Clyde Drexler vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson and Clyde Drexler, 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings

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.

Clyde Drexler played 15 years in the NBA, 10 more than Zion Williamson, who played 5. Clyde Drexler had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, while Zion Williamson had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Clyde Drexler 15 15 1983-84 to 1997-98
Zion Williamson 5 0 2019-20 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season
Clyde Drexler Zion Williamson
Season 1983-842019-20
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 82 17.2 7.7 1.4 1.5 2.9 1.9 1.3 0.4 1.5 2.5 3.1 6.8 .451 0.0 0.0 - 1.5 2.1 .728
difference:+58+10.6+14.8+1.3+2.1+3.4+0.2+0.6-1.0-0.7+5.7+8.2+.132+0.3+0.6+3.3+5.3+.088
Zion Williamson 24 27.8 22.5 2.7 3.6 6.3 2.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 1.8 8.8 15.0 .583 0.3 0.6 .429 4.8 7.4 .640
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 5 17.0 7.2 1.4 2.0 3.4 1.6 1.0 0.2 1.4 2.2 3.0 7.0 .429 0.0 0.2 .000 1.2 1.4 .857
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Clyde Drexler Zion Williamson
Season 1984-852020-21
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 80 31.9 17.2 2.7 3.2 6.0 5.5 2.2 0.9 2.8 3.3 7.2 14.5 .494 0.1 0.5 .216 2.8 3.7 .759
difference:+19+1.3+9.8+1.3+1.2+1.8+1.3+0.3-0.1-1.1+3.2+2.5+.117+0.1+0.1+.078+3.2+5.0+.061
Zion Williamson 61 33.2 27.0 2.7 4.5 7.2 3.7 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.2 10.4 17.0 .611 0.2 0.6 .294 6.0 8.7 .698
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 9 37.7 16.7 3.0 3.1 6.1 9.2 2.6 1.0 3.2 4.1 6.1 14.9 .410 0.2 0.8 .286 4.2 5.0 .844
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 3
Clyde Drexler Zion Williamson
Season 1985-862022-23
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 75 34.3 18.5 2.3 3.3 5.6 8.0 2.6 0.6 3.8 3.6 7.2 15.2 .475 0.2 0.8 .200 3.9 5.1 .769
difference:+46+1.3+7.5+0.3+1.7+1.4+3.4+1.5-0.4-1.4+2.6+1.0+.133+0.1+.168+2.2+3.5+.055
Zion Williamson 29 33.0 26.0 2.0 5.0 7.0 4.6 1.1 0.6 3.4 2.2 9.8 16.2 .608 0.2 0.7 .368 6.1 8.6 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 4 36.3 18.0 2.3 4.0 6.3 6.5 1.5 0.8 4.8 4.8 6.5 14.3 .456 0.5 1.3 .400 4.5 5.8 .783
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Clyde Drexler Zion Williamson
Season 1986-872023-24
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 82 38.0 21.7 2.8 3.5 6.3 6.9 2.5 0.9 3.1 3.4 8.6 17.2 .502 0.1 0.6 .234 4.4 5.7 .760
difference:+12+6.5+1.2+1.1+0.6+0.5+1.9+1.4+0.2-0.3-1.1+0.3+1.6+.068+0.3+.099+0.6+1.4+.058
Zion Williamson 70 31.5 22.9 1.7 4.1 5.8 5.0 1.1 0.7 2.8 2.3 8.9 15.6 .570 0.1 0.3 .333 5.0 7.1 .702
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 4 38.3 24.0 4.0 3.5 7.5 3.8 1.8 0.8 1.5 4.0 9.0 19.8 .456 0.3 1.0 .250 5.8 7.3 .793
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Clyde Drexler Zion Williamson
Season 1987-882024-25
Team Portland Trail BlazersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 81 37.8 27.0 3.2 3.4 6.6 5.8 2.5 0.6 2.9 3.1 10.5 20.7 .506 0.1 0.6 .212 5.9 7.2 .811
difference:+51+9.2+2.4+0.7+1.3+0.6+0.5+1.3+0.3-0.1-0.4+0.9+3.8+.061+0.2+.019+0.6+0.8+.155
Zion Williamson 30 28.6 24.6 2.5 4.7 7.2 5.3 1.2 0.9 3.0 2.7 9.6 16.9 .567 0.1 0.4 .231 5.3 8.0 .656
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Clyde Drexler 4 42.5 22.0 3.0 4.0 7.0 5.3 3.0 0.5 3.0 3.5 8.0 20.8 .386 0.8 1.5 .500 5.3 7.3 .724
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Clyde Drexler played 10 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 15, from 1989 to 1998—Clyde Drexler played in 10 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 10 extra years over Zion Williamson, Clyde Drexler got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 8 All-Star Game
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