Dwight Howard vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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, 10 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Dwight Howard had the first of his seasons in 2004-05, 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.

Their Careers

Player		 Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Dwight Howard 18 12 2004-05 to 2021-22
Yao Ming 8 4 2002-03 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2004-052002-03
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3.6+1.5+1.1+0.7+1.8+0.8+0.5+0.1-0.1+0.6+1.5+.022+0.3+0.5+.140
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 Dwight Howard nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2005-062003-04
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+4.0+1.7+1.1+2.4+3.5+0.5+0.5-0.1-0.1+0.8+1.8+.009+0.1+1.9+.214
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Dwight Howard 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
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2006-072004-05
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf 1st RdRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+6.3+0.7+0.9+3.0+3.9+1.1+0.5+0.1-1.4-0.7+0.3+1.6+.051+0.1+1.9+.197
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 TOPF 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+9.9+6.1+0.7+6.4+7.1+1.1+0.2+1.7-1.6-1.1+2.1+1.5+.107+1.9+0.4+.272
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
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2007-082005-06
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+25+3.5+1.6+0.8+3.2+4.0+0.2+0.4+0.5-0.6-0.1+1.1+3.9+.080+0.6+4.0+.263
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2008-092006-07
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Defensive Player of the Year-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost NBA FinalsRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+31+1.9+4.4+2.2+2.3+4.4+0.6+0.6+0.9-0.5-0.1+1.7+4.7+.056+1.0+2.1+.268
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 TOPF 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:+16+2.2+4.8+1.0+4.0+5.0+1.0+0.8+1.9-1.8-0.5+0.9+6.2+.161+0.1+3.1+0.8+.244
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
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2009-102007-08
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Defensive Player of the Year-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+27+2.5+3.7+0.4+2.0+2.4+0.5+0.4+0.8-0.4+1.7+5.3+.105+0.1+0.4+2.6+.258
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 TOPF 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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2010-112008-09
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Defensive Player of the Year-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf 1st RdRockets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+1+4.0+3.2+1.4+2.9+4.2+0.4+1.0+0.5-0.6+0.5+.045+0.1+2.1+6.0+.270
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 TOPF 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:+3+7.1+9.9+2.4+2.2+4.6+0.5+0.3+0.6-3.6-1.2+2.5+2.5+.085+0.2+4.9+9.0+.220
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
Dwight Howard Yao Ming
Season 2011-122010-11
Team Orlando MagicHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+49+20.1+10.4+2.3+6.8+9.1+1.1+1.5+0.5-1.8-0.3+4.1+6.0+.087+0.1+2.2+7.4+.447
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
* Neiher Dwight Howard nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years

* Dwight Howard played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2013 to 2022—Dwight Howard played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Dwight Howard got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 1 Rebounds Leader
Achievement 2 All-Star Game
Share: