DeMarcus Cousins vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid and DeMarcus Cousins, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

DeMarcus Cousins played 11 years in the NBA, 1 more than Joel Embiid, who played 10. DeMarcus Cousins had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, while Joel Embiid had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
DeMarcus Cousins	11	3	2010-11 to 2021-22
Joel Embiid	10	7	2016-17 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2010-11	2016-17
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	81	28.5	14.1	2.7	6.0	8.6	2.5	1.0	0.8	3.3	4.1	5.3	12.4	.430	0.0	0.2	.167	3.4	5.0	.687
difference:	+50	+3.1	+6.1	+0.7	+0.1	+0.8	+0.4	+0.1	+1.7	-0.5	-0.5	+1.2	+1.4	+.036	+1.2	+3.0	+.200	+2.8	+2.9	+.096
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher DeMarcus Cousins nor Joel Embiid played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2011-12	2017-18
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	64	30.5	18.1	4.1	6.8	11.0	1.6	1.5	1.2	2.7	4.0	7.0	15.6	.448	0.0	0.2	.143	4.1	5.8	.702
difference:	+1	+0.2	+4.8	+1.8	+1.9		+1.6	+0.9	+0.6	-1.0	-0.7	+1.1	+1.2	+.035	+1.0	+3.2	+.165	+1.6	+1.6	+.067
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705


Season 3
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2012-13	2018-19
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	75	30.5	17.1	3.0	7.0	9.9	2.7	1.4	0.7	3.0	3.6	6.4	13.8	.465	0.1	0.3	.182	4.2	5.6	.738
difference:	+11	+3.2	+10.4	+0.5	+4.1	+3.7	+1.0	+0.7	+1.2	-0.5	-0.3	+2.7	+4.9	+.019	+1.1	+3.8	+.118	+4.0	+4.5	+.066
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822


Season 4
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2013-14	2019-20
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	71	32.4	22.7	3.1	8.6	11.7	2.9	1.5	1.3	3.5	3.8	8.3	16.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	8.4	.726
difference:	+20	+2.9	+0.3	+0.3	+0.3	+0.1	+0.1	+0.6		-0.4	-0.4	+0.8	+1.1	+.019	+1.1	+3.3	+.331	+0.8	+0.1	+.081
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814


Season 5
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2014-15	2020-21
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	59	34.1	24.1	3.1	9.5	12.7	3.6	1.5	1.7	4.3	4.1	8.4	18.1	.467	0.0	0.1	.250	7.2	9.2	.782
difference:	+8	+3.0	+4.4	+0.9	+1.1	+2.1	+0.8	+0.5	+0.3	-1.2	-1.7	+0.6	+0.5	+.046	+1.1	+2.9	+.127	+2.0	+1.5	+.077
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835


Season 6
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2015-16	2021-22
Team	Sacramento Kings	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	65	34.6	26.9	2.4	9.1	11.5	3.3	1.6	1.4	3.8	3.6	9.2	20.5	.451	1.1	3.2	.333	7.3	10.2	.718
difference:	+3	+0.8	+3.7	+0.3	+0.5	+0.2	+0.9	+0.5	+0.1	-0.7	-0.9	+0.6	+0.9	+.048	+0.3	+0.5	+.038	+2.3	+1.6	+.096
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820


Season 7
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2016-17	2022-23
Team	Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	72	34.2	27.0	2.1	8.9	11.0	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.7	3.9	9.0	19.9	.452	1.8	5.0	.361	7.2	9.3	.772
difference:	+6	+0.4	+6.1	+0.4	+0.5	+0.8	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	-0.3	-0.8	+2.0	+0.2	+.096	+0.8	+2.0	+.031	+2.8	+2.4	+.085
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905


Season 8
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2017-18	2023-24
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	48	36.2	25.2	2.2	10.7	12.9	5.4	1.6	1.6	5.0	3.8	8.5	18.0	.470	2.2	6.1	.354	6.1	8.2	.746
difference:	+9	+2.6	+9.5	+0.2	+2.1	+1.9	+0.2	+0.4	+0.1	-1.2	-0.9	+3.0	+3.8	+.059	+0.8	+2.5	+.034	+4.1	+3.4	+.137
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859


Season 9
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2018-19	2024-25
Team	Golden State Warriors	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	30	25.7	16.3	1.4	6.8	8.2	3.6	1.3	1.5	2.4	3.6	5.9	12.4	.480	0.9	3.2	.274	3.5	4.8	.736
difference:	+11	+4.5	+7.5	+0.5	+0.5		+0.9	+0.6	+0.6	-0.9	-1.4	+1.5	+4.2	+.036	+0.3	+0.9	+.025	+4.3	+4.1	+.146
Joel Embiid	19	30.2	23.8	1.9	6.3	8.2	4.5	0.7	0.9	3.3	2.2	7.4	16.6	.444	1.2	4.1	.299	7.8	8.9	.882

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	8	16.6	7.6	1.1	3.8	4.9	2.4	0.6	0.8	2.4	3.0	2.6	6.6	.396	0.4	1.5	.250	2.0	3.1	.640
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: DeMarcus Cousins didn't play in 2019-20.


Season 10
	DeMarcus Cousins	Joel Embiid
Season	2020-21	2025-26
Team	Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	41	17.4	8.9	1.3	5.1	6.4	1.9	0.8	0.6	1.6	2.6	3.2	7.4	.426	1.1	3.3	.348	1.4	2.0	.728
difference:	+36	+5.4	+8.9	+0.1	+1.1	+1.0	+1.3	+0.2	+1.0	-1.2	-0.6	+2.8	+6.8	+.003	+0.5	+1.5	+.015	+2.8	+3.2	+.080
Joel Embiid	5	22.8	17.8	1.4	4.0	5.4	3.2	1.0	1.6	2.8	2.0	6.0	14.2	.423	1.6	4.8	.333	4.2	5.2	.808

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	7	8.3	7.6	0.9	1.1	2.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.7	1.9	2.7	6.0	.452	0.6	1.4	.400	1.6	2.0	.786
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years

* DeMarcus Cousins played 1 season more than Joel Embiid in the NBA.

In that period—his season 11 in 2022—DeMarcus Cousins played in the Playoffs.

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid and DeMarcus Cousins, 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

Additional Years