Dennis Johnson vs. Jamal Murray Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jamal Murray 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 Jamal Murray, who played 9. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Jamal Murray 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.

Rookie Season
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1976-77	2016-17
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second 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		%
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:	+1	+0.9	+0.7	+1.5	+0.4	+1.1	+0.6	+0.9	+0.4		-1.2	+0.1	+1.9	+.100				+0.9	+2.0	+.259
Jamal Murray	82	21.5	9.9	0.5	2.1	2.6	2.1	0.6	0.3	1.4	1.5	3.6	8.9	.404	1.4	4.2	.334	1.3	1.5	.883
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dennis Johnson nor Jamal Murray played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1978-79	2018-19
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
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:	+5	+1.4	+2.3	+0.9	+0.5	+0.5	+1.3	+0.4	+0.8	-0.3	-0.6	+0.8	+1.7	+.003				+1.3	+1.9	+.067
Jamal Murray	75	32.6	18.2	0.9	3.4	4.2	4.8	0.9	0.4	2.1	2.0	6.8	15.6	.437	2.0	5.5	.367	2.5	3.0	.848
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:	+3	+3.8	+0.4	+1.2	+0.5	+1.7	+0.6	+0.6	+1.4	-1.4	-2.0	+0.4	+0.2	+.025				+0.9	+2.0	+.132
Jamal Murray	14	36.3	21.3	1.4	3.0	4.4	4.7	1.0	0.1	1.6	1.7	7.6	18.0	.425	2.0	5.9	.337	4.0	4.4	.903

Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1979-80	2019-20
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 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:	+22	+4.0	+0.5	+1.3	+0.2	+1.1	+0.7	+0.7	+0.7	-0.6	-1.6	+0.2	+1.6	+.034	+1.8	+4.8	+.139	+1.9	+2.9	+.101
Jamal Murray	59	32.3	18.5	0.8	3.2	4.0	4.8	1.1	0.3	2.2	1.7	6.9	15.2	.456	1.9	5.5	.346	2.8	3.1	.881
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:	+4	+0.8	+9.4	+0.6	+1.2	+0.5	+2.8	+0.9	+0.4	-0.1	-1.0	+3.1	+3.1	+.095	+3.0	+6.2	+.120	+0.2		+.058
Jamal Murray	19	39.6	26.5	1.1	3.8	4.8	6.6	0.9	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.8	19.4	.505	3.3	7.2	.453	3.7	4.1	.897

Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1980-81	2020-21
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+31	+2.4	+2.4	+1.2	+0.7	+0.6	+1.1	+0.4	+0.5	-0.3	-1.1	+1.2	+1.1	+.041	+2.6	+6.0	+.192	+2.4	+3.1	+.049
Jamal Murray	48	35.5	21.2	0.8	3.3	4.0	4.8	1.3	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.9	16.5	.477	2.7	6.6	.408	2.8	3.2	.869
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
Jamal Murray	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Jamal Murray didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 6
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1981-82	2022-23
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+15	+3.9	+0.5	+1.1	+0.2	+1.1	+1.6	+0.3	+0.5	-0.7	-1.6	+0.1	+0.6	+.016	+2.5	+6.1	+.208	+2.2	+2.9	+.027
Jamal Murray	65	32.8	20.0	0.7	3.2	4.0	6.2	1.0	0.2	2.2	1.6	7.3	16.0	.454	2.6	6.6	.398	2.8	3.3	.833
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:	+13	+1.3	+3.8	+1.1	+2.3	+1.3	+2.5	+0.6	+0.3	-1.1	-1.9	+0.7	+1.6	+.004	+3.0	+7.1	+.396	+0.5	+1.5	+.157
Jamal Murray	20	40.0	26.1	0.8	4.9	5.7	7.1	1.5	0.3	2.5	2.1	9.7	20.5	.473	3.0	7.5	.396	3.8	4.1	.926

Season 7
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1982-83	2023-24
Team	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West 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:	+18	+1.6	+7.0	+0.5	+0.2	+0.3	+1.5	+0.3	+0.2	-0.5	-0.8	+2.8	+5.5	+.019	+2.4	+5.4	+.264	+1.1	+1.7	+.062
Jamal Murray	59	31.5	21.2	0.7	3.4	4.1	6.5	1.0	0.7	2.1	1.8	8.0	16.7	.481	2.5	5.8	.425	2.7	3.1	.853
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:	+9	+2.5	+2.6	+1.2	+2.1	+3.4	+0.1	+0.9	+0.2	-0.1	-0.7	+1.0	+4.8	+.056	+1.9	+5.8	+.315	+1.3	+1.8	+.090
Jamal Murray	12	38.5	20.6	0.8	3.6	4.3	5.6	0.8	0.5	2.6	2.3	8.3	20.8	.402	1.9	6.1	.315	2.0	2.2	.923

Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1983-84	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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:	+13	+2.8	+8.2	+0.4	+0.8	+0.4	+1.8	+0.2	+0.2	-0.1	-1.2	+3.1	+5.7	+.037	+2.2	+5.5	+.268	+0.2	+0.4	+.034
Jamal Murray	67	36.1	21.4	0.7	3.2	3.9	6.0	1.4	0.5	2.1	1.9	7.9	16.7	.474	2.3	5.9	.393	3.3	3.7	.886
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:	+8	+4.6	+5.2	+0.8	+2.0	+1.3	+0.8	+0.1	+0.5	-0.7	-1.2	+2.0	+3.4	+.040	+2.3	+6.6	+.075	+1.2	+1.5	+.008
Jamal Murray	14	41.3	21.8	0.6	4.2	4.9	5.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.2	7.9	17.9	.444	2.4	6.9	.354	3.5	4.0	.875

Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Jamal Murray
Season	1984-85	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
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:	+68	+2.9	+7.4	+0.5	+2.2	+1.6	+0.7	+0.1	+0.2	-0.4	-1.4	+2.1	+4.5	+.005	+2.4	+6.7	+.088	+0.6	+0.4	+.087
Jamal Murray	12	34.3	23.1	0.6	5.0	5.6	6.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.4	8.3	17.8	.467	2.5	7.0	.357	3.9	4.2	.940
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
Jamal Murray	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Dennis Johnson played 5 seasons more than Jamal Murray 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 Jamal Murray, Dennis Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team