Desmond Bane vs. John Havlicek Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Havlicek 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 11 less than John Havlicek, who played 16. Desmond Bane had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while John Havlicek had his rookie season in 1962-63. 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
John Havlicek 16 13 1962-63 to 1977-78

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season

Desmond Bane John Havlicek
Season 2020-211962-63
Team Memphis GrizzliesBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
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+5.2+5.1+3.6+0.5-0.6+2.6+6.3+.024+1.6+2.3+.088
John Havlicek 80 27.5 14.3 - - 6.7 2.2 - - - 2.4 6.0 13.6 .445 - - - 2.2 3.0 .728
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:+6+3.3+6.2+1.4+0.5-1.3+2.9+7.6+.131+1.6+2.5
John Havlicek 11 23.1 11.8 - - 4.8 1.5 - - - 2.5 5.1 11.4 .448 - - - 1.6 2.5 .667

Season 2

Desmond Bane John Havlicek
Season 2021-221963-64
Team Memphis GrizzliesBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
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:+4+2.5+1.7+1.0+0.3-0.2+1.3+4.7+.044+2.1+3.3+.157
John Havlicek 80 32.3 19.9 - - 5.4 3.0 - - - 2.8 8.0 19.2 .417 - - - 3.9 5.3 .746
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:+2+6.8+3.1+0.5+1.0-0.7+0.2+2.6+.094+1.0+1.5+.062
John Havlicek 10 28.9 15.7 - - 4.3 3.2 - - - 2.6 6.1 15.9 .384 - - - 3.5 4.4 .795

Season 3

Desmond Bane John Havlicek
Season 2022-231964-65
Team Memphis GrizzliesBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+17+2.9+3.2+0.1+1.7-0.1+0.2+2.7+.078+0.7+.139
John Havlicek 75 28.9 18.3 - - 4.9 2.7 - - - 2.7 7.6 18.9 .401 - - - 3.1 4.2 .744
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:+6+4.7+5.0+1.3+0.8-0.5+0.9+1.5+.070+0.7+0.2+.095
John Havlicek 12 33.8 18.5 - - 7.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 7.3 20.8 .352 - - - 3.8 4.6 .836

Season 4

Desmond Bane John Havlicek
Season 2023-241965-66
Team Memphis GrizzliesBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+29+3.8+4.9+1.6+2.5-0.7+1.1+0.2+.065+0.6+1.1+.085
John Havlicek 71 30.6 18.8 - - 6.0 3.0 - - - 2.2 7.5 18.7 .399 - - - 3.9 4.9 .785
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Desmond Bane DNP------ --- ----------
John Havlicek 17 42.3 23.6 - - 9.1 4.1 - - - 4.1 9.0 22.0 .409 - - - 5.6 6.6 .841

Season 5

Desmond Bane John Havlicek
Season 2024-251966-67
Team Memphis GrizzliesBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st RdCeltics Lost East Div Finals
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+0.1+2.2+0.5+1.9-0.2+1.3+4.2+.040+1.9+2.5+.066
John Havlicek 81 32.1 21.4 - - 6.6 3.4 - - - 2.6 8.4 19.0 .444 - - - 4.5 5.4 .828
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:+5+1.9+12.1+1.3+0.2-1.0+5.6+7.8+.131+2.8+4.1+.130
John Havlicek 9 36.7 27.4 - - 8.1 3.1 - - - 3.3 10.6 23.6 .448 - - - 6.3 7.9 .803

Additional Years

* John Havlicek played 11 seasons more than Desmond Bane in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 16, from 1968 to 1978—John Havlicek played in 8 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships.

In those 11 extra years over Desmond Bane, John Havlicek got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 4 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 5 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 5 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 3 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 11 All-Star Game