Dennis Johnson vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell 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.

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, 5 more than Donovan Mitchell, who played 9. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Donovan Mitchell had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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.

Rookie Season
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1976-77	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+12.8	+11.3	+1.3	+1.4		+2.2		+0.4			+4.0	+10.2	+.067				+0.8	+0.3	+.181
Donovan Mitchell	79	33.4	20.5	0.7	3.1	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.5	17.2	.437	2.4	7.0	.340	3.0	3.8	.805
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dennis Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	11	37.4	24.4	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.2	1.5	0.4	2.9	3.2	9.3	22.1	.420	2.3	7.3	.313	3.5	3.9	.907

Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1978-79	2019-20
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+11	+0.3	+8.1	+1.0	+0.7	+0.3	+0.8	+0.3	+1.0	-0.3	-0.1	+2.7	+5.5	+.015				+0.2	+0.2	+.082
Donovan Mitchell	69	34.3	24.0	0.8	3.6	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.5	8.7	19.4	.449	2.5	6.9	.366	4.0	4.7	.863
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:	+10	+2.4	+15.4	+1.7	+0.6	+1.1	+0.8	+0.6	+1.2	-1.1	-2.1	+3.9	+4.6	+.079				+3.0	+1.9	+.177
Donovan Mitchell	7	37.7	36.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.9	1.0	0.3	4.1	1.6	11.9	22.4	.529	4.7	9.1	.516	7.9	8.3	.948

Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1979-80	2020-21
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+28	+2.9	+7.4	+1.2	+0.5	+0.7	+1.1	+0.8	+0.7		-1.1	+1.9	+3.8	+.016	+3.3	+8.0	+.179	+0.3		+.065
Donovan Mitchell	53	33.4	26.4	0.9	3.5	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.0	20.6	.438	3.4	8.7	.386	5.0	6.0	.845
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:	+5	+4.2	+15.2	+1.4	+1.3	+0.1	+1.7	+0.7	+0.5	-0.1	-1.2	+3.8	+7.2	+.037	+4.7	+10.5	+.102	+2.8	+3.5	+.010
Donovan Mitchell	10	34.6	32.3	0.3	3.9	4.2	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.8	2.0	10.5	23.5	.447	5.0	11.5	.435	6.3	7.6	.829

Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1980-81	2021-22
Team	Phoenix Suns	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+12	+0.7	+7.1	+1.2	+0.8	+0.4	+1.6	+0.2	+0.6	-0.4	-0.7	+2.5	+5.1	+.012	+3.4	+9.2	+.139	+1.2	+1.6	+.033
Donovan Mitchell	67	33.8	25.9	0.8	3.4	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.4	9.2	20.5	.448	3.5	9.8	.355	4.0	4.7	.853
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:	+1	+0.1	+5.9		+0.4	+0.4	+2.8	+0.6	+0.8		-0.3	+1.4	+6.5	+.075	+1.6	+7.3	+.008	+1.6	+1.0	+.119
Donovan Mitchell	6	38.2	25.5	1.0	3.3	4.3	5.7	0.7	0.5	2.7	2.3	8.8	22.2	.398	1.7	8.0	.208	6.2	7.0	.881

Season 6
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1981-82	2022-23
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+12	+0.9	+8.8	+0.9	+0.1	+0.8	+0.2	+0.2	+0.3	-0.3	-0.7	+2.8	+5.2	+.014	+3.5	+8.8	+.196	+0.3	+0.8	+.061
Donovan Mitchell	68	35.8	28.3	0.9	3.3	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	2.6	2.5	10.0	20.6	.484	3.6	9.3	.386	4.7	5.4	.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:	+2	+2.7	+0.9	+1.3	+1.8	+0.6	+2.6	+0.1		-0.2	-1.2		+1.9	+.044	+2.6	+8.6	+.289	+1.7	+2.0	+.047
Donovan Mitchell	5	41.4	23.2	0.6	4.4	5.0	7.2	2.0	0.6	3.8	2.8	9.0	20.8	.433	2.6	9.0	.289	2.6	3.6	.722

Season 7
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1982-83	2023-24
Team	Phoenix Suns	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers 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		%
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:	+22	+2.2	+12.4	+0.4	+1.1	+0.7	+1.1	+0.5		-0.2	-0.5	+3.9	+8.6		+3.2	+8.6	+.207	+1.2	+1.0	+.074
Donovan Mitchell	55	35.3	26.6	0.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	2.8	2.1	9.1	19.8	.462	3.3	9.0	.368	5.0	5.8	.865
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	+2.2	+11.6	+1.4	+0.9	+2.3	+1.0	+0.4	+0.4	-0.1	-0.1	+3.4	+6.5	+.018	+2.9	+7.9	+.354	+2.0	+2.5	+.018
Donovan Mitchell	10	38.2	29.6	0.6	4.8	5.4	4.7	1.3	0.3	2.8	2.9	10.7	22.5	.476	2.9	8.2	.354	5.3	6.5	.815

Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1983-84	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+9	+1.9	+10.8	+0.3	+1.3	+1.0	+0.8	+0.1	+0.5	-0.1	-1.1	+3.4	+7.6	+.006	+3.2	+8.5	+.243	+0.7	+1.0	+.029
Donovan Mitchell	71	31.4	24.0	0.8	3.7	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	2.1	2.0	8.2	18.6	.443	3.3	8.9	.368	4.2	5.1	.823
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:	+13	+4.7	+13.0	+0.2	+1.2	+1.1	+0.5	+0.8		-0.5	-1.4	+3.7	+7.1	+.039	+3.0	+9.0	+.096	+2.6	+4.4	+.125
Donovan Mitchell	9	32.0	29.6	1.2	3.4	4.7	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.0	9.6	21.6	.443	3.1	9.3	.333	7.3	9.9	.742

Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Donovan Mitchell
Season	1984-85	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics 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		%
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:	+67	+3.1	+15.2	+0.4	+1.1	+0.6	+1.3	+0.3		-0.5	-0.5	+4.2	+7.1	+.047	+3.9	+10.0	+.119	+2.9	+3.7	+.028
Donovan Mitchell	13	34.1	30.9	0.7	3.9	4.6	5.5	1.5	0.5	3.2	2.3	10.4	20.4	.509	4.0	10.3	.388	6.2	7.5	.825
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
Donovan Mitchell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Dennis Johnson played 5 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 14, from 1986 to 1990—Dennis Johnson played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 5 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team