Dave DeBusschere vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan and Dave DeBusschere, 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.

Dave DeBusschere played 12 years in the NBA, 3 less than Michael Jordan, who played 15. Dave DeBusschere had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Michael Jordan had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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
Dave DeBusschere	12	8	1962-63 to 1973-74
Michael Jordan	15	13	1984-85 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1962-63	1984-85
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Div Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	29.4	12.7	-	-	8.7	2.6	-	-	-	3.1	5.1	11.8	.430	-	-	-	2.6	3.6	.718
difference:	+2	+8.9	+15.5			+2.2	+3.3				-0.4	+5.1	+8.0	+.085				+5.1	+5.5	+.127
Michael Jordan	82	38.3	28.2	2.0	4.5	6.5	5.9	2.4	0.8	3.5	3.5	10.2	19.8	.515	0.1	0.6	.173	7.7	9.1	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	4	39.8	20.0	-	-	15.8	1.5	-	-	-	3.5	6.3	14.8	.424	-	-	-	7.5	11.0	.682
difference:		+3.0	+9.3			+10.0	+7.0				-0.3	+2.2	+4.7	+.012				+4.5	+3.5	+.146
Michael Jordan	4	42.8	29.3	1.8	4.0	5.8	8.5	2.8	1.0	3.8	3.8	8.5	19.5	.436	0.3	2.0	.125	12.0	14.5	.828


Season 2
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1963-64	1985-86
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	15	20.3	8.6	-	-	7.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.1	3.5	8.9	.391	-	-	-	1.7	2.9	.581
difference:	+3	+4.8	+14.1			+3.4	+1.4				-0.5	+4.8	+9.3	+.066				+4.1	+4.0	+.259
Michael Jordan	18	25.1	22.7	1.3	2.3	3.6	2.9	2.1	1.2	2.5	2.6	8.3	18.2	.457	0.2	1.0	.167	5.8	6.9	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	3	45.0	43.7	1.7	4.7	6.3	5.7	2.3	1.3	4.7	4.3	16.0	31.7	.505	0.3	0.3	1.000	11.3	13.0	.872


Season 3
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1964-65	1986-87
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	35.1	16.7	-	-	11.1	3.2	-	-	-	3.1	6.4	15.1	.425	-	-	-	3.9	5.5	.700
difference:	+3	+4.9	+20.4			+5.9	+1.4				-0.2	+7.0	+12.7	+.057				+6.3	+6.4	+.157
Michael Jordan	82	40.0	37.1	2.0	3.2	5.2	4.6	2.9	1.5	3.3	2.9	13.4	27.8	.482	0.1	0.8	.182	10.2	11.9	.857

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	3	42.7	35.7	2.3	4.7	7.0	6.0	2.0	2.3	2.7	3.7	11.7	28.0	.417	0.7	1.7	.400	11.7	13.0	.897


Season 4
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1965-66	1987-88
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	34.1	16.4	-	-	11.6	2.6	-	-	-	3.2	6.6	16.3	.408	-	-	-	3.2	4.8	.659
difference:	+3	+6.3	+18.6			+6.1	+3.3				-0.1	+6.4	+8.1	+.127				+5.6	+5.7	+.182
Michael Jordan	82	40.4	35.0	1.7	3.8	5.5	5.9	3.2	1.6	3.1	3.3	13.0	24.4	.535	0.1	0.6	.132	8.8	10.5	.841

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	10	42.7	36.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	4.7	2.4	1.1	3.9	3.8	13.8	26.0	.531	0.1	0.3	.333	8.6	9.9	.869


Season 5
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1966-67	1988-89
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	78	37.1	18.2	-	-	11.8	2.8	-	-	-	3.8	6.8	16.4	.415	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.705
difference:	+3	+3.1	+14.3			+3.8	+5.2				-0.8	+5.1	+5.8	+.123				+3.7	+3.2	+.145
Michael Jordan	81	40.2	32.5	1.8	6.2	8.0	8.0	2.9	0.8	3.6	3.0	11.9	22.2	.538	0.3	1.2	.276	8.3	9.8	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Jordan	17	42.2	34.8	1.5	5.5	7.0	7.6	2.5	0.8	4.0	3.8	11.7	22.9	.510	0.6	2.1	.286	10.8	13.5	.799


Season 6
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1967-68	1989-90
Team	Detroit Pistons	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Div Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	39.1	17.9	-	-	13.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	7.2	16.2	.442	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.664
difference:	+2	+0.1	+15.7			+6.6	+4.0				-0.9	+5.4	+7.8	+.084				+3.6	+3.1	+.184
Michael Jordan	82	39.0	33.6	1.7	5.1	6.9	6.3	2.8	0.7	3.0	2.9	12.6	24.0	.526	1.1	3.0	.376	7.2	8.5	.848

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	6	43.8	19.3	-	-	16.2	2.2	-	-	-	3.8	7.5	17.7	.425	-	-	-	4.3	7.5	.578
difference:	+10	+1.7	+17.4			+9.0	+4.6				-0.4	+6.2	+8.9	+.089				+4.0	+2.4	+.258
Michael Jordan	16	42.1	36.7	1.5	5.7	7.2	6.8	2.8	0.9	3.5	3.4	13.7	26.6	.514	1.0	3.1	.320	8.3	9.9	.836


Season 7
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1968-69	1990-91
Team	Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	76	38.7	16.3	-	-	11.7	2.5	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.0	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.698
difference:	+6	+1.7	+15.2			+5.7	+3.0				-1.0	+5.4	+7.4	+.095				+4.0	+3.9	+.153
Michael Jordan	82	37.0	31.5	1.4	4.6	6.0	5.5	2.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	12.1	22.4	.539	0.4	1.1	.312	7.0	8.2	.851

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	10	41.9	16.3	-	-	14.8	3.3	-	-	-	4.3	6.1	17.4	.351	-	-	-	4.1	5.0	.820
difference:	+7	+1.4	+14.8			+8.4	+5.1				-1.2	+5.5	+4.7	+.173				+3.3	+3.7	+.025
Michael Jordan	17	40.5	31.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	8.4	2.4	1.4	2.5	3.1	11.6	22.1	.524	0.6	1.5	.385	7.4	8.7	.845


Season 8
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1969-70	1991-92
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	33.3	14.6	-	-	10.0	2.5	-	-	-	3.1	6.2	13.7	.451	-	-	-	2.2	3.2	.688
difference:	+1	+5.5	+15.5			+3.6	+3.6				-0.6	+5.6	+9.0	+.068				+3.9	+4.2	+.144
Michael Jordan	80	38.8	30.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	6.1	2.3	0.9	2.5	2.5	11.8	22.7	.519	0.3	1.3	.270	6.1	7.4	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	19	36.9	16.1	-	-	11.6	2.4	-	-	-	3.3	6.8	16.3	.421	-	-	-	2.4	3.6	.662
difference:	+3	+4.9	+18.4			+5.4	+3.4				-0.5	+6.4	+10.1	+.078				+5.0	+5.0	+.195
Michael Jordan	22	41.8	34.5	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.8	2.0	0.7	3.7	2.8	13.2	26.4	.499	0.8	2.0	.386	7.4	8.6	.857


Season 9
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1970-71	1992-93
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	81	35.7	15.6	-	-	11.1	2.7	-	-	-	2.9	6.5	15.3	.421	-	-	-	2.7	3.9	.696
difference:	+3	+3.6	+17.0			+4.4	+2.8				-0.5	+6.2	+10.4	+.074				+3.4	+3.4	+.141
Michael Jordan	78	39.3	32.6	1.7	5.0	6.7	5.5	2.8	0.8	2.7	2.4	12.7	25.7	.495	1.0	2.9	.352	6.1	7.3	.837

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	12	40.7	16.4	-	-	13.0	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	7.0	16.8	.416	-	-	-	2.4	3.7	.659
difference:	+7	+0.5	+18.7			+6.3	+4.2				-0.2	+6.2	+11.0	+.059				+4.8	+5.2	+.146
Michael Jordan	19	41.2	35.1	1.7	5.1	6.7	6.0	2.1	0.9	2.4	3.1	13.2	27.8	.475	1.5	3.8	.389	7.2	8.9	.805

Note: Michael Jordan didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 10
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1971-72	1994-95
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	38.4	15.4	-	-	11.3	3.6	-	-	-	2.7	6.5	15.2	.427	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
difference:	+63	+0.9	+11.5			+4.4	+1.7				-0.1	+3.3	+8.6	+.016				+4.0	+4.7	+.073
Michael Jordan	17	39.3	26.9	1.5	5.4	6.9	5.3	1.8	0.8	2.1	2.8	9.8	23.8	.411	0.9	1.9	.500	6.4	8.0	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	16	38.5	16.6	-	-	12.1	2.3	-	-	-	3.2	6.8	15.1	.450	-	-	-	3.0	4.0	.750
difference:	+6	+3.5	+14.9			+5.6	+2.2				-0.2	+5.2	+9.7	+.034				+3.4	+3.9	+.060
Michael Jordan	10	42.0	31.5	2.0	4.5	6.5	4.5	2.3	1.4	4.1	3.0	12.0	24.8	.484	1.1	3.0	.367	6.4	7.9	.810


Season 11
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1972-73	1995-96
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	77	36.7	16.3	-	-	10.2	3.4	-	-	-	2.8	6.9	15.9	.435	-	-	-	2.5	3.4	.746
difference:	+5	+1.0	+14.1			+3.6	+0.9				-0.4	+4.3	+6.7	+.060				+4.2	+4.6	+.088
Michael Jordan	82	37.7	30.4	1.8	4.8	6.6	4.3	2.2	0.5	2.4	2.4	11.2	22.6	.495	1.4	3.2	.427	6.7	8.0	.834

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	17	37.2	15.6	-	-	10.5	3.4	-	-	-	3.4	6.9	15.6	.442	-	-	-	1.8	2.4	.775
difference:	+1	+3.5	+15.1			+5.6	+0.7				-0.7	+3.5	+7.0	+.017				+6.7	+8.0	+.043
Michael Jordan	18	40.7	30.7	1.7	3.2	4.9	4.1	1.8	0.3	2.3	2.7	10.4	22.6	.459	1.4	3.4	.403	8.5	10.4	.818


Season 12
	Dave DeBusschere	Michael Jordan
Season	1973-74	1996-97
Team	New York Knicks	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	71	38.0	18.1	1.9	8.8	10.7	3.6	0.9	0.5	-	3.1	7.9	17.1	.461	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.756
difference:	+11	+0.1	+11.5	+0.5	+4.3	+4.8	+0.7	+0.8			-1.2	+3.3	+6.0	+.025				+3.6	+3.9	+.077
Michael Jordan	82	37.9	29.6	1.4	4.5	5.9	4.3	1.7	0.5	2.0	1.9	11.2	23.1	.486	1.4	3.6	.374	5.9	7.0	.833

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	12	33.7	12.0	2.1	6.2	8.3	3.2	0.6	0.3	-	3.0	5.3	13.8	.380	-	-	-	1.5	2.4	.621
difference:	+7	+8.6	+19.1	+0.1	+0.5	+0.4	+1.6	+1.0	+0.6		-0.6	+6.6	+12.4	+.076				+5.0	+5.4	+.210
Michael Jordan	19	42.3	31.1	2.2	5.7	7.9	4.8	1.6	0.9	2.6	2.4	11.9	26.2	.456	0.7	3.5	.194	6.5	7.8	.831


Additional Years
* Michael Jordan played 3 seasons more than Dave DeBusschere in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 15, from 1998 to 2003—Michael Jordan played in one postseason and won the NBA Championship. In those 3 extra years over Dave DeBusschere, Michael Jordan got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 1 Scoring Leader 3 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Dave DeBusschere vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan and Dave DeBusschere, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years