Dave DeBusschere vs. Vern Mikkelsen Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Vern Mikkelsen 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.

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, 2 more than Vern Mikkelsen, who played 10. Dave DeBusschere had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Vern Mikkelsen had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
Rookie Season
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1962-63	1949-50
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Pistons Lost West Div Semis	NBA Champion

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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
Vern Mikkelsen	68	-	11.6	-	-	-	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	10.6	.399	-	-	-	3.2	4.2	.752
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
Vern Mikkelsen	12	-	13.0	-	-	-	1.5	-	-	-	4.3	4.6	12.4	.369	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	.767

Season 2
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1963-64	1950-51
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	15	20.3	8.6	-	-	7.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.1	3.5	8.9	.391	-	-	-	1.7	2.9	.581
Vern Mikkelsen	64	-	14.1	-	-	10.2	2.8	-	-	-	4.1	5.6	14.0	.402	-	-	-	2.9	4.3	.676
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vern Mikkelsen	7	-	15.6	-	-	9.6	2.4	-	-	-	5.0	5.6	13.7	.406	-	-	-	4.4	6.7	.660

Season 3
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1964-65	1951-52
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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
Vern Mikkelsen	66	35.5	15.3	-	-	10.3	2.7	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	13.1	.419	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.761
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vern Mikkelsen	13	38.1	13.3	-	-	8.5	1.5	-	-	-	5.1	4.6	10.7	.432	-	-	-	4.1	4.9	.828

Season 4
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1965-66	1952-53
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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
Vern Mikkelsen	70	35.2	15.0	-	-	9.3	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	12.4	.435	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.752
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vern Mikkelsen	12	33.3	12.0	-	-	8.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.9	3.7	11.1	.331	-	-	-	4.7	5.5	.848

Season 5
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1966-67	1953-54
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	31.2	11.1	-	-	8.5	1.7	-	-	-	3.7	4.0	10.7	.374	-	-	-	3.1	4.1	.742
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave DeBusschere	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vern Mikkelsen	13	28.8	10.2	-	-	5.6	1.3	-	-	-	4.0	3.9	8.5	.459	-	-	-	2.4	2.8	.861

Season 6
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1967-68	1954-55
Team	Detroit Pistons	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pistons Lost East Div Semis	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	39.1	17.9	-	-	13.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	7.2	16.2	.442	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.664
Vern Mikkelsen	71	36.0	18.7	-	-	10.2	2.0	-	-	-	4.5	6.2	14.7	.422	-	-	-	6.3	8.4	.747
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
Vern Mikkelsen	7	29.9	13.7	-	-	11.1	1.9	-	-	-	5.1	4.3	12.1	.353	-	-	-	5.1	6.6	.783

Season 7
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1968-69	1955-56
Team	Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Div Finals	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	76	38.7	16.3	-	-	11.7	2.5	-	-	-	3.8	6.7	15.0	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.698
Vern Mikkelsen	72	29.2	13.4	-	-	8.4	2.4	-	-	-	4.4	4.4	11.4	.386	-	-	-	4.6	5.7	.804
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
Vern Mikkelsen	3	30.0	13.3	-	-	5.7	0.7	-	-	-	4.7	3.7	8.7	.423	-	-	-	6.0	6.7	.900

Season 8
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1969-70	1956-57
Team	New York Knicks	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Div 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	79	33.3	14.6	-	-	10.0	2.5	-	-	-	3.1	6.2	13.7	.451	-	-	-	2.2	3.2	.688
Vern Mikkelsen	72	30.5	13.7	-	-	8.8	1.7	-	-	-	4.3	4.5	11.9	.377	-	-	-	4.8	5.9	.807
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
Vern Mikkelsen	5	32.4	17.6	-	-	8.6	3.4	-	-	-	5.8	6.6	16.6	.398	-	-	-	4.4	6.8	.647

Season 9
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1970-71	1957-58
Team	New York Knicks	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Dave DeBusschere	81	35.7	15.6	-	-	11.1	2.7	-	-	-	2.9	6.5	15.3	.421	-	-	-	2.7	3.9	.696
Vern Mikkelsen	72	33.2	17.3	-	-	11.2	2.3	-	-	-	4.2	6.1	14.9	.410	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.786
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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1971-72	1958-59
Team	New York Knicks	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	Lakers 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		%
Dave DeBusschere	80	38.4	15.4	-	-	11.3	3.6	-	-	-	2.7	6.5	15.2	.427	-	-	-	2.4	3.3	.728
Vern Mikkelsen	72	29.7	13.8	-	-	7.9	2.2	-	-	-	3.4	4.9	12.6	.390	-	-	-	4.0	4.9	.806
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
Vern Mikkelsen	13	28.5	15.5	-	-	7.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	13.6	.412	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.767

Season 11
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1972-73	-
Team	New York Knicks	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

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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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Dave DeBusschere	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1973-74	-
Team	New York Knicks	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-