Darius Garland vs. Kel'el Ware Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kel'el Ware and Darius Garland, 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.
Darius Garland played 7 years in the NBA, 5 more than Kel'el Ware, who played 2. Darius Garland had the first of his seasons in 2019-20, while Kel'el Ware had his rookie season in 2024-25. 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 |
| Darius Garland | 7 | 3 | 2019-20 to 2025-26 |
| Kel'el Ware | 2 | 1 | 2024-25 to 2025-26 |
Rookie Season |
||
| Darius Garland | Kel'el Ware | |
| Season | 2019-20 | 2024-25 |
| Team | Cleveland Cavaliers | Miami Heat |
| Honors & Awards | - |  All-Rookie Second Team |
| Playoffs | Did not play | Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd |
Rookie Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Darius Garland | 59 | 30.9 | 12.3 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 11.8 | .401 | 1.8 | 5.0 | .355 | 1.1 | 1.2 | .875 |
| difference: | +5 | +8.7 | +3.0 | +1.3 | +4.2 | +5.5 | +3.0 | +0.1 | +1.0 | -1.7 | -0.1 | +0.7 | +4.5 | +.153 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +.040 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +.188 |
| Kel'el Ware | 64 | 22.2 | 9.3 | 1.8 | 5.6 | 7.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 7.3 | .554 | 0.5 | 1.7 | .315 | 0.7 | 1.0 | .687 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Darius Garland | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kel'el Ware | 4 | 18.3 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 4.5 | .444 | 0.8 | 2.8 | .273 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - |
Season 2 |
||
| Darius Garland | Kel'el Ware | |
| Season | 2020-21 | 2025-26 |
| Team | Cleveland Cavaliers | Miami Heat |
| Honors & Awards | ||
| Playoffs | Did not play | Did not play (season in progress) |
2nd Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Darius Garland | 54 | 33.1 | 17.4 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 6.7 | 14.9 | .451 | 1.9 | 4.9 | .395 | 2.1 | 2.4 | .848 |
| difference: | +21 | +8.3 | +4.8 | +3.0 | +5.2 | +8.2 | +5.6 | +0.2 | +1.2 | -2.0 | -0.3 | +1.8 | +6.1 | +.113 | +0.6 | +2.1 | +.078 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +.034 |
| Kel'el Ware | 33 | 24.8 | 12.6 | 3.4 | 7.2 | 10.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 8.8 | .564 | 1.3 | 2.8 | .473 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .814 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Neiher Darius Garland nor Kel'el Ware played in the postseason in their season 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Additional Years |
|
* Darius Garland played 5 seasons more than Kel'el Ware in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 3 to 7, from 2022 to 2026—Darius Garland played in 3 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Kel'el Ware, Darius Garland got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 2 All-Star Game |