Desmond Bane vs. Billy Cunningham Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Billy Cunningham and Desmond Bane, 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.

Desmond Bane played 5 years in the NBA, 4 less than Billy Cunningham, who played 9. Desmond Bane had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while Billy Cunningham had his rookie season in 1965-66. 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
Desmond Bane 5 4 2020-21 to 2024-25
Billy Cunningham 9 6 1965-66 to 1975-76

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season
Desmond Bane Billy Cunningham
Season 2020-211965-66
Team Memphis GrizzliesPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd76ers Lost East Div Finals
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 68 22.3 9.2 0.5 2.6 3.1 1.7 0.6 0.2 0.9 1.8 3.4 7.3 .469 1.7 4.0 .432 0.6 0.7 .816
difference:+12+4.4+5.1+4.4+0.9-2.0+2.0+5.3+.043+2.9+4.8+.182
Billy Cunningham 80 26.7 14.3 - - 7.5 2.6 - - - 3.8 5.4 12.6 .426 - - - 3.5 5.5 .634
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 5 19.8 5.6 0.4 3.0 3.4 2.0 0.8 0.4 0.6 1.2 2.2 3.8 .579 1.2 2.4 .500 0.0 0.0 -
difference:+1+2.5+0.3+1.1+0.5-1.6+0.9+4.0+.418+2.8+3.3
Billy Cunningham 4 17.3 5.3 - - 4.5 2.5 - - - 2.8 1.3 7.8 .161 - - - 2.8 3.3 .846

Season 2
Desmond Bane Billy Cunningham
Season 2021-221966-67
Team Memphis GrizzliesPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 76 29.8 18.2 0.6 3.8 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.4 1.5 2.6 6.7 14.5 .461 3.0 6.9 .436 1.8 2.0 .903
difference:+5+3.0+0.3+2.9+0.2-0.6+0.2+0.5+.002+2.9+4.9+.217
Billy Cunningham 81 26.8 18.5 - - 7.3 2.5 - - - 3.2 6.9 15.0 .459 - - - 4.7 6.9 .686
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 12 35.7 18.8 0.4 3.3 3.8 2.2 0.9 0.8 1.3 1.9 6.3 13.3 .478 3.6 7.3 .489 2.5 2.9 .857
difference:+3+13.1+3.8+2.4-1.6+0.8+1.4+.102+1.4+3.1+.201
Billy Cunningham 15 22.6 15.0 - - 6.2 2.2 - - - 3.5 5.5 14.7 .376 - - - 3.9 6.0 .656

Season 3
Desmond Bane Billy Cunningham
Season 2022-231967-68
Team Memphis GrizzliesPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd76ers Lost East Div Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 58 31.8 21.5 0.7 4.3 5.0 4.4 1.0 0.4 2.2 2.6 7.8 16.2 .479 2.9 7.0 .408 3.1 3.5 .883
difference:+16+3.7+2.6+2.6+1.9-0.9+0.8+0.3+.041+1.9+3.4+.160
Billy Cunningham 74 28.1 18.9 - - 7.6 2.5 - - - 3.5 7.0 15.9 .438 - - - 5.0 6.9 .723
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 6 38.5 23.5 1.2 4.8 6.0 3.2 0.5 0.0 2.8 3.2 8.2 19.3 .422 2.7 8.3 .320 4.5 4.8 .931
difference:+3+9.8+2.8+1.3+0.1-2.1+0.2+5.0+.136+0.2+0.9+.107
Billy Cunningham 3 28.7 20.7 - - 7.3 3.3 - - - 5.3 8.0 14.3 .558 - - - 4.7 5.7 .824

Season 4
Desmond Bane Billy Cunningham
Season 2023-241968-69
Team Memphis GrizzliesPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers Lost East Div Semis
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 42 34.4 23.7 0.9 3.5 4.4 5.5 1.0 0.5 2.7 2.9 8.6 18.5 .464 3.3 8.6 .381 3.3 3.8 .870
difference:+40+6.4+1.1+8.4+2.0-1.1+0.4+2.7+.038+3.5+5.4+.133
Billy Cunningham 82 40.8 24.8 - - 12.8 3.5 - - - 4.0 9.0 21.2 .426 - - - 6.8 9.2 .737
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane DNP------ --- ----------
Billy Cunningham 5 43.4 24.4 - - 12.6 2.4 - - - 4.8 9.8 23.4 .419 - - - 4.8 7.6 .632

Season 5
Desmond Bane Billy Cunningham
Season 2024-251969-70
Team Memphis GrizzliesPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd76ers Lost East Div Semis
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 69 32.0 19.2 0.9 5.2 6.1 5.3 1.2 0.4 2.4 2.4 7.1 14.8 .484 2.4 6.1 .392 2.6 2.9 .894
difference:+12+7.4+6.9+7.5+1.0-1.7+2.8+6.3+.015+3.7+5.7+.165
Billy Cunningham 81 39.4 26.1 - - 13.6 4.3 - - - 4.1 9.9 21.1 .469 - - - 6.3 8.6 .729
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane 4 34.8 15.3 1.3 5.5 6.8 3.3 0.8 0.5 3.8 2.3 5.0 15.8 .317 1.8 8.0 .219 3.5 3.8 .933
difference:+1+6.2+13.9+3.6+0.7-1.5+7.2+8.8+.179+1.3+3.4+.266
Billy Cunningham 5 41.0 29.2 - - 10.4 4.0 - - - 3.8 12.2 24.6 .496 - - - 4.8 7.2 .667

Additional Years

* Billy Cunningham played 4 seasons more than Desmond Bane in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 9, from 1971 to 1976—Billy Cunningham played in one postseason.

In those 4 extra years over Desmond Bane, Billy Cunningham got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 All-Star Game
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