George Mikan vs. Lee Shaffer Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lee Shaffer 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, 4 more than Lee Shaffer, who played 3. George Mikan had the first of his seasons in 1948-49, while Lee Shaffer had his rookie season in 1961-62. 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
Lee Shaffer 3 3 1961-62 to 1963-64

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1948-491961-62
Team Minneapolis LakersSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNationals Lost East Div Semis
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
Lee Shaffer 75 27.9 16.9 - - 6.8 1.3 - - - 3.5 6.9 15.7 .436 - - - 3.2 4.1 .771
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
Lee Shaffer 5 34.8 18.8 - - 11.0 1.4 - - - 3.4 7.0 19.8 .354 - - - 4.8 6.2 .774

Season 2

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1949-501962-63
Team Minneapolis LakersSyracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNationals Lost East Div Semis
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
Lee Shaffer 80 29.9 18.6 - - 6.6 1.2 - - - 3.1 7.5 17.4 .429 - - - 3.7 4.7 .784
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
Lee Shaffer 5 34.6 27.2 - - 4.6 1.2 - - - 3.8 11.2 23.4 .479 - - - 4.8 6.0 .800

Season 3

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1950-511963-64
Team Minneapolis LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div Finals76ers Lost East Div Semis
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
Lee Shaffer 41 24.7 13.1 - - 5.0 0.9 - - - 2.8 5.3 14.3 .370 - - - 2.5 3.2 .767
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
Lee Shaffer 3 13.3 5.7 - - 1.3 0.7 - - - 1.7 2.7 7.3 .364 - - - 0.3 0.7 .500

Season 4

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1951-52-
Team Minneapolis Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------

Season 5

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1952-53-
Team Minneapolis Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------

Season 6

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1953-54-
Team Minneapolis Lakers-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion-
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------

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

Season 7

George Mikan Lee Shaffer
Season 1955-56-
Team Minneapolis Lakers-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div Semis-
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------
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
Lee Shaffer ------- --- ----------