Ernie Grunfeld vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons and Ernie Grunfeld, 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

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.

Ernie Grunfeld played 9 years in the NBA, 3 more than Ben Simmons, who played 6. Ernie Grunfeld had the first of his seasons in 1977-78, while Ben Simmons 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 achivements, 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
Ernie Grunfeld 9 5 1977-78 to 1985-86
Ben Simmons 6 3 2017-18 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1977-782017-18
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf Semis76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 73 17.3 6.9 1.0 1.7 2.7 2.0 0.7 0.3 1.3 2.1 2.8 6.3 .443 - - - 1.3 2.0 .657
Ben Simmons 81 33.7 15.8 1.8 6.3 8.1 8.2 1.7 0.9 3.4 2.6 6.7 12.3 .545 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 4.2 .560
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 7 11.0 5.4 0.6 1.0 1.6 2.4 0.4 0.1 1.0 0.9 2.4 4.6 .531 - - - 0.6 0.7 .800
Ben Simmons 10 36.9 16.3 1.6 7.8 9.4 7.7 1.7 0.8 4.4 3.4 6.1 12.5 .488 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.8 .707

Season 2

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1978-792018-19
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 82 21.7 10.3 1.5 2.9 4.4 2.6 0.7 0.2 1.7 2.7 4.0 8.1 .493 - - - 2.3 3.1 .761
Ben Simmons 79 34.2 16.9 2.2 6.6 8.8 7.7 1.4 0.8 3.5 2.6 6.8 12.2 .563 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 5.4 .600
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons 12 35.1 13.9 1.9 5.1 7.0 6.0 1.3 1.0 2.7 3.8 6.0 9.7 .621 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 3.3 .575

Season 3

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1979-802019-20
Team Kansas City KingsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Steals Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Kings Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 80 17.5 5.9 1.1 1.8 2.9 1.4 0.7 0.1 1.0 1.9 2.3 5.3 .443 0.0 0.0 .500 1.3 1.6 .771
Ben Simmons 57 35.4 16.4 2.0 5.8 7.8 8.0 2.1 0.6 3.5 3.3 6.6 11.4 .580 0.0 0.1 .286 3.2 5.2 .621
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 3 10.7 3.7 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.7 3.0 .556 0.0 0.0 - 0.3 1.0 .333
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1980-812020-21
Team Kansas City KingsPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Kings Lost West Conf Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 79 20.1 7.5 0.4 2.2 2.6 2.6 0.8 0.2 1.1 2.0 3.3 6.2 .535 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.3 .743
Ben Simmons 58 32.4 14.3 1.6 5.6 7.2 6.9 1.6 0.6 3.0 2.9 5.6 10.1 .557 0.1 0.2 .300 3.0 4.9 .613
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 15 42.2 16.8 0.7 3.5 4.2 5.9 2.0 0.6 2.9 3.4 6.5 13.4 .488 0.1 0.3 .500 3.6 4.5 .806
Ben Simmons 12 33.5 11.9 2.1 5.8 7.9 8.8 1.3 0.8 2.3 3.3 4.9 7.9 .621 0.0 0.1 .000 2.1 6.1 .342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 5

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1981-822022-23
Team Kansas City KingsBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 81 23.4 12.7 0.7 1.6 2.2 3.4 0.9 0.5 1.8 2.4 5.2 10.1 .511 0.0 0.2 .143 2.3 2.8 .821
Ben Simmons 42 26.3 6.9 1.0 5.3 6.3 6.1 1.3 0.6 2.3 3.3 3.2 5.6 .566 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 1.4 .439
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1982-832023-24
Team New York KnicksBrooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 77 18.5 5.4 0.5 1.6 2.1 1.8 0.5 0.1 1.1 2.2 2.2 4.9 .443 0.0 0.1 .000 1.1 1.3 .827
Ben Simmons 15 23.9 6.1 2.1 5.9 7.9 5.7 0.8 0.6 1.8 2.4 2.9 4.9 .581 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 1.0 .400
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 6 19.7 8.0 0.3 1.0 1.3 1.7 1.2 0.3 1.5 2.8 2.5 5.7 .441 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.2 .947
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 7

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1983-84-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf Semis-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 76 14.7 5.2 0.3 1.3 1.6 1.4 0.6 0.1 0.9 2.0 2.2 4.8 .459 0.0 0.1 .222 0.8 1.1 .771
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 11 7.6 2.4 0.1 0.7 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.4 1.1 1.0 2.1 .478 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 0.4 1.000
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1984-85-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 69 15.4 6.6 0.6 1.6 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.1 0.6 1.9 2.7 5.6 .490 0.0 0.1 .250 1.1 1.5 .740
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Ernie Grunfeld Ben Simmons
Season 1985-86-
Team New York Knicks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld 76 18.4 5.4 0.6 2.2 2.7 1.6 0.5 0.2 0.7 2.5 1.9 4.7 .417 0.3 0.8 .426 1.2 1.4 .833
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ernie Grunfeld ------- --- ----------
Ben Simmons ------- --- ----------