 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 Pettit played 11 years in the NBA, 4 more than Ben Simmons, who played 7. Bob Pettit had the first of his seasons in 1954-55, while Ben Simmons 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.

Rookie Season
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1954-55	2017-18
Team	Milwaukee Hawks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
difference:	+9	+3.2	+4.6			+5.7	+5.0				-1.0	+0.5	+5.5	+.138				+3.5	+3.7	+.191
Ben Simmons	81	33.7	15.8	1.8	6.3	8.1	8.2	1.7	0.9	3.4	2.6	6.7	12.3	.545	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	4.2	.560
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Simmons	10	36.9	16.3	1.6	7.8	9.4	7.7	1.7	0.8	4.4	3.4	6.1	12.5	.488	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.8	.707

Season 2
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1955-56	2018-19
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
difference:	+7	+4.6	+8.8			+7.4	+5.1				-0.2	+2.2	+8.7	+.134				+4.4	+5.1	+.136
Ben Simmons	79	34.2	16.9	2.2	6.6	8.8	7.7	1.4	0.8	3.5	2.6	6.8	12.2	.563	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.4	.600
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843
difference:	+4	+0.8	+5.2			+3.5	+3.7				-1.3	+0.1	+6.3	+.254				+5.5	+5.5	+.268
Ben Simmons	12	35.1	13.9	1.9	5.1	7.0	6.0	1.3	1.0	2.7	3.8	6.0	9.7	.621	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.3	.575

Season 3
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1956-57	2019-20
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
difference:	+14	+0.3	+8.3			+6.8	+6.1				-0.8	+2.0	+9.4	+.165				+4.3	+4.4	+.152
Ben Simmons	57	35.4	16.4	2.0	5.8	7.8	8.0	2.1	0.6	3.5	3.3	6.6	11.4	.580	0.0	0.1	.286	3.2	5.2	.621
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1957-58	2020-21
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf 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		%
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
difference:	+12	+3.7	+10.3			+10.2	+4.7				-0.3	+2.7	+10.2	+.147				+5.0	+5.7	+.136
Ben Simmons	58	32.4	14.3	1.6	5.6	7.2	6.9	1.6	0.6	3.0	2.9	5.6	10.1	.557	0.1	0.2	.300	3.0	4.9	.613
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729
difference:	+1	+5.6	+12.3			+8.6	+7.0				-0.5	+3.3	+13.0	+.230				+5.7	+4.6	+.387
Ben Simmons	12	33.5	11.9	2.1	5.8	7.9	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.3	3.3	4.9	7.9	.621	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	6.1	.342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 5
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1958-59	2022-23
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost West Div Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
difference:	+30	+13.6	+22.3			+10.1	+3.0				-0.5	+6.8	+17.2	+.128				+8.7	+10.8	+.320
Ben Simmons	42	26.3	6.9	1.0	5.3	6.3	6.1	1.3	0.6	2.3	3.3	3.2	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.4	.439
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1959-60	2023-24
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
difference:	+57	+16.3	+20.0			+9.1	+2.1				-0.4	+6.4	+16.3	+.143				+7.2	+9.0	+.353
Ben Simmons	15	23.9	6.1	2.1	5.9	7.9	5.7	0.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.9	4.9	.581	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.0	.400
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Bob Pettit	Ben Simmons
Season	1960-61	2024-25
Team	St. Louis Hawks	Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hawks Lost NBA Finals	Clippers Lost West 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		%
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
difference:	+25	+17.8	+22.9			+15.6	+2.2				-0.8	+7.8	+18.2	+.073				+7.2	+10.0	+.003
Ben Simmons	51	22.0	5.0	0.9	3.8	4.7	5.6	0.7	0.5	2.0	2.1	2.3	4.4	.520	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.727
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757
difference:	+7	+35.4	+27.8			+16.2	+2.4				-1.3	+9.4	+22.5	+.079				+9.1	+12.0
Ben Simmons	5	8.4	0.8	0.6	0.8	1.4	0.8	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.2	0.4	1.2	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years
* Bob Pettit played 4 seasons more than Ben Simmons in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 11, from 1962 to 1965—Bob Pettit played in 3 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Ben Simmons, Bob Pettit got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP