George Mikan vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy 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, 5 less than James Worthy, who played 12. George Mikan had the first of his seasons in 1948-49, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. 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
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56
James Worthy 12 9 1982-83 to 1993-94

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1948-491982-83
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+17+14.9+1.9-1.4+3.9+13.4+.163+7.1+8.6+.148
James Worthy 77 25.6 13.4 2.0 3.1 5.2 1.7 1.2 0.8 2.3 2.9 5.8 10.0 .579 0.0 0.1 .250 1.8 2.9 .624
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
James Worthy DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1949-501983-84
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+14+12.9+0.4-1.4+3.5+12.6+.149+5.9+7.6+.020
James Worthy 82 29.5 14.5 1.9 4.4 6.3 2.5 0.9 0.9 2.2 3.0 6.0 10.9 .556 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 3.1 .759
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+9+13.6+0.3-1.2+2.3+13.3+.216+9.2+10.9+.179
James Worthy 21 33.7 17.7 1.7 3.3 5.0 2.7 1.3 0.5 1.9 2.7 7.8 13.0 .599 0.0 0.1 .500 2.0 3.3 .609

Season 3
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1950-511984-85
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+12+10.8+7.7+0.6-2.0+2.4+10.0+.144+6.1+7.4+.027
James Worthy 80 33.7 17.6 2.1 4.3 6.4 2.5 1.1 0.8 2.5 2.5 7.6 13.3 .572 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 3.1 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+12+2.5+5.5+0.9-0.8+0.2+7.6+.214+2.4+2.1+.124
James Worthy 19 32.9 21.5 1.8 3.2 5.1 2.2 0.9 0.7 1.4 2.8 8.7 14.1 .622 0.1 0.1 .500 3.9 5.8 .676

Season 4
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1951-521985-86
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionLakers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+7.5+3.8+8.3+0.3-1.9+0.1+7.6+.194+3.6+4.5+.009
James Worthy 75 32.7 20.0 1.8 3.3 5.2 2.7 1.1 1.0 2.0 2.6 8.4 14.5 .579 0.0 0.2 .000 3.2 4.2 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+1+4.0+4.0+11.3+0.4-1.7+1.0+4.6+.179+6.1+7.2+.109
James Worthy 14 38.5 19.6 1.6 3.1 4.6 3.2 1.1 0.7 2.6 3.1 8.6 15.5 .558 0.0 0.3 .000 2.3 3.4 .681

Season 5
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1952-531986-87
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+12+3.5+1.2+8.7+0.1-1.6+0.8+3.2+.140+2.7+3.4+.029
James Worthy 82 34.4 19.4 1.9 3.8 5.7 2.8 1.3 1.0 2.0 2.5 7.9 14.7 .539 0.0 0.2 .000 3.6 4.7 .751
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+6+0.8+3.8+9.8+1.6-2.4+3.3+1.2+.225+2.7+3.9+.021
James Worthy 18 37.8 23.6 1.7 3.9 5.6 3.5 1.6 1.2 2.2 2.3 9.8 16.6 .591 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.4 .753

Season 6
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1953-541987-88
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+3+2.6+1.6+9.3+1.5-1.4+2.1+0.6+.151+2.7+3.5+.019
James Worthy 75 35.4 19.7 1.7 3.3 5.0 3.9 1.0 0.7 2.1 2.3 8.2 15.5 .531 0.0 0.2 .125 3.2 4.1 .796
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+4.7+1.7+7.4+2.5-1.9+1.8+1.7+.065+2.0+2.1+.055
James Worthy 24 37.3 21.1 2.2 3.6 5.8 4.4 1.4 0.8 2.3 2.4 8.5 16.3 .523 0.0 0.4 .111 4.0 5.3 .758

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

Season 7
George Mikan James Worthy
Season 1955-561988-89
Team Minneapolis LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div SemisLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+44+15.8+10.0+2.3+2.2-1.9+4.7+5.7+.153+0.6+0.7+.012
James Worthy 81 36.5 20.5 2.1 4.0 6.0 3.6 1.3 0.7 2.2 2.2 8.7 15.8 .548 0.0 0.3 .087 3.1 4.0 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+12+20.0+12.8+2.6+1.1-2.3+5.9+6.3+.196+0.9+1.0+.019
James Worthy 15 40.0 24.8 2.5 4.3 6.7 2.8 1.2 1.1 2.2 2.4 10.2 18.0 .567 0.2 0.5 .375 4.2 5.3 .788

Additional Years

* James Worthy played 5 seasons more than George Mikan in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 8 to 12, from 1990 to 1994—James Worthy played in 3 Playoffs.

In those 5 extra years over George Mikan, James Worthy got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 2 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 3 All-Star Game
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