Buddy Hield vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Buddy Hield, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Buddy Hield played 10 years in the NBA, 1 less than Nikola Jokic, who played 11. Buddy Hield had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Nikola Jokic had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
Buddy Hield	10	2	2016-17 to 2025-26
Nikola Jokic	11	7	2015-16 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2016-17	2015-16
Team	New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Buddy Hield	82	23.0	10.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	1.5	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.4	4.0	9.4	.426	1.8	4.6	.391	0.8	0.9	.842
difference:	+2	+1.3	+0.6	+1.9	+1.8	+3.7	+0.9	+0.5	+0.5	-0.1	-1.2	+0.2	+1.9	+.086	+1.4	+3.5	+.058	+1.1	+1.5	+.031
Nikola Jokic	80	21.7	10.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	2.4	1.0	0.6	1.3	2.6	3.8	7.5	.512	0.4	1.1	.333	1.9	2.4	.811

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Buddy Hield nor Nikola Jokic played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2017-18	2016-17
Team	Sacramento Kings	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Buddy Hield	80	25.3	13.5	0.7	3.2	3.8	1.9	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.9	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.1	.431	0.9	1.0	.877
difference:	+7	+2.6	+3.2	+2.2	+3.7	+6.0	+3.0	+0.3	+0.5	-0.7	-1.0	+1.6		+.132	+1.6	+3.2	+.107	+1.7	+2.1	+.052
Nikola Jokic	73	27.9	16.7	2.9	6.9	9.8	4.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	2.9	6.8	11.7	.578	0.6	1.9	.324	2.6	3.1	.825

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Buddy Hield nor Nikola Jokic played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2018-19	2017-18
Team	Sacramento Kings	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Buddy Hield	82	31.9	20.7	1.3	3.7	5.0	2.5	0.7	0.4	1.8	2.5	7.6	16.6	.458	3.4	7.9	.427	2.1	2.4	.886
difference:	+7	+0.7	+2.2	+1.3	+4.4	+5.7	+3.6	+0.5	+0.4	-1.0	-0.3	+0.9	+3.1	+.041	+1.9	+4.2	+.031	+1.4	+1.8	+.036
Nikola Jokic	75	32.6	18.5	2.6	8.1	10.7	6.1	1.2	0.8	2.8	2.8	6.7	13.5	.499	1.5	3.7	.396	3.5	4.2	.850

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Buddy Hield nor Nikola Jokic played in the postseason in their season 3


Season 4
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2019-20	2018-19
Team	Sacramento Kings	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Buddy Hield	72	30.8	19.2	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.0	0.9	0.2	2.3	2.3	6.9	16.1	.429	3.8	9.6	.394	1.6	1.9	.846
difference:	+8	+0.5	+0.9	+2.1	+4.2	+6.2	+4.3	+0.5	+0.5	-0.8	-0.6	+0.8	+1.0	+.082	+2.8	+6.2	+.087	+2.0	+2.5	+.025
Nikola Jokic	80	31.3	20.1	2.9	8.0	10.8	7.3	1.4	0.7	3.1	2.9	7.7	15.1	.511	1.0	3.4	.307	3.6	4.4	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	14	39.8	25.1	3.9	9.1	13.0	8.4	1.1	0.9	2.6	3.9	9.4	18.6	.506	1.6	4.0	.393	4.7	5.6	.846


Season 5
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2020-21	2019-20
Team	Sacramento Kings	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf 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		%
Buddy Hield	71	34.3	16.6	0.4	4.3	4.7	3.6	0.9	0.4	1.8	2.5	5.7	14.0	.406	4.0	10.2	.391	1.2	1.5	.846
difference:	+2	+2.3	+3.3	+1.9	+3.2	+5.0	+3.4	+0.3	+0.2	-1.3	-0.5	+2.0	+0.7	+.122	+2.9	+6.7	+.077	+2.2	+2.6	+.029
Nikola Jokic	73	32.0	19.9	2.3	7.5	9.7	7.0	1.2	0.6	3.1	3.0	7.7	14.7	.528	1.1	3.5	.314	3.4	4.1	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	19	36.5	24.4	1.9	7.9	9.8	5.7	1.1	0.8	3.3	3.6	9.4	18.1	.519	2.2	5.2	.429	3.5	4.2	.835


Season 6
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2021-22	2020-21
Team	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Buddy Hield	81	30.9	15.6	0.8	3.5	4.4	2.8	0.9	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.5	13.6	.406	3.2	8.8	.366	1.4	1.6	.874
difference:	+9	+3.7	+10.8	+2.0	+4.5	+6.4	+5.5	+0.4	+0.4	-1.2	-0.4	+4.7	+4.4	+.160	+1.9	+5.5	+.022	+3.4	+3.9	+.006
Nikola Jokic	72	34.6	26.4	2.8	8.0	10.8	8.3	1.3	0.7	3.1	2.7	10.2	18.0	.566	1.3	3.3	.388	4.8	5.5	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	10	34.5	29.8	3.7	7.9	11.6	5.0	0.6	0.9	2.4	2.3	11.6	22.8	.509	2.0	5.3	.377	4.6	5.5	.836


Season 7
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2022-23	2021-22
Team	Indiana Pacers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets 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		%
Buddy Hield	80	31.0	16.8	0.8	4.2	5.0	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.7	2.0	5.9	13.0	.458	3.6	8.5	.425	1.3	1.6	.822
difference:	+6	+2.5	+10.3	+2.0	+6.8	+8.8	+5.1	+0.3	+0.6	-2.1	-0.6	+4.4	+4.7	+.125	+2.3	+4.6	+.088	+3.8	+4.7	+.012
Nikola Jokic	74	33.5	27.1	2.8	11.0	13.8	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.8	2.6	10.3	17.7	.583	1.3	3.9	.337	5.1	6.3	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	5	34.2	31.0	3.4	9.8	13.2	5.8	1.6	1.0	4.8	4.0	12.2	21.2	.575	1.0	3.6	.278	5.6	6.6	.848


Season 8
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2023-24	2022-23
Team	Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Buddy Hield	84	25.7	12.1	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.8	0.8	0.5	1.2	2.0	4.4	10.1	.436	2.6	6.8	.386	0.6	0.7	.881
difference:	+15	+8.0	+12.4	+1.7	+6.9	+8.6	+7.0	+0.5	+0.2	-2.4	-0.5	+5.0	+4.7	+.196	+1.8	+4.6	+.003	+4.3	+5.3	+.059
Nikola Jokic	69	33.7	24.5	2.4	9.4	11.8	9.8	1.3	0.7	3.6	2.5	9.4	14.8	.632	0.8	2.2	.383	4.9	6.0	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.5	1.0	1.8	4.3	.412	1.5	3.3	.462	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+16	+26.7	+24.5	+3.0	+9.2	+12.2	+9.0	+1.1	+0.7	-3.0	-2.5	+9.6	+16.4	+.136	+0.3	+0.5	+.001	+5.1	+6.5	+.201
Nikola Jokic	20	39.5	30.0	3.5	10.0	13.5	9.5	1.1	1.0	3.5	3.5	11.4	20.7	.548	1.8	3.8	.461	5.6	7.0	.799


Season 9
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2024-25	2023-24
Team	Golden State Warriors	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Buddy Hield	82	22.7	11.1	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.6	0.8	0.3	1.1	1.6	4.0	9.6	.417	2.5	6.7	.370	0.6	0.8	.828
difference:	+3	+11.9	+15.3	+2.2	+6.9	+9.2	+7.4	+0.6	+0.6	-1.9	-0.9	+6.4	+8.3	+.166	+1.4	+3.8	+.011	+3.9	+4.7	+.011
Nikola Jokic	79	34.6	26.4	2.8	9.5	12.4	9.0	1.4	0.9	3.0	2.5	10.4	17.9	.583	1.1	2.9	.359	4.5	5.5	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	12	27.3	12.5	1.5	2.0	3.5	1.8	1.2	0.4	1.1	2.0	4.3	10.4	.416	2.8	6.4	.429	1.1	1.2	.929
difference:		+12.9	+16.2	+2.1	+7.8	+9.9	+6.9	+0.2	+0.3	-2.2	-0.7	+6.8	+9.9	+.129	+1.6	+2.0	+.165	+4.2	+4.7	+.028
Nikola Jokic	12	40.2	28.7	3.6	9.8	13.4	8.7	1.4	0.7	3.3	2.7	11.1	20.3	.545	1.2	4.4	.264	5.3	5.9	.901


Season 10
	Buddy Hield	Nikola Jokic
Season	2025-26	2024-25
Team	Golden State Warriors	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Buddy Hield	8	17.3	7.5	0.4	1.1	1.5	1.6	0.6	0.0	0.9	1.0	2.8	6.5	.423	1.5	4.6	.324	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+62	+19.4	+22.1	+2.5	+8.8	+11.2	+8.6	+1.2	+0.6	-2.4	-1.3	+8.4	+13.0	+.153	+0.5	+0.1	+.093	+4.7	+5.9	+.200
Nikola Jokic	70	36.7	29.6	2.9	9.9	12.7	10.2	1.8	0.6	3.3	2.3	11.2	19.5	.576	2.0	4.7	.417	5.2	6.4	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nikola Jokic	14	40.2	26.2	2.1	10.6	12.7	8.0	2.0	0.9	3.9	3.4	9.4	19.1	.489	1.9	5.1	.380	5.6	7.2	.772

Additional Years

* Nikola Jokic played 1 season more than Buddy Hield in the NBA.

In that period—his season 11 in 2026—Nikola Jokic didn't play in the postseason.

Buddy Hield vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Buddy Hield, 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

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years