Gary Payton vs. Bob Pettit Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob Pettit 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.

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, 6 more than Bob Pettit, who played 11. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Bob Pettit had his rookie season in 1954-55. 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
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1990-91	1954-55
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Milwaukee Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
difference:	+10	+9.5	+13.2			+10.8	+3.2				-0.6	+4.0	+10.8	+.043				+5.1	+6.7	+.040
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
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
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1991-92	1955-56
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+9	+7.3	+16.3			+12.6	+3.6				-0.3	+4.9	+11.8	+.022				+6.5	+8.7	+.067
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
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
difference:		+6.7	+11.5			+7.9	+2.5				-0.8	+2.5	+8.7	+.099				+6.5	+7.3	+.260
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843

Season 3
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1992-93	1956-57
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+11	+4.0	+11.2			+11.2	+3.0				-0.5	+2.8	+9.1	+.079				+5.7	+7.2	+.003
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
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
difference:	+9	+11.2	+17.5			+13.5	+1.2				-0.1	+4.3	+11.3	+.029				+8.9	+11.4	+.091
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767

Season 4
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1993-94	1957-58
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
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
difference:	+12	+1.0	+8.1			+14.1	+3.8				-0.4	+1.2	+6.2	+.094				+6.0	+7.2	+.154
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
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
difference:	+6	+2.9	+8.4			+13.1	+3.8				-0.2	+1.4	+7.1	+.102				+6.2	+6.9	+.308
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729

Season 5
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1994-95	1958-59
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+10	+3.1	+8.6			+13.0	+4.0				-0.3	+1.6	+6.4	+.071				+6.3	+8.0	+.043
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
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
difference:	+2	+0.2	+10.0			+10.0	+3.0					+1.7	+6.0	+.055				+7.2	+7.8	+.368
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785

Season 6
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1995-96	1959-60
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+9	+1.2	+6.8			+12.8	+3.9				-0.1	+1.7	+5.4	+.046				+4.8	+6.2	+.005
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
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
difference:	+7	+2.3	+5.4			+10.7	+3.1				-0.2	+1.5	+5.0	+.043				+4.3	+4.9	+.121
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754

Season 7
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1996-97	1960-61
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+6	+0.6	+6.1			+15.7	+3.7				-0.4	+1.5	+4.5	+.029				+4.6	+6.3	+.009
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
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
difference:		+1.8	+4.8			+12.2	+5.5				-1.3	+1.0	+2.4					+4.9	+6.9	+.063
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757

Season 8
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1997-98	1961-62
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
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
difference:	+4	+3.7	+11.9			+14.1	+4.6				-1.4	+4.0	+9.1	+.003				+5.5	+7.0	+.027
Bob Pettit	78	42.1	31.1	-	-	18.7	3.7	-	-	-	3.8	11.1	24.7	.450	-	-	-	8.9	11.6	.771
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
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1998-99	1962-63
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+29	+1.1	+6.7			+10.2	+5.6				-1.3	+1.8	+3.6	+.012				+4.7	+5.7	+.053
Bob Pettit	79	39.1	28.4	-	-	15.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.6	9.8	22.1	.446	-	-	-	8.7	11.2	.774
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bob Pettit	11	42.1	31.8	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.1	10.8	23.5	.459	-	-	-	10.2	13.1	.778

Season 10
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	1999-00	1963-64
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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10th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+2	+0.6	+3.2			+8.8	+5.7				-1.6	+0.8	+1.1	+.015				+3.8	+4.4	+.054
Bob Pettit	80	41.2	27.4	-	-	15.3	3.2	-	-	-	3.8	9.9	21.4	.463	-	-	-	7.6	9.6	.789
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
difference:	+7	+3.0	+4.8			+6.9	+4.6				-0.5	+2.2	+3.8	+.030				+1.5	+1.4	+.066
Bob Pettit	12	41.2	21.0	-	-	14.5	2.8	-	-	-	3.7	7.8	18.8	.412	-	-	-	5.5	6.6	.835

Season 11
	Gary Payton	Bob Pettit
Season	2000-01	1964-65
Team	Seattle Supersonics	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+29	+6.0	+0.6			+7.8	+5.5				-1.0	+1.3	+1.6	+.027				+3.2	+3.6	+.054
Bob Pettit	50	35.1	22.5	-	-	12.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.3	7.9	18.5	.429	-	-	-	6.6	8.1	.820
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bob Pettit	4	23.8	11.5	-	-	6.0	2.0	-	-	-	2.5	3.8	10.3	.366	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.800

Additional Years
* Gary Payton played 6 seasons more than Bob Pettit in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 17, from 2002 to 2007—Gary Payton played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 6 extra years over Bob Pettit, Gary Payton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Star Game