Damian Lillard vs. Jusuf Nurkic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jusuf Nurkic and Damian Lillard, 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.

Damian Lillard played 13 years in the NBA, 2 more than Jusuf Nurkic, who played 11. Damian Lillard had the first of his seasons in 2012-13, while Jusuf Nurkic had his rookie season in 2014-15. 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
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2012-13	2014-15
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second 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		%
Damian Lillard	82	38.6	19.0	0.5	2.6	3.1	6.5	0.9	0.2	3.0	2.1	6.7	15.7	.429	2.3	6.1	.368	3.3	3.9	.844
difference:	+20	+20.8	+12.1	+1.5	+1.5	+3.1	+5.7	+0.1	+0.9	-1.6	-1.2	+3.9	+9.5	+.017	+2.3	+6.1		+1.9	+1.8	+.208
Jusuf Nurkic	62	17.8	6.9	2.0	4.1	6.2	0.8	0.8	1.1	1.4	3.3	2.8	6.2	.446	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.1	.636
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Damian Lillard nor Jusuf Nurkic played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2013-14	2015-16
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Damian Lillard	82	35.8	20.7	0.4	3.1	3.5	5.6	0.8	0.3	2.4	2.4	6.7	15.9	.424	2.7	6.8	.394	4.5	5.2	.871
difference:	+50	+18.7	+12.5	+1.6	+0.3	+2.0	+4.3		+1.1	-0.7	-0.4	+3.5	+8.3	+.007	+2.7	+6.7	+.394	+2.6	+2.1	+.255
Jusuf Nurkic	32	17.1	8.2	2.0	3.4	5.5	1.3	0.8	1.4	1.7	2.8	3.2	7.6	.417	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	3.1	.616
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	11	42.4	22.9	1.1	4.0	5.1	6.5	1.0	0.1	2.7	2.6	7.5	17.2	.439	2.5	6.4	.386	5.4	6.0	.894
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2014-15	2016-17
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Damian Lillard	82	35.7	21.0	0.6	4.0	4.6	6.2	1.2	0.3	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.6	.434	2.4	7.0	.343	4.2	4.9	.864
difference:	+17	+14.3	+10.8	+1.8	+0.8	+2.6	+4.3	+0.4	+0.8	-0.5	-0.5	+3.0	+8.4	+.073	+2.4	+7.0		+2.4	+1.7	+.293
Jusuf Nurkic	65	21.4	10.2	2.4	4.8	7.2	1.9	0.8	1.1	2.2	2.5	4.2	8.2	.507	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.2	.571
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	5	40.2	21.6	0.4	3.6	4.0	4.6	0.4	0.6	2.4	3.0	7.8	19.2	.406	1.0	6.2	.161	5.0	6.4	.781
difference:	+4	+23.2	+19.6	+0.4	+7.4	+7.0	+0.6	+0.4	+0.4	-0.6	-2.0	+6.8	+16.2	+.073	+1.0	+5.2	+.161	+5.0	+6.4
Jusuf Nurkic	1	17.0	2.0	0.0	11.0	11.0	4.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	.333	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Season 4
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2015-16	2017-18
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Damian Lillard	75	35.7	25.1	0.6	3.4	4.0	6.8	0.9	0.4	3.2	2.2	8.2	19.7	.419	3.1	8.1	.375	5.5	6.2	.892
difference:	+4	+9.3	+10.8	+1.8	+3.2	+5.0	+5.0	+0.1	+1.0	-0.9	-0.9	+2.1	+7.7	+.086	+3.1	+8.0	+.375	+3.3	+2.7	+.262
Jusuf Nurkic	79	26.4	14.3	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.8	0.8	1.4	2.3	3.1	6.1	12.0	.505	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	3.5	.630
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	11	39.7	26.5	1.1	3.2	4.3	6.3	1.3	0.3	3.0	2.1	8.1	22.0	.368	3.8	9.7	.393	6.5	7.1	.910
difference:	+7	+16.2	+14.7	+1.9	+1.8	+3.7	+5.3	+0.2	+1.0	-2.2	-1.4	+3.3	+12.2	+.119	+3.8	+9.7		+4.2	+4.3	+.092
Jusuf Nurkic	4	23.5	11.8	3.0	5.0	8.0	1.0	1.5	1.3	0.8	3.5	4.8	9.8	.487	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.818

Season 6
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2017-18	2019-20
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Damian Lillard	73	36.6	26.9	0.8	3.6	4.5	6.6	1.1	0.4	2.8	1.6	8.5	19.4	.439	3.1	8.6	.361	6.8	7.4	.916
difference:	+65	+5.0	+9.3	+2.1	+3.8	+5.8	+2.6	+0.3	+1.6	-0.4	-3.3	+1.7	+5.8	+.056	+2.8	+7.3	+.161	+2.9	+3.0	+.030
Jusuf Nurkic	8	31.6	17.6	2.9	7.4	10.3	4.0	1.4	2.0	2.4	4.9	6.8	13.6	.495	0.3	1.3	.200	3.9	4.4	.886
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	40.5	18.5	0.8	3.8	4.5	4.8	1.3	0.0	4.0	2.0	6.3	17.8	.352	2.3	7.5	.300	3.8	4.3	.882
difference:	+1	+8.3	+4.3	+2.0	+3.8	+5.9	+1.2	+0.1	+0.2	-1.4	-2.2	+1.3	+6.4	+.087	+1.7	+5.3	+.027	+0.2	+0.3	+.099
Jusuf Nurkic	5	32.2	14.2	2.8	7.6	10.4	3.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	4.2	5.0	11.4	.439	0.6	2.2	.273	3.6	4.6	.783

Season 7
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2018-19	2020-21
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Damian Lillard	80	35.5	25.8	0.9	3.8	4.6	6.9	1.1	0.4	2.7	1.9	8.5	19.2	.444	3.0	8.0	.369	5.9	6.4	.912
difference:	+43	+11.7	+14.3	+1.4	+2.8	+4.4	+3.5	+0.1	+0.7	-0.7	-0.9	+3.9	+10.2	+.070	+2.7	+7.2	+.031	+4.0	+3.3	+.293
Jusuf Nurkic	37	23.8	11.5	2.3	6.6	9.0	3.4	1.0	1.1	2.0	2.8	4.6	9.0	.514	0.3	0.8	.400	1.9	3.1	.619
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	16	40.6	26.9	0.5	4.3	4.8	6.6	1.7	0.3	3.8	2.5	8.6	20.6	.418	3.7	9.9	.373	5.9	7.1	.833
difference:	+10	+11.8	+13.7	+2.5	+3.0	+5.5	+3.9	+1.2	+0.9	-1.5	-2.5	+3.6	+11.4	+.127	+3.5	+9.1	+.173	+2.9	+2.9	+.113
Jusuf Nurkic	6	28.8	13.2	3.0	7.3	10.3	2.7	0.5	1.2	2.3	5.0	5.0	9.2	.545	0.2	0.8	.200	3.0	4.2	.720

Season 8
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2019-20	2021-22
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Damian Lillard	66	37.5	30.0	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.0	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.7	9.5	20.4	.463	4.1	10.2	.401	7.0	7.8	.888
difference:	+10	+9.3	+15.0	+2.5	+4.3	+6.8	+5.2		+0.3	-0.3	-1.7	+3.8	+9.7	+.072	+3.8	+9.2	+.133	+3.7	+3.0	+.198
Jusuf Nurkic	56	28.2	15.0	3.0	8.1	11.1	2.8	1.1	0.6	2.6	3.4	5.7	10.7	.535	0.3	1.0	.268	3.3	4.8	.690
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	4	35.8	24.3	0.3	3.3	3.5	4.3	0.5	0.3	3.5	1.0	6.5	16.0	.406	3.3	8.3	.394	8.0	8.3	.970
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2020-21	2022-23
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Damian Lillard	67	35.8	28.8	0.5	3.7	4.2	7.5	0.9	0.3	3.0	1.5	9.0	19.9	.451	4.1	10.5	.391	6.7	7.2	.928
difference:	+15	+9.0	+15.5	+1.7	+3.2	+4.9	+4.6	+0.1	+0.5	-0.7	-2.1	+4.0	+10.2	+.068	+3.3	+8.2	+.030	+4.3	+3.5	+.267
Jusuf Nurkic	52	26.8	13.3	2.2	6.9	9.1	2.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	3.6	5.0	9.7	.519	0.8	2.3	.361	2.4	3.7	.661
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	6	41.3	34.3	0.2	4.2	4.3	10.2	1.0	0.7	2.2	1.5	10.3	22.3	.463	5.8	13.0	.449	7.8	8.3	.940
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Damian Lillard	Jusuf Nurkic
Season	2022-23	2024-25
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Damian Lillard	58	36.3	32.2	0.8	4.0	4.8	7.3	0.9	0.3	3.3	1.9	9.6	20.7	.463	4.2	11.3	.371	8.8	9.6	.914
difference:	+7	+15.5	+23.3	+0.9	+2.1	+3.0	+5.0	+0.1	+0.4	-1.4	-0.6	+6.3	+13.8	+.014	+3.6	+9.2	+.066	+7.1	+7.1	+.250
Jusuf Nurkic	51	20.8	8.9	1.7	6.1	7.8	2.3	0.8	0.7	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.9	.477	0.6	2.1	.305	1.7	2.5	.664
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Damian Lillard nor Jusuf Nurkic played in the postseason in their season 11

Additional Years
* Damian Lillard played 2 seasons more than Jusuf Nurkic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 13, from 2024 to 2025—Damian Lillard played in two Playoffs and one NBA Cup. In those 2 extra years over Jusuf Nurkic, Damian Lillard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Cup All-Tournament Team 2 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP