Dan Issel vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart 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, 1 less than Marcus Smart, who played 10. Dan Issel had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Marcus Smart 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 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
Marcus Smart	10	9	2014-15 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1976-77	2014-15
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Marcus Smart	67	27.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	3.1	1.5	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.6	7.1	.367	1.4	4.1	.335	1.2	1.9	.646

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
Marcus Smart	4	22.5	9.8	1.3	1.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	3.0	3.5	7.3	.483	0.8	3.3	.231	2.0	3.8	.533


Season 2
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1977-78	2015-16
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Marcus Smart	61	27.3	9.1	1.2	2.9	4.2	3.0	1.5	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	8.7	.348	1.0	4.0	.253	2.1	2.7	.777

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
Marcus Smart	6	32.2	12.0	1.3	3.2	4.5	3.0	1.7	0.8	2.5	2.8	3.7	10.0	.367	1.8	5.3	.344	2.8	3.5	.810


Season 3
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1978-79	2016-17
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Marcus Smart	79	30.4	10.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	4.6	1.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.4	9.5	.359	1.2	4.2	.283	2.6	3.2	.812

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
Marcus Smart	18	29.9	8.6	1.3	3.4	4.7	4.7	1.5	0.9	2.1	2.8	2.6	7.4	.351	1.6	4.1	.397	1.8	2.8	.640


Season 4
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1979-80	2017-18
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Marcus Smart	54	29.9	10.2	0.8	2.7	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.4	2.4	2.5	3.5	9.5	.367	1.4	4.6	.301	1.8	2.5	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dan Issel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marcus Smart	15	29.9	9.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	9.5	.336	1.0	4.5	.221	2.4	3.3	.735


Season 5
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1980-81	2018-19
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Marcus Smart	80	27.5	8.9	0.7	2.2	2.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.0	7.1	.422	1.6	4.3	.364	1.3	1.6	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dan Issel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marcus Smart	2	16.0	3.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.5	5.5	.091	0.5	5.5	.091	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 6
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1981-82	2019-20
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Marcus Smart	60	32.0	12.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	4.9	1.7	0.5	1.7	2.7	4.3	11.4	.375	2.3	6.6	.347	2.1	2.5	.836

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
Marcus Smart	17	38.1	14.5	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.6	1.2	0.5	2.6	3.2	4.6	11.6	.394	2.4	7.2	.333	2.9	3.3	.875


Season 7
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1982-83	2020-21
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Marcus Smart	48	32.9	13.1	0.8	2.7	3.5	5.7	1.5	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.2	10.6	.398	1.9	5.9	.330	2.7	3.4	.790

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
Marcus Smart	5	36.6	17.8	0.8	3.6	4.4	6.0	1.0	0.2	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.2	.439	3.2	8.6	.372	3.0	4.2	.714


Season 8
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1983-84	2021-22
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	Defensive Player of the Year
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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
Marcus Smart	71	32.3	12.1	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.9	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	4.2	10.1	.418	1.7	5.1	.331	2.0	2.5	.793

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
Marcus Smart	21	36.2	15.4	1.0	3.6	4.5	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	3.4	5.4	13.3	.405	2.3	6.5	.350	2.4	3.0	.806


Season 9
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	1984-85	2022-23
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Marcus Smart	61	32.1	11.5	0.8	2.4	3.1	6.3	1.5	0.4	2.3	2.8	4.1	9.9	.415	1.9	5.6	.336	1.4	1.9	.746

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
Marcus Smart	20	34.0	14.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	5.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.9	5.1	11.2	.453	2.2	6.1	.361	2.6	3.3	.800


Season 10
	Dan Issel	Marcus Smart
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dan Issel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marcus Smart	20	30.3	14.5	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.3	2.1	0.3	3.1	2.7	5.1	11.9	.430	2.1	6.7	.313	2.2	2.8	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dan Issel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Marcus Smart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Dan Issel vs. Marcus Smart Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Marcus Smart 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10