Gary Payton vs. Anderson Varejao Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Anderson Varejao and Gary Payton, 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 / 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.

Gary Payton played 17 years in the NBA, 3 more than Anderson Varejao, who played 14. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Anderson Varejao had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Gary Payton 17 15 1990-91 to 2006-07
Anderson Varejao 14 6 2004-05 to 2020-21

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17

Rookie Season

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1990-912004-05
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Supersonics 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 %
Gary Payton 82 27.4 7.2 1.3 1.6 3.0 6.4 2.0 0.2 2.2 3.0 3.2 7.0 .450 0.0 0.2 .077 0.8 1.2 .711
Anderson Varejao 54 16.0 4.9 2.0 2.7 4.8 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.5 2.3 1.8 3.6 .513 0.0 0.0 .000 1.3 2.4 .535
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 5 27.0 4.8 1.0 1.6 2.6 6.4 1.6 0.2 1.8 3.2 2.2 5.4 .407 0.0 0.2 .000 0.4 0.4 1.000
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 2

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1991-922005-06
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf SemisCavaliers 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 %
Gary Payton 81 31.5 9.4 1.5 2.1 3.6 6.2 1.8 0.3 2.1 3.1 4.1 9.1 .451 0.0 0.3 .130 1.2 1.8 .669
Anderson Varejao 48 15.8 4.6 1.6 3.3 4.9 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.6 2.5 1.6 3.1 .527 0.0 0.0 .000 1.3 2.5 .513
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 8 27.6 7.6 0.8 1.9 2.6 4.8 1.0 0.3 1.3 3.3 3.4 7.3 .466 0.0 0.3 .000 0.9 1.5 .583
Anderson Varejao 13 18.3 6.8 1.4 3.1 4.5 0.2 0.7 0.2 0.5 3.8 2.4 3.8 .620 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.8 .703

Season 3

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1992-932006-07
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf FinalsCavaliers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 82 31.1 13.5 1.2 2.3 3.4 4.9 2.2 0.3 1.8 3.0 5.8 11.7 .494 0.1 0.4 .206 1.8 2.4 .770
Anderson Varejao 81 23.9 6.8 2.4 4.4 6.7 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.8 3.3 2.4 5.0 .476 0.0 0.1 .000 2.0 3.3 .616
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 19 31.8 12.3 1.2 2.2 3.3 3.7 1.8 0.2 1.8 3.4 5.5 12.4 .443 0.1 0.3 .167 1.3 1.9 .676
Anderson Varejao 20 22.4 6.0 2.3 3.7 6.0 0.6 1.1 0.6 1.0 2.7 2.3 4.5 .511 0.0 0.2 .000 1.4 2.4 .563

Season 4

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1993-942007-08
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st RdCavaliers 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 %
Gary Payton 82 35.1 16.5 1.3 2.0 3.3 6.0 2.3 0.2 2.1 2.8 7.1 14.1 .504 0.2 0.7 .278 2.0 3.4 .595
Anderson Varejao 48 27.5 6.7 2.8 5.5 8.3 1.1 0.8 0.5 1.2 2.8 2.8 6.1 .461 0.0 0.0 .000 1.0 1.7 .598
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 5 36.2 15.8 1.2 2.2 3.4 5.6 1.6 0.4 1.6 3.0 6.8 13.8 .493 0.6 1.8 .333 1.6 3.8 .421
Anderson Varejao 13 18.5 4.1 1.5 3.6 5.2 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.7 2.3 1.7 4.2 .407 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.6 .429

Season 5

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1994-952008-09
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st RdCavaliers Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 82 36.8 20.6 1.3 2.1 3.4 7.1 2.5 0.2 2.5 2.5 8.4 16.4 .509 0.9 2.8 .302 3.0 4.2 .716
Anderson Varejao 81 28.5 8.6 2.0 5.1 7.2 1.0 0.9 0.8 1.0 3.0 3.3 6.2 .536 0.0 0.0 .000 1.9 3.1 .616
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 4 43.0 17.8 1.5 1.0 2.5 5.3 1.3 0.0 2.0 3.3 8.0 16.8 .478 0.5 2.5 .200 1.3 3.0 .417
Anderson Varejao 14 30.0 6.9 2.9 3.5 6.4 0.6 1.3 1.1 1.1 3.5 2.9 5.9 .500 0.0 0.0 - 1.1 1.6 .682

Season 6

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1995-962009-10
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Defensive Player of the Year-
Achievement Steals Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost NBA FinalsCavaliers 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 %
Gary Payton 81 39.0 19.3 1.3 2.9 4.2 7.5 2.9 0.2 3.2 2.7 7.6 15.8 .484 1.2 3.7 .328 2.8 3.8 .748
Anderson Varejao 76 28.5 8.6 2.5 5.1 7.6 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9 2.9 3.5 6.1 .572 0.0 0.1 .200 1.5 2.3 .663
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 21 43.4 20.7 0.9 4.2 5.1 6.8 1.8 0.3 3.0 3.3 7.7 15.9 .485 2.0 4.8 .410 3.3 5.2 .633
Anderson Varejao 11 23.2 5.7 2.0 4.5 6.5 0.6 1.0 0.8 1.1 3.5 1.8 4.4 .417 0.0 0.1 .000 2.1 2.8 .742

Season 7

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1996-972010-11
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West 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 %
Gary Payton 82 39.2 21.8 1.3 3.3 4.6 7.1 2.4 0.2 2.6 2.5 8.6 18.1 .476 1.5 4.6 .313 3.1 4.3 .715
Anderson Varejao 31 32.1 9.1 3.2 6.5 9.7 1.5 0.9 1.2 1.3 2.8 3.7 7.0 .528 0.0 0.1 .000 1.7 2.6 .667
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 12 45.6 23.8 1.7 3.8 5.4 8.7 2.2 0.3 2.9 2.2 8.8 21.3 .412 2.1 6.3 .333 4.2 5.1 .820
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1997-982011-12
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West 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 %
Gary Payton 82 38.4 19.2 0.9 3.6 4.6 8.3 2.3 0.2 2.8 2.4 7.1 15.6 .453 1.6 4.8 .338 3.4 4.6 .744
Anderson Varejao 25 31.4 10.8 4.4 7.1 11.5 1.7 1.4 0.7 1.8 2.5 4.6 8.9 .514 0.0 0.2 .000 1.7 2.6 .672
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 10 42.7 24.0 0.9 2.5 3.4 7.0 1.8 0.1 2.6 3.1 8.7 18.3 .475 1.9 5.0 .380 4.7 5.0 .940
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1998-992012-13
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
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 %
Gary Payton 50 40.2 21.7 1.2 3.6 4.9 8.7 2.2 0.2 3.1 2.3 8.0 18.5 .434 1.7 5.6 .295 4.0 5.5 .721
Anderson Varejao 25 36.0 14.1 5.5 8.9 14.4 3.4 1.5 0.6 1.8 2.7 5.5 11.6 .478 0.0 0.2 .000 3.1 4.1 .755
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton ------- --- ----------
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 1999-002013-14
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics 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 %
Gary Payton 82 41.8 24.2 1.2 5.2 6.5 8.9 1.9 0.2 2.7 2.2 9.1 20.3 .448 2.2 6.3 .340 3.8 5.2 .735
Anderson Varejao 65 27.7 8.4 2.9 6.8 9.7 2.2 1.1 0.6 1.1 2.5 3.5 7.1 .495 0.0 0.1 .000 1.4 2.1 .681
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 5 44.2 25.8 1.6 6.0 7.6 7.4 1.8 0.2 3.6 3.2 10.0 22.6 .442 1.8 4.6 .391 4.0 5.2 .769
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 11

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2000-012014-15
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
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 %
Gary Payton 79 41.1 23.1 0.9 3.6 4.6 8.1 1.6 0.3 2.6 2.3 9.2 20.1 .456 1.3 3.4 .375 3.4 4.5 .766
Anderson Varejao 26 24.5 9.8 2.2 4.3 6.5 1.3 0.7 0.6 1.3 2.2 4.3 7.7 .555 0.0 0.1 .000 1.3 1.7 .733
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton ------- --- ----------
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2001-022015-16
Team Seattle SupersonicsCleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st RdWarriors Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 82 40.3 22.1 1.0 3.9 4.8 9.0 1.6 0.3 2.5 2.2 9.0 19.2 .467 0.9 2.9 .314 3.3 4.1 .797
Anderson Varejao 53 9.4 2.6 0.7 2.0 2.7 0.7 0.3 0.2 0.4 1.3 1.0 2.3 .427 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 0.9 .640
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 5 41.2 22.2 2.0 6.6 8.6 5.8 0.6 0.4 2.6 2.4 9.0 21.2 .425 0.8 3.0 .267 3.4 5.8 .586
Anderson Varejao 17 5.5 1.2 0.7 0.5 1.2 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.0 0.3 0.8 .357 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.1 .526

Season 13

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2002-032016-17
Team Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee BucksGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East 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 %
Gary Payton 80 40.1 20.4 1.0 3.2 4.2 8.3 1.7 0.3 2.3 2.3 8.3 18.3 .454 0.7 2.3 .297 3.1 4.4 .710
Anderson Varejao 14 6.6 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.9 0.7 0.2 0.2 0.6 1.1 0.4 1.0 .357 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 0.8 .727
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 6 41.8 18.5 0.7 2.3 3.0 8.7 1.3 0.2 2.2 3.0 8.0 18.7 .429 0.2 2.5 .067 2.3 3.3 .700
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Note: Anderson Varejao didn't play in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Season 14

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2003-042020-21
Team Los Angeles LakersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 82 34.5 14.6 0.9 3.3 4.2 5.5 1.2 0.2 1.8 2.1 5.9 12.5 .471 0.7 2.0 .333 2.2 3.1 .714
Anderson Varejao 5 7.2 2.6 1.4 2.6 4.0 0.6 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.6 0.8 3.2 .250 0.0 0.2 .000 1.0 1.8 .556
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 22 35.0 7.8 0.9 2.4 3.3 5.3 1.0 0.2 1.3 2.7 3.1 8.5 .366 0.6 2.5 .250 1.0 1.3 .750
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 15

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2004-05-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 77 33.0 11.3 0.6 2.4 3.1 6.1 1.1 0.2 1.9 1.6 4.4 9.4 .468 0.5 1.7 .326 2.0 2.6 .761
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 7 34.1 10.3 1.1 3.0 4.1 4.6 0.9 0.1 1.6 1.4 4.7 10.6 .446 0.1 2.0 .071 0.7 0.9 .833
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 16

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2005-06-
Team Miami Heat-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 81 28.5 7.7 0.4 2.5 2.9 3.2 0.9 0.1 1.3 2.1 2.8 6.8 .420 0.8 2.8 .287 1.2 1.6 .794
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 23 24.3 5.8 0.3 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.0 0.1 0.8 2.4 2.1 5.0 .422 0.7 2.5 .293 0.8 1.1 .720
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------

Season 17

Gary Payton Anderson Varejao
Season 2006-07-
Team Miami Heat-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 68 22.1 5.3 0.3 1.7 1.9 3.0 0.6 0.0 1.0 1.7 2.1 5.4 .393 0.5 1.8 .260 0.6 0.8 .667
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Gary Payton 2 16.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 2.0 1.5 0.0 1.5 .000 0.0 0.5 .000 0.0 0.0 -
Anderson Varejao ------- --- ----------