Elvin Hayes vs. Buddy Hield Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Buddy Hield and Elvin Hayes, 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.

Elvin Hayes played 16 years in the NBA, 7 more than Buddy Hield, who played 9. Elvin Hayes had the first of his seasons in 1968-69, while Buddy Hield had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1968-69	2016-17
Team	San Diego Rockets	New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Div Semis	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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	45.1	28.4	-	-	17.1	1.4	-	-	-	3.2	11.3	25.4	.447	-	-	-	5.7	9.1	.626
difference:		+22.1	+17.8			+13.8	+0.1				-1.8	+7.3	+16.0	+.021				+4.9	+8.2	+.216
Buddy Hield	82	23.0	10.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	1.5	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.4	4.0	9.4	.426	1.8	4.6	.391	0.8	0.9	.842
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	6	46.3	25.8	-	-	13.8	0.8	-	-	-	3.5	10.0	19.0	.526	-	-	-	5.8	8.8	.660
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1969-70	2017-18
Team	San Diego Rockets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.7	27.5	-	-	16.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.3	11.1	24.6	.452	-	-	-	5.2	7.6	.688
difference:	+2	+19.4	+14.0			+13.1	+0.1				-1.4	+5.9	+12.9	+.006				+4.3	+6.6	+.189
Buddy Hield	80	25.3	13.5	0.7	3.2	3.8	1.9	1.1	0.3	1.6	1.9	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.1	.431	0.9	1.0	.877
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Elvin Hayes nor Buddy Hield played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1970-71	2018-19
Team	San Diego Rockets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	44.3	28.7	-	-	16.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.7	11.6	27.0	.428	-	-	-	5.5	8.2	.672
difference:		+12.4	+8.0			+11.6	+0.2				-0.2	+4.0	+10.4	+.030				+3.4	+5.8	+.214
Buddy Hield	82	31.9	20.7	1.3	3.7	5.0	2.5	0.7	0.4	1.8	2.5	7.6	16.6	.458	3.4	7.9	.427	2.1	2.4	.886
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Elvin Hayes nor Buddy Hield played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1971-72	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.2	25.2	-	-	14.6	3.3	-	-	-	2.8	10.1	23.4	.434	-	-	-	4.9	7.5	.649
difference:	+10	+11.4	+6.0			+10.0	+0.3				-0.5	+3.2	+7.3	+.005				+3.3	+5.6	+.197
Buddy Hield	72	30.8	19.2	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.0	0.9	0.2	2.3	2.3	6.9	16.1	.429	3.8	9.6	.394	1.6	1.9	.846
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Elvin Hayes nor Buddy Hield played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1972-73	2020-21
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	81	41.3	21.2	-	-	14.5	1.6	-	-	-	2.9	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.6	5.4	.671
difference:	+10	+7.0	+4.6			+9.8	+2.0				-0.4	+3.1	+5.8	+.038				+2.4	+3.9	+.175
Buddy Hield	71	34.3	16.6	0.4	4.3	4.7	3.6	0.9	0.4	1.8	2.5	5.7	14.0	.406	4.0	10.2	.391	1.2	1.5	.846
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	5	45.6	25.8	-	-	11.4	1.0	-	-	-	3.2	10.6	21.0	.505	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.697
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1973-74	2021-22
Team	Capital Bullets	Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Elvin Hayes	81	44.5	21.4	4.4	13.7	18.1	2.0	1.1	3.0	-	3.1	8.5	20.1	.423	-	-	-	4.4	6.1	.721
difference:		+13.6	+5.8	+3.6	+10.2	+13.7	+0.8	+0.2	+2.7		-0.8	+3.0	+6.5	+.017				+3.0	+4.5	+.153
Buddy Hield	81	30.9	15.6	0.8	3.5	4.4	2.8	0.9	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.5	13.6	.406	3.2	8.8	.366	1.4	1.6	.874
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	46.1	25.9	4.4	11.4	15.9	3.0	0.7	2.1	-	3.3	10.9	20.4	.531	-	-	-	4.1	5.9	.707
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1974-75	2022-23
Team	Washington Bullets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	42.3	23.0	2.7	9.5	12.2	2.5	1.9	2.3	-	2.9	9.0	20.3	.443	-	-	-	5.0	6.5	.766
difference:	+2	+11.3	+6.2	+1.9	+5.3	+7.2	+0.3	+0.7	+2.0		-0.9	+3.1	+7.3	+.015				+3.7	+4.9	+.056
Buddy Hield	80	31.0	16.8	0.8	4.2	5.0	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.7	2.0	5.9	13.0	.458	3.6	8.5	.425	1.3	1.6	.822
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	17	44.2	25.5	2.7	8.2	10.9	2.2	1.5	2.3	-	4.1	10.2	21.9	.468	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.677
Buddy Hield	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1975-76	2023-24
Team	Washington Bullets	Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	80	37.2	19.8	2.6	8.4	11.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	-	3.7	8.1	17.3	.470	-	-	-	3.6	5.7	.628
difference:	+4	+11.5	+7.7	+1.9	+5.9	+7.8	+1.3	+0.5	+2.0		-1.7	+3.7	+7.2	+.034				+3.0	+5.0	+.253
Buddy Hield	84	25.7	12.1	0.7	2.5	3.2	2.8	0.8	0.5	1.2	2.0	4.4	10.1	.436	2.6	6.8	.386	0.6	0.7	.881
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	7	43.6	20.0	2.3	10.3	12.6	1.4	0.7	4.0	-	3.4	7.7	17.4	.443	-	-	-	4.6	7.9	.582
difference:	+3	+30.8	+14.5	+1.8	+9.5	+11.3	+0.9	+0.7	+3.7		-2.4	+5.9	+13.1	+.031				+4.1	+7.4	+.418
Buddy Hield	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.5	1.0	1.8	4.3	.412	1.5	3.3	.462	0.5	0.5	1.000

Season 9
	Elvin Hayes	Buddy Hield
Season	1976-77	2024-25
Team	Washington Bullets	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Elvin Hayes	82	41.0	23.7	3.5	9.0	12.5	1.9	1.1	2.7	-	3.8	9.3	18.5	.501	-	-	-	5.1	7.5	.687
difference:		+18.3	+12.6	+2.9	+6.4	+9.3	+0.3	+0.3	+2.4		-2.2	+5.3	+8.9	+.084				+4.5	+6.7	+.141
Buddy Hield	82	22.7	11.1	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.6	0.8	0.3	1.1	1.6	4.0	9.6	.417	2.5	6.7	.370	0.6	0.8	.828
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Elvin Hayes	9	45.0	21.0	3.2	10.3	13.6	1.9	1.1	2.4	-	4.3	8.2	19.2	.428	-	-	-	4.6	6.6	.695
difference:	+3	+17.7	+8.5	+1.7	+8.3	+10.1	+0.1	+0.1	+2.0		-2.3	+3.9	+8.8	+.012				+3.5	+5.4	+.234
Buddy Hield	12	27.3	12.5	1.5	2.0	3.5	1.8	1.2	0.4	1.1	2.0	4.3	10.4	.416	2.8	6.4	.429	1.1	1.2	.929

Additional Years
* Elvin Hayes played 7 seasons more than Buddy Hield in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 16, from 1978 to 1984—Elvin Hayes played in 4 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 7 extra years over Buddy Hield, Elvin Hayes got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Star Game