George Mikan vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier 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, 3 less than Norm Van Lier, who played 10. George Mikan had the first of his seasons in 1948-49, while Norm Van Lier had his rookie season in 1969-70. 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
Norm Van Lier	10	5	1969-70 to 1978-79

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1948-49	1969-70
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Scoring Leader	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Norm Van Lier	81	35.7	9.5	-	-	5.0	6.2	-	-	-	4.1	3.7	9.2	.403	-	-	-	2.0	2.8	.741

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
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1949-50	1970-71
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Norm Van Lier	82	40.5	16.0	-	-	7.1	10.1	-	-	-	4.2	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	4.4	5.4	.816

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
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1950-51	1971-72
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Norm Van Lier	79	30.6	11.5	-	-	4.5	6.9	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	9.6	.439	-	-	-	3.0	3.8	.790

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
Norm Van Lier	4	36.0	14.0	-	-	6.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	13.3	.415	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.857


Season 4
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1951-52	1972-73
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Norm Van Lier	80	36.0	13.9	-	-	5.5	7.1	-	-	-	3.4	5.9	13.3	.445	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.787

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
Norm Van Lier	7	36.9	14.4	-	-	5.3	5.1	-	-	-	4.6	6.4	18.4	.349	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	.733


Season 5
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1952-53	1973-74
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost West Conf Finals

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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
Norm Van Lier	80	35.8	14.3	1.4	3.3	4.7	6.9	2.0	0.1	-	3.5	5.3	13.1	.406	-	-	-	3.6	4.6	.778

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
Norm Van Lier	11	42.4	14.6	1.0	3.3	4.3	6.8	1.5	0.3	-	3.7	5.5	13.1	.424	-	-	-	3.5	4.3	.830


Season 6
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1953-54	1974-75
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost West Conf Finals

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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
Norm Van Lier	70	37.0	15.0	1.2	3.5	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	-	3.5	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.792

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
Norm Van Lier	13	42.1	15.1	1.4	3.8	5.2	4.7	1.5	0.4	-	4.0	5.2	12.6	.409	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.747

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


Season 7
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	1955-56	1975-76
Team	Minneapolis Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Div Semis	Did Not Play

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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
Norm Van Lier	76	39.8	12.6	1.8	3.6	5.4	6.6	2.0	0.3	-	3.9	4.8	13.0	.366	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.737

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
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	-	1976-77
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Bulls Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	82	37.8	10.2	1.3	3.2	4.5	7.8	1.6	0.2	-	3.3	3.7	8.9	.412	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	3	44.7	5.3	1.7	3.3	5.0	9.7	3.3	0.3	-	4.7	1.0	6.3	.158	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833


Season 9
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	-	1977-78
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	78	32.4	7.3	1.1	2.5	3.6	6.8	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.6	2.6	6.1	.419	-	-	-	2.2	2.9	.751

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	George Mikan	Norm Van Lier
Season	-	1978-79
Team	-	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	38	14.6	2.8	0.2	0.8	1.1	4.2	1.1	0.1	1.3	2.8	0.8	2.0	.390	-	-	-	1.2	1.4	.904

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
George Mikan	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

George Mikan vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10