Dwight Howard vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and Dwight Howard, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Dwight Howard played 18 years in the NBA, 9 more than Donovan Mitchell, who played 9. Dwight Howard had the first of his seasons in 2004-05, while Donovan Mitchell had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Dwight Howard	18	12	2004-05 to 2021-22
Donovan Mitchell	9	8	2017-18 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2004-05	2017-18
Team	Orlando Magic	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Dwight Howard	82	32.6	12.0	3.5	6.5	10.0	0.9	0.9	1.7	2.0	2.8	4.3	8.3	.520	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.671
difference:	+3	+0.8	+8.5	+2.8	+3.4	+6.3	+2.8	+0.6	+1.4	-0.7	-0.1	+3.2	+8.9	+.083	+2.4	+7.0		+0.4	+1.2	+.134
Donovan Mitchell	79	33.4	20.5	0.7	3.1	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.5	17.2	.437	2.4	7.0	.340	3.0	3.8	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	11	37.4	24.4	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.2	1.5	0.4	2.9	3.2	9.3	22.1	.420	2.3	7.3	.313	3.5	3.9	.907


Season 2
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2005-06	2018-19
Team	Orlando Magic	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz 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		%
Dwight Howard	82	36.8	15.8	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.5	0.8	1.4	2.6	3.4	5.7	10.7	.531	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	7.3	.595
difference:	+5	+3.1	+8.0	+2.7	+5.7	+8.4	+2.7	+0.6	+1.0	-0.2	-0.7	+2.9	+9.2	+.099	+2.4	+6.7		+0.2	+2.2	+.211
Donovan Mitchell	77	33.7	23.8	0.8	3.3	4.1	4.2	1.4	0.4	2.8	2.7	8.6	19.9	.432	2.4	6.7	.362	4.1	5.1	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	5	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.6	5.0	3.2	1.6	0.2	4.2	3.0	7.2	22.4	.321	2.2	8.6	.256	4.8	6.6	.727


Season 3
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2006-07	2019-20
Team	Orlando Magic	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Jazz 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		%
Dwight Howard	82	36.9	17.6	3.5	8.8	12.3	1.9	0.9	1.9	3.9	3.0	6.4	10.6	.603	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	8.1	.586
difference:	+13	+2.6	+6.4	+2.7	+5.2	+7.9	+2.4	+0.1	+1.7	-1.2	-0.5	+2.3	+8.8	+.154	+2.5	+6.9		+0.8	+3.4	+.277
Donovan Mitchell	69	34.3	24.0	0.8	3.6	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.5	8.7	19.4	.449	2.5	6.9	.366	4.0	4.7	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	4	41.8	15.3	4.0	10.8	14.8	1.8	0.5	1.0	4.3	3.3	5.8	10.5	.548	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	8.3	.455
difference:	+3	+4.1	+21.0	+3.1	+6.7	+9.8	+3.1	+0.5	+0.7	-0.2	-1.7	+6.1	+11.9	+.019	+4.7	+9.1		+4.1		+.493
Donovan Mitchell	7	37.7	36.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.9	1.0	0.3	4.1	1.6	11.9	22.4	.529	4.7	9.1	.516	7.9	8.3	.948


Season 4
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2007-08	2020-21
Team	Orlando Magic	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Dwight Howard	82	37.7	20.7	3.4	10.8	14.2	1.3	0.9	2.1	3.2	3.3	7.1	11.9	.599	0.0	0.0	-	6.5	10.9	.590
difference:	+29	+4.3	+5.7	+2.5	+7.3	+9.8	+3.9	+0.1	+1.8	-0.4	-1.1	+1.9	+8.7	+.161	+3.4	+8.7		+1.5	+4.9	+.255
Donovan Mitchell	53	33.4	26.4	0.9	3.5	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.0	20.6	.438	3.4	8.7	.386	5.0	6.0	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	10	42.1	18.9	6.0	9.8	15.8	0.9	0.8	3.4	3.2	3.8	7.2	12.4	.581	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	8.3	.542
difference:		+7.5	+13.4	+5.7	+5.9	+11.6	+4.6	+0.3	+3.2	-0.4	-1.8	+3.3	+11.1	+.134	+5.0	+11.5		+1.8	+0.7	+.287
Donovan Mitchell	10	34.6	32.3	0.3	3.9	4.2	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.8	2.0	10.5	23.5	.447	5.0	11.5	.435	6.3	7.6	.829


Season 5
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2008-09	2021-22
Team	Orlando Magic	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost NBA Finals	Jazz 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		%
Dwight Howard	79	35.7	20.6	4.3	9.6	13.8	1.4	1.0	2.9	3.0	3.4	7.1	12.4	.572	0.0	0.0	-	6.4	10.7	.594
difference:	+12	+1.9	+5.3	+3.5	+6.2	+9.6	+3.9	+0.5	+2.7		-1.0	+2.1	+8.1	+.124	+3.5	+9.8		+2.4	+6.0	+.259
Donovan Mitchell	67	33.8	25.9	0.8	3.4	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.4	9.2	20.5	.448	3.5	9.8	.355	4.0	4.7	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	23	39.3	20.3	4.3	11.0	15.3	1.9	0.9	2.6	2.9	4.4	7.0	11.7	.601	0.0	0.1	.000	6.3	9.9	.636
difference:	+17	+1.1	+5.2	+3.3	+7.7	+11.0	+3.8	+0.2	+2.1	-0.2	-2.1	+1.8	+10.5	+.203	+1.7	+7.9	+.208	+0.1	+2.9	+.245
Donovan Mitchell	6	38.2	25.5	1.0	3.3	4.3	5.7	0.7	0.5	2.7	2.3	8.8	22.2	.398	1.7	8.0	.208	6.2	7.0	.881


Season 6
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2009-10	2022-23
Team	Orlando Magic	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Dwight Howard	82	34.7	18.3	3.5	9.7	13.2	1.8	0.9	2.8	3.3	3.5	6.2	10.2	.612	0.0	0.1	.000	5.9	10.0	.592
difference:	+14	+1.1	+10.0	+2.6	+6.4	+8.9	+2.6	+0.6	+2.4	-0.7	-1.0	+3.8	+10.4	+.128	+3.6	+9.2	+.386	+1.2	+4.6	+.275
Donovan Mitchell	68	35.8	28.3	0.9	3.3	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	2.6	2.5	10.0	20.6	.484	3.6	9.3	.386	4.7	5.4	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	14	35.5	18.1	2.7	8.4	11.1	1.4	0.8	3.5	3.6	4.2	6.1	10.0	.614	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	11.3	.519
difference:	+9	+5.9	+5.1	+2.1	+4.0	+6.1	+5.8	+1.2	+2.9	-0.2	-1.4	+2.9	+10.8	+.181	+2.6	+9.0		+3.3	+7.7	+.203
Donovan Mitchell	5	41.4	23.2	0.6	4.4	5.0	7.2	2.0	0.6	3.8	2.8	9.0	20.8	.433	2.6	9.0	.289	2.6	3.6	.722


Season 7
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2010-11	2023-24
Team	Orlando Magic	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost East 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		%
Dwight Howard	78	37.6	22.9	4.0	10.1	14.1	1.4	1.4	2.4	3.6	3.3	7.9	13.4	.593	0.0	0.1	.000	7.0	11.7	.596
difference:	+23	+2.3	+3.7	+3.2	+5.8	+9.0	+4.7	+0.4	+1.9	-0.8	-1.2	+1.2	+6.4	+.131	+3.3	+8.9	+.368	+2.0	+5.9	+.269
Donovan Mitchell	55	35.3	26.6	0.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	2.8	2.1	9.1	19.8	.462	3.3	9.0	.368	5.0	5.8	.865

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	6	43.0	27.0	4.5	11.0	15.5	0.5	0.7	1.8	5.5	4.2	8.5	13.5	.630	0.0	0.2	.000	10.0	14.7	.682
difference:	+4	+4.8	+2.6	+3.9	+6.2	+10.1	+4.2	+0.6	+1.5	-2.7	-1.3	+2.2	+9.0	+.154	+2.9	+8.0	+.354	+4.7	+8.2	+.133
Donovan Mitchell	10	38.2	29.6	0.6	4.8	5.4	4.7	1.3	0.3	2.8	2.9	10.7	22.5	.476	2.9	8.2	.354	5.3	6.5	.815


Season 8
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2011-12	2024-25
Team	Orlando Magic	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Dwight Howard	54	38.3	20.6	3.7	10.8	14.5	1.9	1.5	2.1	3.2	2.9	7.7	13.4	.573	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	10.6	.491
difference:	+17	+6.9	+3.4	+2.9	+7.1	+10.0	+3.1	+0.2	+1.9	-1.1	-0.9	+0.5	+5.2	+.130	+3.3	+8.8	+.368	+1.0	+5.5	+.332
Donovan Mitchell	71	31.4	24.0	0.8	3.7	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	2.1	2.0	8.2	18.6	.443	3.3	8.9	.368	4.2	5.1	.823

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Donovan Mitchell	9	32.0	29.6	1.2	3.4	4.7	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.0	9.6	21.6	.443	3.1	9.3	.333	7.3	9.9	.742


Season 9
	Dwight Howard	Donovan Mitchell
Season	2012-13	2025-26
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did not play (season in progress)

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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		%
Dwight Howard	76	35.8	17.1	3.3	9.1	12.4	1.4	1.1	2.4	3.0	3.8	6.2	10.7	.578	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	9.5	.492
difference:	+45	+1.9	+12.4	+2.5	+5.5	+7.9	+4.1	+0.4	+2.1	-0.1	-1.3	+4.2	+10.3	+.086	+3.9	+10.0	+.218	+0.2	+3.7	+.358
Donovan Mitchell	31	33.9	29.5	0.8	3.6	4.5	5.5	1.5	0.3	3.1	2.5	10.4	21.0	.492	3.9	10.1	.385	4.9	5.8	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dwight Howard	4	31.5	17.0	2.5	8.3	10.8	1.0	0.5	2.0	4.0	4.3	6.5	10.5	.619	0.0	0.0	-	4.0	9.0	.444
Donovan Mitchell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Dwight Howard played 9 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 18, from 2014 to 2022—Dwight Howard played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, Dwight Howard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Star Game

Dwight Howard vs. Donovan Mitchell Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Donovan Mitchell and Dwight Howard, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years