Dennis Johnson vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Sharman and Dennis Johnson, 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.

Dennis Johnson played 14 years in the NBA, 3 more than Bill Sharman, who played 11. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Bill Sharman had his rookie season in 1950-51. 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
Dennis Johnson	14	13	1976-77 to 1989-90
Bill Sharman	11	10	1950-51 to 1960-61

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


Rookie Season
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1976-77	1950-51
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Washington Capitols
Honors & Awards
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		%
Dennis Johnson	81	20.6	9.2	2.0	1.7	3.7	1.5	1.5	0.7	-	2.7	3.5	7.0	.504	-	-	-	2.2	3.5	.624
difference:	+50		+3.0			+0.2	+0.2				-0.1	+1.0	+5.3	+.134				+0.9		+.265
Bill Sharman	31	-	12.2	-	-	3.5	1.3	-	-	-	2.8	4.5	12.3	.370	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.889

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dennis Johnson nor Bill Sharman played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1977-78	1951-52
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Dennis Johnson	81	27.3	12.7	1.9	1.8	3.6	2.8	1.5	0.6	2.0	2.6	4.5	10.9	.417	-	-	-	3.7	5.0	.732
difference:	+18	+5.3	+2.0			+0.1	+0.4				-0.3	+0.6	+0.9	+.028				+0.8	+1.6	+.127
Bill Sharman	63	22.0	10.7	-	-	3.5	2.4	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	10.0	.389	-	-	-	2.9	3.4	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	22	37.6	16.1	2.1	2.5	4.6	3.3	1.0	1.0	2.5	2.9	5.5	13.4	.412	-	-	-	5.1	7.2	.704
difference:	+21	+10.6	+1.1			+1.6	+3.7				-1.1	+1.5	+1.4	+.171				+4.1	+6.2	+.296
Bill Sharman	1	27.0	15.0	-	-	3.0	7.0	-	-	-	4.0	7.0	12.0	.583	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	1.000


Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1978-79	1952-53
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	34.0	15.9	1.8	2.9	4.7	3.5	1.3	1.2	2.4	2.6	6.0	13.9	.434	-	-	-	3.8	4.9	.781
difference:	+9	+1.1	+0.3			+0.6	+0.8				-0.8	+0.3	+0.9	+.002				+1.0	+0.7	+.069
Bill Sharman	71	32.9	16.2	-	-	4.1	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	5.7	13.0	.436	-	-	-	4.8	5.6	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	17	40.1	20.9	2.6	3.5	6.1	4.1	1.6	1.5	3.0	3.7	8.0	17.8	.450	-	-	-	4.9	6.4	.771
difference:	+11	+6.6	+9.2			+3.6	+1.6				-0.6	+4.7	+7.8	+.117				+0.1	+1.1	+.167
Bill Sharman	6	33.5	11.7	-	-	2.5	2.5	-	-	-	4.3	3.3	10.0	.333	-	-	-	5.0	5.3	.938


Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1979-80	1953-54
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	81	36.3	19.0	2.1	3.0	5.1	4.1	1.8	1.0	2.8	3.3	7.1	16.8	.422	0.1	0.7	.207	4.7	6.0	.780
difference:	+9	+2.0	+3.0			+1.6	+0.9				-0.4	+1.4	+4.1	+.028				+0.1	+0.6	+.064
Bill Sharman	72	34.3	16.0	-	-	3.5	3.2	-	-	-	2.9	5.7	12.7	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.844

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	15	38.8	17.1	1.7	2.6	4.3	3.8	1.8	0.7	2.9	3.2	6.7	16.3	.410	0.3	1.0	.333	3.5	4.1	.839
difference:	+9	+4.5	+1.7			+0.1	+2.1				-1.6	+0.9	+2.8	+.022				+3.7	+4.2	+.021
Bill Sharman	6	34.3	18.8	-	-	4.2	1.7	-	-	-	4.8	5.8	13.5	.432	-	-	-	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1980-81	1954-55
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	79	33.1	18.8	2.0	2.6	4.6	3.7	1.7	0.8	2.6	3.1	6.7	15.4	.436	0.1	0.6	.216	5.2	6.3	.820
difference:	+11	+3.0	+0.4			+0.2	+0.4						+0.2	+.009				+0.1	+0.6	+.077
Bill Sharman	68	36.1	18.4	-	-	4.4	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.6	.427	-	-	-	5.1	5.7	.897

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	7	38.1	19.6	1.0	3.7	4.7	2.9	1.3	1.3	2.7	2.6	7.4	15.7	.473	0.1	0.7	.200	4.6	6.0	.762
difference:		+3.3	+1.1			+0.7	+2.5				-0.8	+0.5		+.027				+0.4	+0.6	+.159
Bill Sharman	7	41.4	20.7	-	-	5.4	5.4	-	-	-	3.4	7.9	15.7	.500	-	-	-	5.0	5.4	.921


Season 6
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1981-82	1955-56
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	36.7	19.5	1.8	3.4	5.1	4.6	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.2	7.2	15.4	.470	0.1	0.5	.190	5.0	6.2	.806
difference:	+8	+0.8	+0.4			+1.5	+0.1				-0.5	+0.3	+1.7	+.032					+0.5	+.061
Bill Sharman	72	37.5	19.9	-	-	3.6	4.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.5	17.1	.438	-	-	-	5.0	5.7	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	7	38.7	22.3	1.9	2.6	4.4	4.6	2.1	0.6	3.6	4.0	9.0	18.9	.477	0.0	0.4	.000	4.3	5.6	.769
difference:	+4	+1.0	+5.0			+2.1	+0.6				-1.7	+3.0	+3.6	+.086				+1.0	+0.1	+.172
Bill Sharman	3	39.7	17.3	-	-	2.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.3	6.0	15.3	.391	-	-	-	5.3	5.7	.941


Season 7
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1982-83	1956-57
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	77	33.1	14.2	1.2	3.2	4.4	5.0	1.3	0.5	2.6	2.6	5.2	11.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.161	3.8	4.8	.791
difference:	+10	+2.8	+6.9			+0.1	+1.5				-0.2	+2.5	+7.3	+.046				+1.9	+1.5	+.114
Bill Sharman	67	35.9	21.1	-	-	4.3	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	18.5	.416	-	-	-	5.7	6.3	.905

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	3	36.0	18.0	2.0	5.7	7.7	5.7	1.7	0.7	2.7	3.0	7.3	16.0	.458	0.0	0.3	.000	3.3	4.0	.833
difference:	+7	+1.7	+3.1			+4.2	+2.8				-0.7	+0.2	+3.7	+.077				+2.8	+2.4	+.120
Bill Sharman	10	37.7	21.1	-	-	3.5	2.9	-	-	-	2.3	7.5	19.7	.381	-	-	-	6.1	6.4	.953


Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1983-84	1957-58
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	33.3	13.2	1.1	2.4	3.5	4.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	3.1	4.8	11.0	.437	0.1	0.4	.125	3.5	4.1	.852
difference:	+17	+1.8	+9.1			+1.2	+1.5				-0.6	+3.9	+9.6	+.013				+1.3	+1.3	+.041
Bill Sharman	63	35.1	22.3	-	-	4.7	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.7	20.6	.424	-	-	-	4.8	5.4	.893

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	22	36.7	16.6	1.4	2.2	3.6	4.4	1.1	0.3	2.4	3.4	5.9	14.5	.404	0.1	0.3	.429	4.7	5.5	.867
difference:	+11	+0.2	+4.5			+1.3	+2.1				-0.9	+2.3	+5.6	+.003					+0.4	+.062
Bill Sharman	11	36.9	21.1	-	-	4.9	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	8.2	20.1	.407	-	-	-	4.7	5.1	.929


Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1984-85	1958-59
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	80	37.2	15.7	1.1	2.8	4.0	6.8	1.2	0.5	2.7	2.8	6.2	13.3	.462	0.1	0.3	.269	3.3	3.8	.853
difference:	+8	+4.1	+4.7			+0.1	+4.3				-0.4	+1.6	+5.8	+.054				+1.5	+1.3	+.079
Bill Sharman	72	33.1	20.4	-	-	4.1	2.5	-	-	-	2.4	7.8	19.1	.408	-	-	-	4.8	5.1	.932

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	21	40.4	17.3	1.1	2.9	4.0	7.3	1.5	0.4	3.4	3.1	6.8	15.2	.445	0.0	0.7	.000	3.8	4.4	.860
difference:	+10	+11.1	+2.8			+0.7	+4.8				-0.1	+0.7	+2.3	+.020				+1.4	+1.0	+.106
Bill Sharman	11	29.3	20.1	-	-	3.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	7.5	17.5	.425	-	-	-	5.2	5.4	.966


Season 10
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1985-86	1959-60
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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		%
Dennis Johnson	78	35.0	15.6	0.9	2.6	3.4	5.8	1.4	0.4	2.2	2.6	6.2	13.6	.455	0.1	0.5	.143	3.1	3.8	.818
difference:	+7	+8.0	+3.7			+0.3	+3.8				-0.4	+1.7	+3.7	+.001				+0.4	+0.3	+.048
Bill Sharman	71	27.0	19.3	-	-	3.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.9	17.3	.456	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	18	39.7	16.2	1.3	2.9	4.2	5.9	2.2	0.3	2.8	3.2	6.1	13.6	.445	0.3	0.9	.375	3.7	4.7	.798
difference:	+5	+11.7	+0.6			+0.7	+4.4				-1.5	+0.7	+2.5	+.024				+0.4	+0.6	+.013
Bill Sharman	13	28.0	16.8	-	-	3.5	1.5	-	-	-	1.7	6.8	16.1	.421	-	-	-	3.3	4.1	.811


Season 11
	Dennis Johnson	Bill Sharman
Season	1986-87	1960-61
Team	Boston Celtics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	79	37.1	13.4	0.6	2.7	3.3	7.5	1.1	0.5	2.2	2.5	5.4	12.1	.444	0.1	0.8	.113	2.6	3.2	.833
difference:	+18	+11.9	+2.6			+0.4	+5.1				-0.4	+0.9	+2.8	+.022				+0.8	+0.5	+.088
Bill Sharman	61	25.2	16.0	-	-	3.7	2.4	-	-	-	2.1	6.3	14.9	.422	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.921

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	23	41.9	18.9	1.0	2.9	4.0	8.9	0.7	0.3	1.9	3.1	7.3	15.7	.465	0.1	1.1	.115	4.2	4.9	.850
difference:	+13	+15.8	+2.1			+1.3	+7.2				-0.9	+0.5	+2.4	+.046				+1.0	+1.3	+.039
Bill Sharman	10	26.1	16.8	-	-	2.7	1.7	-	-	-	2.2	6.8	13.3	.511	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	.889

Additional Years

* Dennis Johnson played 3 seasons more than Bill Sharman in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 12 to 14, from 1988 to 1990—Dennis Johnson played in 3 Playoffs.

Dennis Johnson vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Sharman and Dennis Johnson, 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

Additional Years