Devin Booker vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Devin Booker, 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.

Devin Booker played 11 years in the NBA, 3 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Devin Booker had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2002-03
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Devin Booker	76	27.7	13.8	0.4	2.1	2.5	2.6	0.6	0.3	2.1	3.0	4.8	11.4	.423	1.3	3.8	.343	2.8	3.4	.840
difference:	+6	+1.3	+0.3	+2.0	+3.7	+5.7	+0.9	+0.2	+1.5		-0.2	+0.1	+1.6	+.075	+1.3	+3.8		+0.9	+1.1	+.029
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Devin Booker nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2003-04
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	78	35.0	22.1	0.6	2.6	3.2	3.4	0.9	0.3	3.1	3.1	7.8	18.3	.423	1.9	5.2	.363	4.7	5.7	.832
difference:	+4	+2.2	+4.6	+1.8	+4.0	+5.8	+1.9	+0.6	+1.6	-0.6	-0.2	+1.3	+5.8	+.099	+1.9	+5.2		+0.3	+0.3	+.023
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2017-18	2004-05
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets 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		%
Devin Booker	54	34.5	24.9	0.5	4.0	4.5	4.7	0.9	0.3	3.6	3.1	8.4	19.5	.432	2.7	7.1	.383	5.4	6.1	.878
difference:	+26	+3.9	+6.6	+2.1	+1.8	+3.9	+3.9	+0.5	+1.7	-1.1	-0.6	+1.7	+7.3	+.120	+2.7	+7.1		+0.5	+0.1	+.095
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2018-19	2005-06
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Devin Booker	64	35.0	26.6	0.6	3.5	4.1	6.8	0.9	0.2	4.1	3.1	9.2	19.6	.467	2.1	6.5	.326	6.1	7.1	.866
difference:	+7	+0.8	+4.3	+2.0	+4.1	+6.1	+5.3	+0.4	+1.4	-1.5	-0.3	+1.0	+3.8	+.052	+2.1	+6.5		+0.2	+0.2	+.013
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Devin Booker nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2019-20	2006-07
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Devin Booker	70	35.9	26.6	0.4	3.8	4.2	6.5	0.7	0.3	3.8	3.0	9.0	18.3	.489	2.0	5.7	.354	6.7	7.3	.919
difference:	+22	+2.1	+1.6	+1.7	+3.5	+5.2	+4.5	+0.3	+1.7	-0.3	-0.3	+0.2	+1.2	+.027	+2.0	+5.7		+0.7	+1.3	+.057
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2020-21	2007-08
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Devin Booker	67	33.9	25.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	4.3	0.8	0.2	3.1	2.7	9.3	19.2	.484	1.9	5.5	.340	5.1	5.9	.867
difference:	+12	+3.3	+3.6	+2.6	+4.0	+6.6	+2.0	+0.3	+1.8	-0.2	-0.4	+1.4	+3.7	+.023	+1.9	+5.5		+1.2	+1.5	+.017
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	22	40.4	27.3	0.7	5.0	5.6	4.5	0.8	0.2	3.7	3.5	9.6	21.5	.447	2.0	6.2	.321	6.0	6.7	.905
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2021-22	2008-09
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets 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		%
Devin Booker	68	34.5	26.8	0.7	4.4	5.0	4.8	1.1	0.4	2.4	2.6	9.7	20.9	.466	2.7	7.0	.383	4.6	5.3	.868
difference:	+9	+0.9	+7.1	+1.9	+2.8	+4.9	+3.0	+0.7	+1.5	-0.6	-0.7	+2.3	+7.5	+.082	+2.7	+7.0		+0.3	+0.4	+.002
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	10	36.6	23.3	1.0	3.8	4.8	4.4	0.5	0.4	3.2	2.5	7.9	17.5	.451	2.8	6.5	.431	4.7	5.3	.887
difference:	+1	+0.7	+6.2	+1.1	+5.0	+6.1	+3.4	+0.1	+0.8	-1.3	-0.5	+1.9	+6.5	+.094	+2.8	+6.5		+0.4	+0.4	+.015
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	Devin Booker	Yao Ming
Season	2022-23	2010-11
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Devin Booker	53	34.6	27.8	0.9	3.7	4.5	5.5	1.0	0.3	2.7	3.0	9.9	20.1	.494	2.1	6.0	.351	5.8	6.8	.855
difference:	+48	+16.4	+17.6	+0.5	+0.3	+0.9	+4.7	+1.0	+1.3	-1.3	-0.4	+6.3	+12.7	+.008	+2.1	+6.0		+2.8	+3.6	+.083
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Devin Booker	11	41.7	33.7	1.1	3.7	4.8	7.2	1.7	0.8	2.9	3.4	12.8	21.9	.585	2.8	5.5	.508	5.3	6.1	.866
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Devin Booker played 3 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 11, from 2024 to 2026—Devin Booker played in one postseason. In those 3 extra years over Yao Ming, Devin Booker got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Star Game