George Mikan vs. Elfrid Payton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Elfrid Payton and George Mikan, 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.

George Mikan played 7 years in the NBA, 1 less than Elfrid Payton, who played 8. George Mikan had the first of his seasons in 1948-49, while Elfrid Payton had his rookie season in 2014-15. 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
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56
Elfrid Payton 8 2 2014-15 to 2021-22

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1948-492014-15
Team Minneapolis LakersOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
Elfrid Payton 82 30.4 8.9 1.3 3.0 4.3 6.5 1.7 0.2 2.5 2.4 3.7 8.6 .425 0.1 0.5 .262 1.4 2.6 .551
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 10 - 30.3 - - - 2.1 - - - 4.4 10.3 22.7 .454 - - - 9.7 12.1 .802
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 2

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1949-502015-16
Team Minneapolis LakersOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 68 - 27.4 - - - 2.9 - - - 4.4 9.5 23.5 .407 - - - 8.3 10.7 .779
Elfrid Payton 73 29.4 10.7 1.1 2.5 3.6 6.4 1.2 0.3 2.4 2.2 4.4 10.0 .436 0.4 1.3 .326 1.5 2.6 .589
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 12 - 31.3 - - - 3.0 - - - 3.9 10.1 26.3 .383 - - - 11.2 14.2 .788
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 3

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1950-512016-17
Team Minneapolis LakersOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
Elfrid Payton 82 29.4 12.8 1.1 3.6 4.7 6.5 1.1 0.5 2.2 2.2 5.2 11.1 .471 0.5 1.8 .274 1.8 2.6 .692
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 7 - 24.0 - - 10.6 1.3 - - - 3.6 8.9 21.7 .408 - - - 6.3 7.9 .800
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 4

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1951-522017-18
Team Minneapolis LakersOrlando Magic, Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 64 40.2 23.8 - - 13.5 3.0 - - - 4.5 8.5 22.1 .385 - - - 6.8 8.7 .780
Elfrid Payton 63 28.7 12.7 1.0 3.3 4.3 6.2 1.3 0.3 2.7 2.3 5.2 10.6 .493 0.5 1.5 .326 1.7 2.7 .649
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 13 42.5 23.6 - - 15.9 2.8 - - - 4.8 7.6 20.1 .379 - - - 8.4 10.6 .790
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 5

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1952-532018-19
Team Minneapolis LakersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 70 37.9 20.6 - - 14.4 2.9 - - - 4.1 7.1 17.9 .399 - - - 6.3 8.1 .780
Elfrid Payton 42 29.8 10.6 1.2 4.1 5.2 7.6 1.0 0.4 2.7 1.9 4.3 9.8 .434 0.8 2.5 .314 1.3 1.8 .743
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 12 38.6 19.8 - - 15.4 1.9 - - - 4.7 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 6.8 9.3 .732
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 6

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1953-542019-20
Team Minneapolis LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 72 32.8 18.1 - - 14.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 6.1 16.1 .380 - - - 5.9 7.6 .777
Elfrid Payton 45 27.7 10.0 1.2 3.6 4.7 7.2 1.6 0.4 2.1 2.0 4.3 9.8 .439 0.3 1.5 .203 1.1 1.9 .570
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 13 32.6 19.4 - - 13.2 1.9 - - - 4.3 6.7 14.6 .458 - - - 6.0 7.4 .813
Elfrid Payton ------- --- ----------

Note: George Mikan didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 7

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season 1955-562020-21
Team Minneapolis LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div SemisKnicks 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 %
George Mikan 37 20.7 10.5 - - 8.3 1.4 - - - 4.1 4.0 10.1 .395 - - - 2.5 3.3 .770
Elfrid Payton 63 23.6 10.1 1.0 2.4 3.4 3.2 0.7 0.1 1.6 1.8 4.3 9.9 .432 0.4 1.6 .286 1.2 1.7 .682
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan 3 20.0 12.0 - - 9.3 1.7 - - - 4.7 4.3 11.7 .371 - - - 3.3 4.3 .769
Elfrid Payton 2 6.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 2.5 .000 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 1.0 .500

Season 8

George Mikan Elfrid Payton
Season -2021-22
Team -Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Suns Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan ------- --- ----------
Elfrid Payton 50 11.0 3.0 0.4 1.3 1.8 2.0 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.8 1.3 3.5 .383 0.1 0.4 .222 0.2 0.6 .375
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
George Mikan ------- --- ----------
Elfrid Payton 2 4.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.5 .667 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -