Dan Issel vs. Ja Morant Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ja Morant and Dan Issel, 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

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.

Dan Issel played 9 years in the NBA, 4 more than Ja Morant, who played 5. Dan Issel had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Ja Morant 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 achivements, 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
Dan Issel 9 7 1976-77 to 1984-85
Ja Morant 5 3 2019-20 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1976-772019-20
Team Denver NuggetsMemphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 79 31.7 22.3 2.7 6.1 8.8 2.2 1.2 0.4 - 3.1 8.4 16.2 .515 - - - 5.6 7.1 .797
Ja Morant 67 31.0 17.8 0.8 3.1 3.9 7.3 0.9 0.3 3.3 1.6 6.7 14.0 .477 0.9 2.7 .335 3.6 4.6 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 6 37.0 22.0 3.0 6.7 9.7 2.8 0.8 0.7 - 3.3 8.2 16.0 .510 - - - 5.7 7.5 .756
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1977-782020-21
Team Denver NuggetsMemphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsGrizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 82 34.8 21.3 3.1 7.0 10.1 3.7 1.2 0.5 3.2 3.4 8.0 15.7 .512 - - - 5.2 6.7 .782
Ja Morant 63 32.6 19.1 0.9 3.1 4.0 7.4 0.9 0.2 3.2 1.4 6.8 15.2 .449 1.2 3.8 .303 4.3 5.9 .728
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 13 35.4 20.2 3.2 7.2 10.3 4.1 0.5 0.2 3.0 3.3 7.9 16.3 .486 - - - 4.3 5.0 .862
Ja Morant 5 40.6 30.2 1.4 3.4 4.8 8.2 0.4 0.0 3.4 1.8 11.0 22.6 .487 2.0 6.2 .323 6.2 8.0 .775

Season 3

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1978-792021-22
Team Denver NuggetsMemphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement Most Improved Player
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdGrizzlies Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 81 33.9 17.0 3.0 6.1 9.1 3.1 0.8 0.6 2.1 2.9 6.6 12.7 .517 - - - 3.9 5.2 .754
Ja Morant 57 33.1 27.4 1.4 4.4 5.7 6.7 1.2 0.4 3.4 1.5 10.2 20.6 .493 1.5 4.5 .344 5.5 7.3 .761
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 3 36.3 24.3 2.3 7.0 9.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.0 5.0 8.0 15.0 .533 - - - 8.3 10.3 .806
Ja Morant 9 37.6 27.1 1.4 6.6 8.0 9.8 2.0 0.4 3.6 2.4 9.0 20.4 .440 1.9 5.6 .340 7.2 9.7 .747

Season 4

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1979-802022-23
Team Denver NuggetsMemphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayGrizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 82 35.8 23.8 2.9 5.9 8.8 2.4 1.1 0.7 2.0 2.3 8.7 17.3 .505 0.0 0.1 .333 6.3 8.1 .775
Ja Morant 61 31.9 26.2 1.0 4.9 5.9 8.1 1.1 0.3 3.4 1.6 9.3 19.9 .466 1.5 4.9 .307 6.1 8.1 .748
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel ------- --- ----------
Ja Morant 5 37.4 24.6 1.6 5.2 6.8 7.0 1.8 0.2 3.4 2.4 9.0 21.2 .425 2.6 6.2 .419 4.0 5.2 .769

Season 5

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1980-812023-24
Team Denver NuggetsMemphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 80 33.0 21.9 2.9 5.6 8.5 2.0 1.0 0.7 1.6 3.1 7.7 15.3 .503 0.0 0.2 .167 6.5 8.6 .759
Ja Morant 9 35.3 25.1 0.7 4.9 5.6 8.1 0.8 0.6 3.0 2.1 8.9 18.9 .471 1.6 5.7 .275 5.8 7.1 .813
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel ------- --- ----------
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1981-82-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 81 30.5 22.9 2.1 5.4 7.5 2.2 0.8 0.7 2.1 3.0 8.0 15.3 .527 0.0 0.1 .667 6.7 8.1 .834
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 3 34.3 25.3 2.7 4.3 7.0 1.7 1.0 0.3 2.3 3.3 10.7 20.0 .533 0.0 0.0 - 4.0 4.0 1.000
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1982-83-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 80 30.4 21.6 1.9 5.6 7.5 2.8 1.0 0.5 2.2 2.8 8.3 16.2 .510 0.1 0.2 .211 5.0 6.0 .835
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 8 28.4 20.4 1.6 5.6 7.3 3.1 1.1 0.6 1.3 2.3 8.6 17.0 .507 0.0 0.1 .000 3.1 3.6 .862
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1983-84-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 76 27.3 19.8 1.5 5.3 6.8 2.3 0.8 0.6 1.6 2.4 7.5 15.2 .493 0.1 0.3 .211 4.8 5.6 .850
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 5 30.6 27.4 2.0 6.0 8.0 1.6 1.2 1.2 3.0 3.0 10.4 20.4 .510 0.2 0.4 .500 6.4 7.8 .821
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Dan Issel Ja Morant
Season 1984-85-
Team Denver Nuggets-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 77 21.9 12.8 1.0 3.3 4.3 1.8 0.8 0.4 1.2 2.2 4.7 10.3 .459 0.0 0.1 .143 3.3 4.1 .806
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dan Issel 15 21.7 12.4 0.9 2.7 3.6 1.8 0.8 0.3 0.9 2.4 4.9 10.6 .459 0.1 0.1 1.000 2.6 3.2 .813
Ja Morant ------- --- ----------