Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Giannis Antetokounmpo, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

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.

Giannis Antetokounmpo played 12 years in the NBA, 4 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Giannis Antetokounmpo had the first of his seasons in 2013-14, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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.

Rookie Season
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2002-03
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	77	24.6	6.8	1.0	3.4	4.4	1.9	0.8	0.8	1.6	2.2	2.2	5.4	.414	0.5	1.5	.347	1.8	2.6	.683
difference:	+5	+4.4	+6.7	+1.4	+2.4	+3.8	+0.2	+0.4	+1.0	-0.5	-0.6	+2.7	+4.4	+.084	+0.5	+1.5		+1.9	+1.9	+.128
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Giannis Antetokounmpo nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2003-04
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	81	31.4	12.7	1.2	5.5	6.7	2.6	0.9	1.0	2.1	3.1	4.7	9.6	.491	0.1	0.5	.159	3.2	4.3	.741
difference:	+1	+1.4	+4.8	+1.2	+1.1	+2.3	+1.1	+0.6	+0.9	-0.4	-0.2	+1.8	+2.9	+.031	+0.1	+0.5		+1.2	+1.1	+.068
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	6	33.5	11.5	2.0	5.0	7.0	2.7	0.5	1.5	1.8	3.0	4.3	11.8	.366	0.0	0.2	.000	2.8	3.8	.739
difference:	+1	+4.1	+3.5	+0.2	+0.2	+0.4	+0.9	+0.1	+0.1	-0.8	-1.0	+1.9	+1.8	+.090		+0.2		+0.2	+0.4	+.026
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2004-05
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	80	35.3	16.9	1.4	6.2	7.7	4.3	1.2	1.4	2.6	3.2	6.4	12.7	.506	0.4	1.4	.257	3.7	5.1	.724
difference:		+4.7	+1.4	+1.2	+0.4	+0.7	+3.5	+0.8	+0.6	-0.1	-0.5	+0.3	+0.5	+.046	+0.4	+1.4		+1.2	+1.1	+.059
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2005-06
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	80	35.6	22.9	1.8	7.0	8.8	5.4	1.6	1.9	2.9	3.1	8.2	15.7	.521	0.6	2.3	.272	5.9	7.7	.770
difference:	+23	+1.4	+0.6	+0.8	+0.6	+1.4	+3.9	+1.1	+0.3	-0.3	-0.3		+0.1	+.002	+0.6	+2.3			+0.8	+.083
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	6	40.5	24.8	1.7	7.8	9.5	4.0	2.2	1.7	3.3	3.5	10.0	18.7	.536	0.7	1.7	.400	4.2	7.7	.543
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2017-18	2006-07
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	75	36.7	26.9	2.1	8.0	10.0	4.8	1.5	1.4	3.0	3.1	9.9	18.7	.529	0.6	1.9	.307	6.5	8.5	.760
difference:	+27	+2.9	+1.9		+0.7	+0.6	+2.8	+1.1	+0.6	-0.5	-0.2	+1.1	+1.6	+.013	+0.6	+1.9		+0.9	+0.1	+.102
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	7	40.0	25.7	1.1	8.4	9.6	6.3	1.4	0.9	2.4	4.0	9.9	17.3	.570	0.6	2.0	.286	5.4	7.9	.691
difference:		+2.9	+0.6	+2.2	+1.4	+0.7	+5.4	+1.3	+0.2	-2.3	-0.1	+2.0	+0.6	+.130	+0.6	+2.0		+4.0	+2.8	+.189
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2018-19	2007-08
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	72	32.8	27.7	2.2	10.3	12.5	5.9	1.3	1.5	3.7	3.2	10.0	17.3	.578	0.7	2.8	.256	6.9	9.5	.729
difference:	+17	+4.4	+5.7	+0.9	+2.6	+1.7	+3.6	+0.8	+0.5	-0.4	-0.1	+2.1	+1.8	+.071	+0.7	+2.8		+0.6	+2.1	+.121
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	15	34.3	25.5	2.4	9.8	12.2	4.9	1.2	2.0	3.3	3.2	8.6	17.4	.494	1.2	3.7	.327	7.1	11.2	.637
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2019-20	2008-09
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	63	30.4	29.5	2.2	11.4	13.6	5.6	1.0	1.0	3.7	3.1	10.9	19.7	.553	1.4	4.7	.304	6.3	10.0	.633
difference:	+14	+3.2	+9.8	+0.4	+4.2	+3.7	+3.8	+0.6	+0.9	-0.7	-0.2	+3.5	+6.3	+.005	+1.4	+4.7		+1.4	+4.3	+.233
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	9	30.8	26.7	3.0	10.8	13.8	5.7	0.7	0.9	3.3	3.4	10.0	17.9	.559	1.4	4.4	.325	5.2	9.0	.580
difference:		+5.1	+9.6	+0.9	+2.0	+2.9	+4.7	+0.3	+0.3	-1.4	-0.4	+4.0	+6.9	+.014	+1.4	+4.4		+0.1	+3.3	+.322
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Yao Ming
Season	2020-21	2010-11
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	61	33.0	28.1	1.6	9.4	11.0	5.9	1.2	1.2	3.4	2.8	10.3	18.0	.569	1.1	3.6	.303	6.5	9.5	.685
difference:	+56	+14.8	+17.9	+0.2	+5.4	+5.6	+5.1	+1.2	+0.4	-2.0	-0.2	+6.7	+10.6	+.083	+1.1	+3.6		+3.5	+6.3	+.253
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Giannis Antetokounmpo	21	38.1	30.2	2.8	10.0	12.8	5.1	1.0	1.2	3.0	2.9	11.9	20.9	.569	0.6	3.3	.186	5.8	9.8	.587
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Giannis Antetokounmpo played 4 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 12, from 2022 to 2025—Giannis Antetokounmpo played in 3 Playoffs and one NBA Cup. In those 4 extra years over Yao Ming, Giannis Antetokounmpo got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	4 All-NBA First Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 1 Cup MVP 2 Cup All-Tournament Team 4 All-Star Game