Damian Lillard vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / 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.

Damian Lillard played 13 years in the NBA, 1 more than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. Damian Lillard had the first of his seasons in 2012-13, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Damian Lillard 13 10 2012-13 to 2024-25
Ricky Rubio 12 3 2011-12 to 2022-23

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Rookie Season

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2012-132011-12
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid 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%
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:+41+4.4+8.4+1.1+1.1+1.7+1.3-0.2-0.3+3.3+6.2+.072+1.5+3.8+.028+0.2+0.1+.041
Ricky Rubio 41 34.2 10.6 0.5 3.7 4.2 8.2 2.2 0.2 3.2 2.4 3.4 9.5 .357 0.8 2.3 .340 3.1 3.8 .803
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Damian Lillard nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2013-142012-13
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
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%
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:+25+6.1+10.0+0.4+0.1+0.5+1.7+1.6+0.2-0.6-0.1+3.5+6.9+.064+2.2+5.2+.101+0.8+0.6+.072
Ricky Rubio 57 29.7 10.7 0.8 3.2 4.0 7.3 2.4 0.1 3.0 2.5 3.2 9.0 .360 0.5 1.6 .293 3.7 4.6 .799
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2014-152013-14
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement 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%
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:+3.5+11.5+0.1+0.6+0.4+2.4+1.1+0.2-0.7+4.1+8.4+.053+1.9+5.4+.012+1.4+1.4+.062
Ricky Rubio 82 32.2 9.5 0.7 3.4 4.2 8.6 2.3 0.1 2.7 2.7 3.1 8.2 .381 0.5 1.6 .331 2.8 3.5 .802
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2015-162014-15
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf SemisDid 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%
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:+53+4.2+14.8+0.3+1.4+1.7+2.0+0.8+0.4-0.3-0.5+4.7+9.7+.063+2.5+5.8+.120+2.9+3.0+.089
Ricky Rubio 22 31.5 10.3 0.9 4.8 5.7 8.8 1.7 0.0 2.9 2.7 3.5 10.0 .356 0.6 2.3 .255 2.6 3.2 .803
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2016-172015-16
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
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%
Damian Lillard 75 35.9 27.0 0.6 4.3 4.9 5.9 0.9 0.3 2.6 2.0 8.8 19.8 .444 2.9 7.7 .370 6.5 7.3 .895
difference:+1+5.3+16.9+0.1+0.5+0.6+2.8+1.2+0.2-0.1-0.6+5.9+12.1+.070+2.1+5.2+.044+3.0+3.2+.048
Ricky Rubio 76 30.6 10.1 0.5 3.8 4.3 8.7 2.1 0.1 2.5 2.6 2.9 7.7 .374 0.8 2.5 .326 3.5 4.1 .847
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Damian Lillard 4 37.8 27.8 1.0 3.5 4.5 3.3 1.3 0.5 3.3 2.8 9.8 22.5 .433 2.3 8.0 .281 6.0 6.3 .960
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2017-182016-17
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+3.7+15.8+0.1+0.4+0.4+2.5+0.6+0.3-0.2-1.1+5.0+10.7+.037+2.3+6.0+.055+3.4+3.6+.025
Ricky Rubio 75 32.9 11.1 0.9 3.2 4.1 9.1 1.7 0.1 2.6 2.7 3.5 8.7 .402 0.8 2.6 .306 3.4 3.8 .891
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2018-192017-18
Team Portland Trail BlazersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf FinalsJazz Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3+6.2+12.7+0.3+0.2+1.6+0.5+0.3-0.8+4.0+8.5+.026+1.8+4.5+.017+3.0+3.1+.046
Ricky Rubio 77 29.3 13.1 0.6 4.0 4.6 5.3 1.6 0.1 2.7 2.7 4.5 10.7 .418 1.2 3.5 .352 2.9 3.3 .866
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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+10.4+12.9+0.3+2.2+2.5+0.4+0.4+0.2-0.8-0.3+3.9+7.4+.064+2.0+4.6+.060+2.9+3.3+.050
Ricky Rubio 6 30.2 14.0 0.8 6.5 7.3 7.0 1.3 0.5 3.0 2.2 4.7 13.2 .354 1.7 5.3 .313 3.0 3.8 .783

Season 8

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2019-202018-19
Team Portland Trail BlazersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdJazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+9.6+17.3+0.7+0.7+1.9+0.2+0.2-0.3-0.9+5.2+9.7+.059+2.9+6.5+.090+4.1+4.4+.033
Ricky Rubio 68 27.9 12.7 0.5 3.1 3.6 6.1 1.3 0.1 2.6 2.6 4.3 10.7 .404 1.2 3.7 .311 2.9 3.4 .855
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+1+2.2+8.9+0.3+0.7+0.3+4.3+1.9+0.1-0.5-1.8+0.9+2.8+.018+2.5+4.3+.194+4.6+4.3+.120
Ricky Rubio 5 33.6 15.4 0.6 2.6 3.2 8.6 2.4 0.2 3.0 2.8 5.6 13.2 .424 0.8 4.0 .200 3.4 4.0 .850

Season 9

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2020-212019-20
Team Portland Trail BlazersPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+4.8+15.8+0.2+0.3+0.5+1.3+0.5+0.1-0.3-1.1+4.6+9.3+.036+2.9+7.2+.030+3.7+3.7+.065
Ricky Rubio 65 31.0 13.0 0.7 4.0 4.7 8.8 1.4 0.2 2.7 2.6 4.4 10.6 .415 1.2 3.3 .361 3.0 3.5 .863
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Ricky Rubio DNP------ --- ----------

Season 10

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2021-222020-21
Team Portland Trail BlazersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Damian Lillard 29 36.4 24.0 0.4 3.7 4.1 7.3 0.6 0.4 2.9 1.3 7.7 19.0 .402 3.2 9.8 .324 5.5 6.2 .878
difference:+39+10.3+15.4+0.8+0.8+0.9+0.8+0.3-1.3-0.7+4.9+11.7+.014+2.2+6.7+.016+3.6+4.0+.011
Ricky Rubio 68 26.1 8.6 0.4 2.9 3.3 6.4 1.4 0.1 1.6 2.0 2.8 7.3 .388 1.0 3.1 .308 1.9 2.2 .867
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Damian Lillard nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 10

Season 11

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2022-232021-22
Team Portland Trail BlazersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+24+7.8+19.1+0.4+0.3+0.7+0.7+0.5+0.1-0.7-0.3+5.2+8.6+.100+2.5+6.2+.032+6.2+6.6+.060
Ricky Rubio 34 28.5 13.1 0.4 3.7 4.1 6.6 1.4 0.2 2.6 2.2 4.4 12.1 .363 1.7 5.1 .339 2.6 3.0 .854
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Damian Lillard nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 11

Season 12

Damian Lillard Ricky Rubio
Season 2023-242022-23
Team Milwaukee BucksCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Conf 1st RdCavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Damian Lillard 73 35.3 24.3 0.5 3.9 4.4 7.0 1.0 0.2 2.6 1.8 7.4 17.5 .424 3.0 8.5 .354 6.5 7.0 .920
difference:+40+18.1+19.1+0.2+2.1+2.3+3.5+0.2-1.7-0.3+5.6+12.1+.081+2.4+6.0+.098+5.7+5.9+.120
Ricky Rubio 33 17.2 5.2 0.3 1.8 2.1 3.5 0.8 0.2 0.9 1.5 1.8 5.4 .343 0.6 2.5 .256 0.8 1.1 .800
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Damian Lillard 4 39.0 31.3 0.5 2.8 3.3 5.0 1.0 0.0 2.3 2.0 8.5 20.3 .420 5.0 12.0 .417 9.3 9.5 .974
difference:+1+33.3+31.3+0.2+1.5+1.3+4.0+0.7-0.6-0.3+8.5+20.0+.420+5.0+12.0+9.3+9.5
Ricky Rubio 3 5.7 0.0 0.7 1.3 2.0 1.0 0.3 0.0 1.7 1.7 0.0 0.3 .000 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Additional Years

* Damian Lillard played 1 season more than Ricky Rubio in the NBA.

In that period—his season 13 in 2025—Damian Lillard played in the Playoffs and one NBA Cup.

In that extra year over Ricky Rubio, Damian Lillard got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement 1 All-Star Game