Charles Barkley vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Charles Barkley, 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.

Charles Barkley played 16 years in the NBA, 9 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Charles Barkley had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1984-85	1995-96
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Charles Barkley	82	28.6	14.0	3.2	5.3	8.6	1.9	1.2	1.0	2.5	3.7	5.2	9.5	.545	0.0	0.1	.167	3.6	4.9	.733
difference:	+9	+4.8	+0.5	+1.2	+0.7	+0.5	+0.1	+0.3	+0.1	-0.4	-0.8	+0.2	+0.4		+0.5	+1.3	+.208	+0.4	+0.7	+.024
Arvydas Sabonis	73	23.8	14.5	2.0	6.0	8.1	1.8	0.9	1.1	2.1	2.9	5.4	9.9	.545	0.5	1.4	.375	3.2	4.2	.757
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	13	31.4	14.9	4.0	7.1	11.1	2.0	1.8	1.2	2.7	3.8	5.8	10.7	.540	0.3	0.5	.667	3.1	4.8	.635
difference:	+8	+4.0	+8.7	+1.6	+0.7	+0.9	+0.2	+1.0	+0.6	-0.7	-0.4	+1.2	+5.5	+.108	+0.7	+1.3	+.111	+5.5	+7.2	+.082
Arvydas Sabonis	5	35.4	23.6	2.4	7.8	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.4	7.0	16.2	.432	1.0	1.8	.556	8.6	12.0	.717

Season 2
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1985-86	1996-97
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Charles Barkley	80	36.9	20.0	4.4	8.4	12.8	3.9	2.2	1.6	4.4	4.2	7.4	13.0	.572	0.2	0.9	.227	5.0	7.2	.685
difference:	+11	+11.4	+6.6	+2.7	+2.1	+4.9	+1.8	+1.3	+0.4	-2.2	-1.3	+2.6	+3.5	+.074	+0.5	+1.0	+.144	+1.8	+3.0	+.092
Arvydas Sabonis	69	25.5	13.4	1.7	6.3	7.9	2.1	0.9	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.8	9.5	.498	0.7	1.9	.371	3.2	4.2	.777
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	12	41.4	25.0	5.0	10.8	15.8	5.6	2.3	1.3	5.4	4.3	8.7	15.0	.578	0.1	1.3	.067	7.6	10.9	.695
difference:	+8	+14.6	+13.7	+3.0	+6.3	+9.3	+3.3	+1.5	+0.5	-3.1	-0.5	+4.2	+4.5	+.149	+0.4	+0.7	+.183	+5.8	+8.9	+.180
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	11.3	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.3	0.8	0.8	2.3	4.8	4.5	10.5	.429	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.0	.875

Season 3
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1986-87	1997-98
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Charles Barkley	68	40.3	23.0	5.7	8.9	14.6	4.9	1.8	1.5	4.7	3.7	8.2	13.8	.594	0.3	1.5	.202	6.3	8.3	.761
difference:	+5	+8.3	+7.0	+3.7	+1.0	+4.6	+1.9	+0.9	+0.4	-2.1		+2.6	+2.5	+.101	+0.1	+0.1	+.059	+1.9	+2.8	+.037
Arvydas Sabonis	73	32.0	16.0	2.0	7.9	10.0	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.6	3.7	5.6	11.3	.493	0.4	1.6	.261	4.4	5.5	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	5	42.0	24.6	5.4	7.2	12.6	2.4	0.8	1.6	4.4	4.2	8.6	15.0	.573	0.2	1.6	.125	7.2	9.0	.800
difference:	+1	+15.2	+12.3	+3.6	+1.2	+4.8	+0.9	+1.0	+0.8	-1.9	-0.6	+4.1	+5.0	+.123	+0.1	+1.1	+.375	+4.2	+5.5	+.057
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	12.3	1.8	6.0	7.8	1.5	1.8	0.8	2.5	4.8	4.5	10.0	.450	0.3	0.5	.500	3.0	3.5	.857

Season 4
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1987-88	1998-99
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Charles Barkley	80	39.6	28.3	4.8	7.1	11.9	3.2	1.3	1.3	3.8	3.5	9.4	16.0	.587	0.6	2.0	.280	8.9	11.9	.751
difference:	+30	+12.6	+16.2	+3.0	+1.0	+4.0	+0.8	+0.6		-2.1	-0.6	+4.8	+6.4	+.102	+0.5	+1.5	+.012	+6.2	+8.4	+.020
Arvydas Sabonis	50	27.0	12.1	1.8	6.1	7.9	2.4	0.7	1.3	1.7	2.9	4.6	9.6	.485	0.1	0.5	.292	2.7	3.5	.771
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	13	30.1	10.0	0.9	7.8	8.8	2.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	2.7	3.5	8.7	.398	0.1	0.4	.200	3.0	3.3	.907

Season 5
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1988-89	1999-00
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers 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		%
Charles Barkley	79	39.1	25.8	5.1	7.4	12.5	4.1	1.6	0.8	3.2	3.3	8.9	15.3	.579	0.4	2.1	.216	7.6	10.1	.753
difference:	+13	+13.5	+14.0	+3.6	+1.1	+4.7	+2.3	+0.9	+0.4	-1.7	-0.5	+4.3	+6.2	+.074	+0.3	+1.8	+.152	+5.1	+7.1	+.090
Arvydas Sabonis	66	25.6	11.8	1.5	6.3	7.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.8	4.6	9.1	.505	0.1	0.3	.368	2.5	3.0	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	3	45.0	27.0	2.7	9.0	11.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	3.7	3.0	9.7	15.0	.644	0.3	1.7	.200	7.3	10.3	.710
difference:	+13	+14.2	+15.7	+1.5	+3.5	+5.0	+3.4	+0.8	+0.1	-2.1	-0.7	+5.4	+5.6	+.191	+0.1	+0.4	+.086	+4.9	+7.2	+.086
Arvydas Sabonis	16	30.8	11.3	1.2	5.5	6.7	1.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	3.7	4.3	9.4	.453	0.4	1.3	.286	2.4	3.1	.796

Season 6
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1989-90	2000-01
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Charles Barkley	79	39.1	25.2	4.6	6.9	11.5	3.9	1.9	0.6	3.1	3.2	8.9	14.9	.600	0.3	1.2	.217	7.1	9.4	.749
difference:	+18	+17.8	+15.1	+3.8	+2.3	+6.1	+2.4	+1.2	+0.4	-1.7	-1.0	+4.9	+6.4	+.121	+0.3	+1.0	+.150	+5.1	+6.8	+.027
Arvydas Sabonis	61	21.3	10.1	0.8	4.6	5.4	1.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.2	4.0	8.5	.479	0.0	0.2	.067	2.0	2.6	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	10	41.9	24.7	6.6	8.9	15.5	4.3	0.8	0.7	3.0	3.6	8.8	16.2	.543	0.6	1.8	.333	6.5	10.8	.602
difference:	+7	+6.9	+13.4	+3.9	+3.2	+7.2	+1.6	+0.5	+1.6	-2.3	-0.4	+4.1	+6.5	+.060	+0.6	+1.1	+.333	+4.5	+8.1	+.148
Arvydas Sabonis	3	35.0	11.3	2.7	5.7	8.3	2.7	0.3	2.3	0.7	4.0	4.7	9.7	.483	0.0	0.7	.000	2.0	2.7	.750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7
	Charles Barkley	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1990-91	2002-03
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers 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		%
Charles Barkley	67	37.3	27.6	3.9	6.3	10.1	4.2	1.6	0.5	3.1	2.6	9.9	17.4	.570	0.7	2.3	.284	7.1	9.8	.722
difference:	+11	+21.8	+21.5	+2.8	+3.1	+5.8	+2.4	+0.8	+0.1	-2.1	-0.8	+7.7	+12.8	+.094	+0.7	+2.2	+.216	+5.4	+7.7	+.065
Arvydas Sabonis	78	15.5	6.1	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.2	4.6	.476	0.0	0.1	.500	1.7	2.1	.787
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Charles Barkley	8	40.8	24.9	3.9	6.6	10.5	6.0	1.9	0.4	3.1	2.9	9.3	15.6	.592	0.3	2.5	.100	6.1	9.4	.653
difference:	+2	+26.3	+14.9	+2.9	+3.6	+6.5	+5.2	+1.2	+0.3	-2.1	-0.6	+5.3	+9.6	+.075	+0.3	+2.5		+4.1	+6.9	+.147
Arvydas Sabonis	6	14.5	10.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.3	4.0	6.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800

Additional Years
* Charles Barkley played 9 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 16, from 1992 to 2000—Charles Barkley played in 7 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Arvydas Sabonis, Charles Barkley got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 6 All-Star Game