Gary Payton vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 9 more than Jayson Tatum, who played 8. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Jayson Tatum 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 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
Gary Payton	17	15	1990-91 to 2006-07
Jayson Tatum	8	8	2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1990-91	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+2	+3.1	+6.7	+0.7	+2.8	+2.0	+4.8	+1.0	+0.5	-0.8	-0.9	+1.8	+3.4	+.025	+1.3	+2.8	+.357	+1.9	+2.0	+.115
Jayson Tatum	80	30.5	13.9	0.6	4.4	5.0	1.6	1.0	0.7	1.4	2.1	5.0	10.4	.475	1.3	3.0	.434	2.7	3.2	.826

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
difference:	+14	+8.9	+13.7	+0.5	+2.2	+1.8	+3.7	+0.4	+0.3	-0.4	-0.6	+4.3	+8.3	+.064	+1.2	+3.5	+.324	+3.9	+4.7	+.155
Jayson Tatum	19	35.9	18.5	0.5	3.8	4.4	2.7	1.2	0.5	2.2	2.6	6.5	13.7	.471	1.2	3.7	.324	4.3	5.1	.845


Season 2
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1991-92	2018-19
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+0.4	+6.3	+0.6	+3.1	+2.4	+4.1	+0.7	+0.4	-0.6	-1.0	+1.8	+4.0	+.001	+1.5	+3.6	+.243	+1.3	+1.1	+.186
Jayson Tatum	79	31.1	15.7	0.9	5.2	6.0	2.1	1.1	0.7	1.5	2.1	5.9	13.1	.450	1.5	3.9	.373	2.5	2.9	.855

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:	+1	+5.2	+7.6		+4.0	+4.1	+2.9	+0.1	+0.5	-0.7	-1.0	+2.0	+5.1	+.028	+1.1	+3.1	+.323	+2.3	+2.8	+.161
Jayson Tatum	9	32.8	15.2	0.8	5.9	6.7	1.9	1.1	0.8	2.0	2.3	5.4	12.4	.438	1.1	3.4	.323	3.2	4.3	.744


Season 3
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1992-93	2019-20
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+16	+3.2	+9.9	+0.2	+3.7	+3.6	+1.9	+0.8	+0.6	-0.5	-0.9	+2.6	+6.9	+.044	+2.8	+6.7	+.197	+2.0	+2.3	+.042
Jayson Tatum	66	34.3	23.4	1.0	6.0	7.0	3.0	1.4	0.9	2.3	2.1	8.4	18.6	.450	2.9	7.1	.403	3.8	4.7	.812

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:	+2	+8.8	+13.4	+0.1	+6.5	+6.7	+1.3	+0.8	+1.0	-1.0	-1.0	+3.0	+7.2	+.009	+2.7	+7.1	+.206	+4.6	+5.3	+.137
Jayson Tatum	17	40.6	25.7	1.3	8.7	10.0	5.0	1.0	1.2	2.8	2.4	8.5	19.6	.434	2.8	7.4	.373	5.9	7.2	.813


Season 4
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1993-94	2020-21
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+18	+0.7	+9.9	+0.5	+4.6	+4.1	+1.7	+1.1	+0.3	-0.6	-0.9	+2.4	+6.5	+.045	+2.7	+6.9	+.108	+2.6	+1.9	+.273
Jayson Tatum	64	35.8	26.4	0.8	6.6	7.4	4.3	1.2	0.5	2.7	1.9	9.5	20.6	.459	2.9	7.6	.386	4.6	5.3	.868

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:		+0.8	+14.8	+0.6	+3.0	+2.4	+1.0	+0.4	+1.2	-1.0		+2.6	+8.4	+.070	+2.2	+5.4	+.056	+7.4	+6.0	+.497
Jayson Tatum	5	37.0	30.6	0.6	5.2	5.8	4.6	1.2	1.6	2.6	3.0	9.4	22.2	.423	2.8	7.2	.389	9.0	9.8	.918


Season 5
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1994-95	2021-22
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
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 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA 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:	+6	+0.9	+6.3	+0.2	+4.8	+4.6	+2.7	+1.5	+0.4	-0.4	-0.2	+0.9	+4.2	+.056	+2.1	+5.8	+.051	+2.3	+2.0	+.137
Jayson Tatum	76	35.9	26.9	1.1	6.9	8.0	4.4	1.0	0.6	2.9	2.3	9.3	20.6	.453	3.0	8.6	.353	5.3	6.2	.853

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:	+20	+2.0	+7.8	+0.5	+4.7	+4.2	+0.9	+0.1	+0.9	-2.2	-0.3	+0.4	+2.9	+.052	+2.7	+5.7	+.193	+4.4	+4.1	+.383
Jayson Tatum	24	41.0	25.6	1.0	5.7	6.7	6.2	1.2	0.9	4.2	3.0	8.4	19.7	.426	3.2	8.2	.393	5.7	7.1	.800


Season 6
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1995-96	2022-23
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
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
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 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:	+7	+2.1	+10.8	+0.2	+4.8	+4.6	+2.9	+1.8	+0.5	-0.3	-0.5	+2.2	+5.3	+.018	+2.0	+5.6	+.022	+4.4	+4.6	+.106
Jayson Tatum	74	36.9	30.1	1.1	7.7	8.8	4.6	1.1	0.7	2.9	2.2	9.8	21.1	.466	3.2	9.3	.350	7.2	8.4	.854

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:	+1	+3.4	+6.5	+0.4	+5.0	+5.4	+1.5	+0.7	+0.8	-0.2	-1.1	+1.6	+4.3	+.027	+0.7	+3.4	+.087	+2.7	+1.7	+.243
Jayson Tatum	20	40.0	27.2	1.3	9.2	10.5	5.3	1.1	1.1	2.8	2.2	9.3	20.2	.458	2.7	8.2	.323	6.0	6.9	.876


Season 7
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1996-97	2023-24
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
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	NBA Champion

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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:	+8	+3.5	+5.1	+0.4	+3.9	+3.5	+2.2	+1.4	+0.4	-0.1	-0.5	+0.5	+1.2	+.005	+1.6	+3.6	+.063	+2.5	+2.4	+.118
Jayson Tatum	74	35.7	26.9	0.9	7.2	8.1	4.9	1.0	0.6	2.5	2.0	9.1	19.3	.471	3.1	8.2	.376	5.6	6.7	.833

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:	+7	+5.2	+1.2	+0.8	+5.0	+4.3	+2.4	+1.1	+0.4	-0.3	-0.6	+0.4	+1.7	+.015		+1.0	+.050	+2.0	+2.1	+.041
Jayson Tatum	19	40.4	25.0	0.9	8.8	9.7	6.3	1.1	0.7	2.6	2.8	8.4	19.6	.427	2.1	7.3	.283	6.2	7.2	.861


Season 8
	Gary Payton	Jayson Tatum
Season	1997-98	2024-25
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
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 Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+10	+2.0	+7.6	+0.2	+4.4	+4.1	+2.3	+1.2	+0.3	-0.1	-0.2	+2.1	+4.7	+.001	+1.9	+5.3	+.005	+1.6	+1.5	+.070
Jayson Tatum	72	36.4	26.8	0.7	8.0	8.7	6.0	1.1	0.5	2.9	2.2	9.2	20.3	.452	3.5	10.1	.343	5.0	6.1	.814

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
difference:	+2	+2.4	+4.1	+0.2	+7.9	+8.1	+1.6	+0.3	+0.7	-0.7	-0.5	+0.6	+3.6	+.052	+1.7	+4.8	+.008	+1.3	+1.8	+.051
Jayson Tatum	8	40.3	28.1	1.1	10.4	11.5	5.4	2.1	0.8	3.3	2.6	9.3	21.9	.423	3.6	9.8	.372	6.0	6.8	.889


Additional Years
* Gary Payton played 9 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 17, from 1999 to 2007—Gary Payton played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Jayson Tatum, Gary Payton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 4 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game

Gary Payton vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years