Darnell Hillman vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Darnell Hillman, 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.

Darnell Hillman played 4 years in the NBA, 5 less than Nikola Jokic, who played 9. Darnell Hillman had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Nikola Jokic had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
Darnell Hillman 4 2 1976-77 to 1979-80
Nikola Jokic 9 6 2015-16 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season 1976-772015-16
Team Indiana PacersDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
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 %
Darnell Hillman 82 28.1 10.7 2.8 5.7 8.5 2.0 1.2 1.3 - 4.3 4.4 9.9 .443 - - - 2.0 3.0 .660
Nikola Jokic 80 21.7 10.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 2.4 1.0 0.6 1.3 2.6 3.8 7.5 .512 0.4 1.1 .333 1.9 2.4 .811
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season 1977-782016-17
Team New Jersey Nets, Denver NuggetsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman 78 25.2 10.9 2.6 4.8 7.4 1.3 0.8 1.0 2.2 3.7 4.4 9.1 .479 - - - 2.1 3.7 .584
Nikola Jokic 73 27.9 16.7 2.9 6.9 9.8 4.9 0.8 0.8 2.3 2.9 6.8 11.7 .578 0.6 1.9 .324 2.6 3.1 .825
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman 13 20.0 5.6 1.9 4.2 6.2 1.4 0.5 0.5 1.8 3.8 2.4 6.1 .392 - - - 0.8 1.2 .733
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season 1978-792017-18
Team Kansas City KingsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Kings 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 %
Darnell Hillman 78 20.7 7.0 1.8 3.8 5.5 1.2 0.6 0.8 1.7 3.7 2.7 5.5 .493 - - - 1.6 2.9 .558
Nikola Jokic 75 32.6 18.5 2.6 8.1 10.7 6.1 1.2 0.8 2.8 2.8 6.7 13.5 .499 1.5 3.7 .396 3.5 4.2 .850
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman 5 22.4 5.8 3.8 2.8 6.6 1.6 0.8 0.6 2.0 3.4 2.0 6.4 .313 - - - 1.8 3.4 .529
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season 1979-802018-19
Team Golden State WarriorsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets 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 %
Darnell Hillman 49 14.4 4.0 1.2 2.5 3.7 1.0 0.4 0.5 1.2 2.6 1.7 3.7 .458 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.4 .500
Nikola Jokic 80 31.3 20.1 2.9 8.0 10.8 7.3 1.4 0.7 3.1 2.9 7.7 15.1 .511 1.0 3.4 .307 3.6 4.4 .821
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 14 39.8 25.1 3.9 9.1 13.0 8.4 1.1 0.9 2.6 3.9 9.4 18.6 .506 1.6 4.0 .393 4.7 5.6 .846

Season 5

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season -2019-20
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
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 %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 73 32.0 19.9 2.3 7.5 9.7 7.0 1.2 0.6 3.1 3.0 7.7 14.7 .528 1.1 3.5 .314 3.4 4.1 .817
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 19 36.5 24.4 1.9 7.9 9.8 5.7 1.1 0.8 3.3 3.6 9.4 18.1 .519 2.2 5.2 .429 3.5 4.2 .835

Season 6

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season -2020-21
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
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 %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 72 34.6 26.4 2.8 8.0 10.8 8.3 1.3 0.7 3.1 2.7 10.2 18.0 .566 1.3 3.3 .388 4.8 5.5 .868
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 10 34.5 29.8 3.7 7.9 11.6 5.0 0.6 0.9 2.4 2.3 11.6 22.8 .509 2.0 5.3 .377 4.6 5.5 .836

Season 7

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season -2021-22
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
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 %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 74 33.5 27.1 2.8 11.0 13.8 7.9 1.5 0.9 3.8 2.6 10.3 17.7 .583 1.3 3.9 .337 5.1 6.3 .810
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 5 34.2 31.0 3.4 9.8 13.2 5.8 1.6 1.0 4.8 4.0 12.2 21.2 .575 1.0 3.6 .278 5.6 6.6 .848

Season 8

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season -2022-23
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -NBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 69 33.7 24.5 2.4 9.4 11.8 9.8 1.3 0.7 3.6 2.5 9.4 14.8 .632 0.8 2.2 .383 4.9 6.0 .822
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 20 39.5 30.0 3.5 10.0 13.5 9.5 1.1 1.0 3.5 3.5 11.4 20.7 .548 1.8 3.8 .461 5.6 7.0 .799

Season 9

Darnell Hillman Nikola Jokic
Season -2023-24
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nuggets TBD
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 79 34.6 26.4 2.8 9.5 12.4 9.0 1.4 0.9 3.0 2.5 10.4 17.9 .583 1.1 2.9 .359 4.5 5.5 .817
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Darnell Hillman ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 11 39.5 28.2 3.4 9.5 12.9 8.8 1.5 0.6 3.4 2.7 10.9 19.6 .556 1.1 3.9 .279 5.3 5.8 .906