George Mikan vs. Ralph Simpson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ralph Simpson 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 more than Ralph Simpson, who played 4. George Mikan had the first of his seasons in 1948-49, while Ralph Simpson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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
Ralph Simpson 4 3 1976-77 to 1979-80

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
Season 1948-491976-77
Team Minneapolis LakersDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionPistons Lost West 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 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
Ralph Simpson 77 20.7 11.0 0.6 1.7 2.4 2.3 0.9 0.1 - 1.3 4.6 10.8 .427 - - - 1.8 2.5 .708
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
Ralph Simpson 2 8.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 0.0 4.5 .000 - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 2

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
Season 1949-501977-78
Team Minneapolis LakersDetroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNuggets Lost West Conf Finals
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
Ralph Simpson 64 20.7 8.1 0.8 1.6 2.5 2.5 1.2 0.1 2.0 1.4 3.4 9.0 .375 - - - 1.3 1.6 .817
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
Ralph Simpson 13 17.3 7.8 0.4 1.1 1.5 2.9 0.3 0.2 1.6 1.5 3.3 7.3 .453 - - - 1.2 1.8 .696

Season 3

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
Season 1950-511978-79
Team Minneapolis LakersPhiladelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Div FinalsNets 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 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
Ralph Simpson 69 14.2 6.1 0.5 0.9 1.4 1.8 0.5 0.1 1.4 0.8 2.5 6.3 .402 - - - 1.1 1.6 .685
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
Ralph Simpson 2 5.0 2.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 1.0 2.5 .400 - - - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 4

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
Season 1951-521979-80
Team Minneapolis LakersNew Jersey Nets
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
Ralph Simpson 8 10.1 5.1 0.8 0.6 1.4 1.8 1.1 0.0 1.5 0.4 2.3 5.9 .383 0.0 0.3 .000 0.6 1.3 .500
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------

Season 5

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------

Season 6

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------

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

Season 7

George Mikan Ralph Simpson
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------
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
Ralph Simpson ------- --- ----------