Dennis Johnson vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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, 3 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 11. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1976-77	2015-16
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	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		%
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	+11.4	+9.1	+0.8	+6.0	+6.8	+0.5	+0.8	+1.0		-0.3	+4.1	+7.1	+.038				+0.5	+0.1	+.187
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	32.0	18.3	2.8	7.7	10.5	2.0	0.7	1.7	2.2	3.0	7.6	14.1	.542	0.4	1.1	.341	2.7	3.4	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dennis Johnson nor Karl-Anthony Towns played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1978-79	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves 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:	+2	+1.6	+5.4	+1.1	+6.5	+7.6	+1.1	+0.5	+0.2	-0.5	-0.9	+1.8	+0.4	+.111				+0.4		+.077
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	35.6	21.3	2.9	9.4	12.3	2.4	0.8	1.4	1.9	3.5	7.8	14.3	.545	1.5	3.5	.421	4.2	4.9	.858
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:	+12	+6.1	+5.7	+0.4	+6.9	+7.3	+1.9	+1.2	+0.5	-0.6	-0.9	+2.4	+5.8	+.017				+1.5	+1.8	+.032
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	34.0	15.2	3.0	10.4	13.4	2.2	0.4	1.0	2.4	2.8	5.6	12.0	.467	0.6	2.2	.273	3.4	4.6	.739

Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1979-80	2018-19
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+4	+3.2	+5.4	+1.3	+6.0	+7.3	+0.7	+0.9	+0.6	-0.3	-0.5	+1.7	+0.3	+.096	+1.7	+3.9	+.193	+0.2	+0.2	+.056
Karl-Anthony Towns	77	33.1	24.4	3.4	9.0	12.4	3.4	0.9	1.6	3.1	3.8	8.8	17.1	.518	1.8	4.6	.400	4.9	5.8	.836
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1980-81	2019-20
Team	Phoenix Suns	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+44	+0.8	+7.7	+0.7	+5.5	+6.2	+0.7	+0.8	+0.4	-0.5	-0.2	+2.3	+2.4	+.072	+3.2	+7.3	+.196	+0.1	+0.2	+.024
Karl-Anthony Towns	35	33.9	26.5	2.7	8.1	10.8	4.4	0.9	1.2	3.1	3.3	9.0	17.8	.508	3.3	7.9	.412	5.1	6.5	.796
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1981-82	2020-21
Team	Phoenix Suns	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+30	+2.9	+5.3	+0.9	+4.5	+5.5	+0.1	+0.5	+0.4	-0.3	-0.5	+1.3	+2.1	+.016	+2.3	+5.8	+.197	+0.3		+.053
Karl-Anthony Towns	50	33.8	24.8	2.7	7.9	10.6	4.5	0.8	1.1	3.2	3.7	8.5	17.5	.486	2.4	6.3	.387	5.3	6.2	.859
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1982-83	2021-22
Team	Phoenix Suns	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+0.4	+10.4	+1.4	+4.0	+5.4	+1.4	+0.3	+0.6	-0.5	-1.0	+3.5	+5.2	+.067	+1.9	+4.5	+.249	+1.4	+1.5	+.031
Karl-Anthony Towns	74	33.5	24.6	2.6	7.2	9.8	3.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	3.6	8.7	16.4	.529	2.0	4.9	.410	5.2	6.3	.822
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:	+3	+1.0	+3.8	+0.2	+3.3	+3.1	+3.5	+1.0	+1.3	-1.8	-1.2	+0.8	+2.7	+.030	+1.7	+3.4	+.455	+3.9	+4.3	+.027
Karl-Anthony Towns	6	37.0	21.8	1.8	9.0	10.8	2.2	0.7	2.0	4.5	4.2	6.5	13.3	.488	1.7	3.7	.455	7.2	8.3	.860

Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1983-84	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves Lost West 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		%
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:	+51	+0.3	+7.6	+0.6	+4.1	+4.6	+0.6	+0.5	+0.1	-0.8	-0.7	+2.5	+3.8	+.058	+2.0	+5.3	+.241	+0.6	+0.6	+.022
Karl-Anthony Towns	29	33.0	20.8	1.7	6.5	8.1	4.8	0.7	0.6	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.8	.495	2.1	5.7	.366	4.1	4.7	.874
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:	+17	+0.7	+1.6	+0.2	+6.8	+6.6	+2.4	+0.5	+0.5	-1.2	-0.8	+0.5	+0.5	+.053	+1.1	+4.5	+.179	+0.5	+0.1	+.117
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	36.0	18.2	1.2	9.0	10.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	3.6	4.2	6.4	14.0	.457	1.2	4.8	.250	4.2	5.6	.750

Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1984-85	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Timberwolves Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+18	+4.5	+6.1	+0.4	+4.0	+4.3	+3.8	+0.5	+0.2	-0.2	-0.5	+1.5	+2.0	+.042	+2.1	+5.0	+.147	+0.8	+0.9	+.020
Karl-Anthony Towns	62	32.7	21.8	1.5	6.8	8.3	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.9	3.3	7.7	15.3	.504	2.2	5.3	.416	4.1	4.7	.873
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:	+5	+7.8	+1.8	+1.1	+3.9	+5.0	+4.7	+0.7	+0.2	-1.7	-0.3		+0.7	+.021	+1.9	+4.5	+.361	+0.1	+0.1	+.005
Karl-Anthony Towns	16	32.6	19.1	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.6	0.8	0.2	1.7	3.4	6.8	14.5	.466	1.9	5.2	.361	3.7	4.3	.855

Season 10
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1985-86	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+6		+8.8	+2.0	+7.2	+9.4	+2.7	+0.4	+0.3	-0.5	-0.9	+2.7	+3.3	+.071	+1.9	+4.2	+.277	+1.6	+1.9	+.011
Karl-Anthony Towns	72	35.0	24.4	2.9	9.8	12.8	3.1	1.0	0.7	2.7	3.5	8.9	16.9	.526	2.0	4.7	.420	4.7	5.7	.829
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:		+4.2	+5.2	+0.8	+6.6	+7.4	+4.6	+1.5	+0.4	-0.6	-1.1	+1.6	+2.2	+.043	+1.1	+3.2	+.024	+0.9	+0.7	+.047
Karl-Anthony Towns	18	35.5	21.4	2.1	9.5	11.6	1.3	0.7	0.7	2.2	4.3	7.7	15.8	.488	1.4	4.1	.351	4.6	5.4	.845

Season 11
	Dennis Johnson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1986-87	2025-26
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+66	+4.0	+8.4	+2.6	+6.8	+9.4	+4.3	+0.2	+0.4	-0.4	-1.3	+1.5	+3.9	+.011	+1.8	+5.0	+.216	+3.4	+3.4	+.074
Karl-Anthony Towns	13	33.1	21.8	3.2	9.5	12.7	3.2	0.9	0.9	2.6	3.8	6.9	16.0	.433	1.9	5.8	.329	6.0	6.6	.907
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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-