Gary Payton vs. Kristaps Porzingis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kristaps Porzingis 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, 8 more than Kristaps Porzingis, who played 9. Gary Payton had the first of his seasons in 1990-91, while Kristaps Porzingis had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1990-91	2015-16
Team	Seattle Supersonics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
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	+1.0	+7.1	+0.5	+3.9	+4.3	+5.1	+1.3	+1.7	-0.5	-0.2	+2.0	+5.3	+.029	+1.1	+3.2	+.256	+2.0	+2.1	+.127
Kristaps Porzingis	72	28.4	14.3	1.8	5.5	7.3	1.3	0.7	1.9	1.7	2.8	5.2	12.3	.421	1.1	3.4	.333	2.8	3.3	.838
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
Kristaps Porzingis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1992-93	2017-18
Team	Seattle Supersonics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
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:	+34	+1.3	+9.2	+0.1	+3.0	+3.2	+3.7	+1.4	+2.1	-0.1	-0.1	+2.3	+6.8	+.055	+1.8	+4.4	+.189	+2.7	+3.3	+.023
Kristaps Porzingis	48	32.4	22.7	1.3	5.3	6.6	1.2	0.8	2.4	1.9	2.9	8.1	18.5	.439	1.9	4.8	.395	4.5	5.7	.793
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
Kristaps Porzingis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Kristaps Porzingis didn't play in 2018-19.

Season 4
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1993-94	2019-20
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West 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:	+25	+3.3	+3.9	+0.5	+5.7	+6.2	+4.2	+1.6	+1.8	-0.5	-0.4	+0.1	+2.3	+.077	+2.3	+6.4	+.074	+2.0	+1.6	+.204
Kristaps Porzingis	57	31.8	20.4	1.8	7.7	9.5	1.8	0.7	2.0	1.6	3.2	7.0	16.4	.427	2.5	7.1	.352	4.0	5.0	.799
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:	+2	+4.9	+7.9	+0.2	+5.5	+5.3	+4.9	+1.6	+0.6	-0.6		+0.2	+0.5	+.032	+2.4	+3.9	+.196	+5.1	+3.9	+.449
Kristaps Porzingis	3	31.3	23.7	1.0	7.7	8.7	0.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	7.0	13.3	.525	3.0	5.7	.529	6.7	7.7	.870

Season 5
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1994-95	2020-21
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+39	+5.9	+0.5	+0.6	+4.9	+5.5	+5.5	+2.0	+1.1	-1.3	-0.2	+0.8	+0.5	+.033	+1.4	+3.2	+.074	+0.3	+1.0	+.139
Kristaps Porzingis	43	30.9	20.1	1.9	7.0	8.9	1.6	0.5	1.3	1.2	2.7	7.6	15.9	.476	2.3	6.0	.376	2.7	3.2	.855
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:	+3	+9.7	+4.7	+0.5	+3.4	+2.9	+4.0		+0.7	-1.6	-0.6	+3.1	+6.5	+.006	+0.6	+1.4	+.096	+1.0	+0.3	+.425
Kristaps Porzingis	7	33.3	13.1	1.0	4.4	5.4	1.3	1.3	0.7	0.4	2.7	4.9	10.3	.472	1.1	3.9	.296	2.3	2.7	.842

Season 6
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1995-96	2021-22
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals	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		%
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:	+30	+10.0	+0.9	+0.7	+3.2	+3.9	+5.2	+2.2	+1.4	-1.6		+0.7	+0.8	+.025	+0.3	+1.2	+.018	+2.1	+1.8	+.119
Kristaps Porzingis	51	29.0	20.2	2.0	6.1	8.1	2.3	0.7	1.6	1.6	2.7	6.9	15.0	.459	1.5	4.9	.310	4.9	5.6	.867
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
Kristaps Porzingis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1996-97	2022-23
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
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:	+17	+6.6	+1.4	+0.5	+3.3	+3.8	+4.4	+1.5	+1.3	-0.5	-0.5	+0.8	+2.4	+.022	+0.6	+0.9	+.072	+2.3	+2.1	+.136
Kristaps Porzingis	65	32.6	23.2	1.8	6.6	8.4	2.7	0.9	1.5	2.1	3.0	7.8	15.7	.498	2.1	5.5	.385	5.4	6.4	.851
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
Kristaps Porzingis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1997-98	2023-24
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+25	+8.8	+0.9	+0.8	+1.9	+2.6	+6.3	+1.6	+1.7	-1.2	-0.3	+0.3	+2.4	+.063	+0.3	+0.3	+.037	+1.1	+0.7	+.114
Kristaps Porzingis	57	29.6	20.1	1.7	5.5	7.2	2.0	0.7	1.9	1.6	2.7	6.8	13.2	.516	1.9	5.1	.375	4.5	5.3	.858
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:	+3	+19.1	+11.7	+0.3	+1.4	+1.0	+5.9	+1.1	+1.5	-1.9	-1.0	+4.7	+9.7	+.008	+0.5	+0.9	+.035	+1.8	+1.9	+.031
Kristaps Porzingis	7	23.6	12.3	0.6	3.9	4.4	1.1	0.7	1.6	0.7	2.1	4.0	8.6	.467	1.4	4.1	.345	2.9	3.1	.909

Season 9
	Gary Payton	Kristaps Porzingis
Season	1998-99	2024-25
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East 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		%
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:	+8	+11.4	+2.2	+0.4	+1.5	+1.9	+6.6	+1.5	+1.3	-1.8	-0.5	+1.4	+4.8	+.049	+0.8	+0.4	+.117	+0.2	+0.8	+.088
Kristaps Porzingis	42	28.8	19.5	1.6	5.1	6.8	2.1	0.7	1.5	1.3	2.8	6.6	13.7	.483	2.5	6.0	.412	3.8	4.7	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Gary Payton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kristaps Porzingis	11	21.0	7.7	1.9	2.7	4.6	0.7	0.9	0.8	0.9	2.4	2.3	7.2	.316	0.4	2.4	.154	2.8	4.1	.689

Additional Years
* Gary Payton played 8 seasons more than Kristaps Porzingis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 17, from 2000 to 2007—Gary Payton played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 8 extra years over Kristaps Porzingis, Gary Payton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game