Dennis Johnson vs. Kenny Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kenny Smith 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, 4 more than Kenny Smith, who played 10. Dennis Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Kenny Smith had his rookie season in 1987-88. 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	Kenny Smith
Season	1976-77	1987-88
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	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:	+20	+15.0	+4.6	+1.3	+0.1	+1.4	+5.6		+0.6		-0.4	+1.9	+4.4	+.027				+0.5	+0.2	+.195
Kenny Smith	61	35.6	13.8	0.7	1.6	2.3	7.1	1.5	0.1	3.0	2.3	5.4	11.4	.477	0.2	0.6	.308	2.7	3.3	.819
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dennis Johnson nor Kenny Smith played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1978-79	1989-90
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+1	+3.4	+4.0	+1.6	+1.1	+2.7	+2.1	+0.3	+1.1	-0.3	-0.8	+1.2	+3.6	+.032				+1.8	+2.4	+.040
Kenny Smith	79	30.6	11.9	0.2	1.8	2.0	5.6	1.0	0.1	2.1	1.8	4.8	10.3	.466	0.3	1.1	.313	2.0	2.5	.821
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1979-80	1990-91
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West 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		%
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:	+3	+1.7	+1.3	+1.6	+1.4	+3.0	+3.0	+0.4	+0.9	-0.2	-1.6	+0.4	+3.9	+.098	+0.5	+1.0	+.156	+1.0	+1.6	+.064
Kenny Smith	78	34.6	17.7	0.5	1.6	2.1	7.1	1.4	0.1	3.0	1.7	6.7	12.9	.520	0.6	1.7	.363	3.7	4.4	.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:	+12	+1.1	+1.8	+0.4	+1.3	+1.6	+4.2	+0.5	+0.4	-0.9	-1.5	+0.7	+3.6	+.064	+0.4	+0.3	+.167	+0.8	+1.1	+.050
Kenny Smith	3	37.7	15.3	1.3	1.3	2.7	8.0	1.3	0.3	2.0	1.7	6.0	12.7	.474	0.7	1.3	.500	2.7	3.0	.889

Season 5
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1980-81	1991-92
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
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:	+2	+0.7	+4.8	+1.6	+0.8	+2.4	+3.2	+0.4	+0.7	-0.2	-1.7	+1.4	+4.2	+.039	+0.6	+1.1	+.178	+2.5	+3.2	+.046
Kenny Smith	81	33.8	14.0	0.4	1.8	2.2	6.9	1.3	0.1	2.8	1.4	5.3	11.2	.475	0.7	1.7	.394	2.7	3.1	.866
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1981-82	1992-93
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West 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		%
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:	+2	+7.2	+6.5	+1.5	+1.8	+3.1	+0.8	+0.3	+0.6	-0.9	-1.9	+2.5	+6.3	+.050	+1.1	+2.2	+.248	+2.6	+3.5	+.072
Kenny Smith	82	29.5	13.0	0.3	1.6	2.0	5.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	1.3	4.7	9.1	.520	1.2	2.7	.438	2.4	2.7	.878
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:	+5	+6.1	+7.5	+1.7	+0.8	+2.4	+0.4	+1.3	+0.5	-1.4	-2.5	+3.7	+8.2	+.015	+1.9	+3.4	+.500	+2.0	+2.6	+.009
Kenny Smith	12	32.6	14.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	4.2	0.8	0.1	2.2	1.5	5.3	10.7	.492	1.9	3.8	.500	2.3	3.0	.778

Season 7
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1982-83	1993-94
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
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:	+1	+4.8	+2.6	+0.9	+1.7	+2.6	+0.8	+0.5	+0.4	-1.0	-1.0	+0.8	+2.1	+.018	+1.0	+2.4	+.244	+2.1	+2.8	+.080
Kenny Smith	78	28.3	11.6	0.3	1.5	1.8	4.2	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	4.4	9.1	.480	1.1	2.8	.405	1.7	2.0	.871
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:	+20	+5.7	+7.2	+1.8	+3.6	+5.4	+1.6	+0.7	+0.5	-1.3	-1.3	+3.6	+7.8	+.003	+1.5	+3.0	+.447	+1.5	+1.7	+.025
Kenny Smith	23	30.3	10.8	0.2	2.1	2.3	4.1	1.0	0.2	1.4	1.7	3.7	8.2	.455	1.5	3.3	.447	1.8	2.3	.808

Season 8
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1983-84	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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:	+1	+8.2	+2.8	+0.8	+0.8	+1.6	+0.2	+0.3	+0.6	-0.7	-1.8	+1.3	+3.7	+.047	+1.7	+3.7	+.304	+1.9	+2.3	+.001
Kenny Smith	81	25.1	10.4	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	0.9	0.1	1.5	1.3	3.5	7.3	.484	1.8	4.1	.429	1.6	1.8	.851
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:		+7.1	+5.8	+1.1	+0.3	+1.4	+0.1	+0.5	+0.2	-1.0	-1.3	+2.4	+6.4	+.034	+2.0	+4.4	+.013	+3.1	+3.7	+.033
Kenny Smith	22	29.6	10.8	0.3	1.9	2.2	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.1	3.5	8.1	.438	2.1	4.7	.442	1.6	1.8	.900

Season 9
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1984-85	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+12	+13.4	+7.2	+0.8	+1.7	+2.6	+3.2	+0.5	+0.5	-1.2	-1.1	+3.2	+6.5	+.029	+1.2	+3.2	+.113	+2.0	+2.2	+.032
Kenny Smith	68	23.8	8.5	0.3	1.1	1.4	3.6	0.7	0.0	1.5	1.7	3.0	6.8	.433	1.3	3.5	.382	1.3	1.6	.821
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:	+13	+16.5	+8.4	+0.6	+1.9	+2.5	+2.5	+0.9	+0.4	-2.4	-1.3	+3.9	+8.6	+.011	+1.5	+3.2	+.387	+2.2	+2.8	+.140
Kenny Smith	8	23.9	8.9	0.5	1.0	1.5	4.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.8	2.9	6.6	.434	1.5	3.9	.387	1.6	1.6	1.000

Season 10
	Dennis Johnson	Kenny Smith
Season	1985-86	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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:	+30	+19.1	+9.3	+0.8	+1.8	+2.5	+3.4	+1.0	+0.4	-0.7	-2.0	+4.1	+8.6	+.032	+1.1	+2.3	+.294	+2.3	+2.9	+.049
Kenny Smith	48	15.9	6.3	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.5	0.6	2.1	5.0	.423	1.2	2.8	.437	0.8	0.9	.867
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Dennis Johnson played 4 seasons more than Kenny Smith in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 1987 to 1990—Dennis Johnson played in 4 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Kenny Smith, Dennis Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team