Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl and Hakeem Olajuwon, 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.

Hakeem Olajuwon played 18 years in the NBA, 9 more than Jakob Poeltl, who played 9. Hakeem Olajuwon had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Jakob Poeltl had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1984-85	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	35.5	20.6	5.4	6.5	11.9	1.4	1.2	2.7	2.9	4.2	8.3	15.3	.538	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.7	.613
difference:	+28	+23.9	+17.5	+4.0	+4.9	+8.8	+1.2	+0.9	+2.3	-2.4	-2.1	+7.1	+13.2	+.045				+3.5	+5.6	+.069
Jakob Poeltl	54	11.6	3.1	1.4	1.6	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	2.1	1.2	2.1	.583	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.544
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	5	37.4	21.2	6.6	6.4	13.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	2.2	4.4	8.4	17.6	.477	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	9.2	.478
difference:	+1	+33.1	+19.5	+5.6	+5.4	+11.0	+1.4	+1.2	+2.4	-2.2	-3.9	+7.6	+15.8	+.022				+4.4	+8.9	+.478
Jakob Poeltl	6	4.3	1.7	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.5	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.3	.000

Season 2
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1985-86	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	68	36.3	23.5	4.9	6.6	11.5	2.0	2.0	3.4	2.9	4.0	9.2	17.5	.526	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	7.9	.645
difference:	+14	+17.7	+16.6	+2.9	+3.8	+6.7	+1.3	+1.5	+2.2	-1.9	-1.4	+6.1	+12.8	+.133				+4.4	+6.7	+.051
Jakob Poeltl	82	18.6	6.9	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.5	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.1	4.7	.659	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.2	.594
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	20	38.3	26.9	5.1	6.8	11.8	2.0	2.0	3.5	2.2	4.4	10.3	19.4	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	6.4	10.0	.638
difference:	+11	+22.7	+21.5	+3.4	+4.5	+7.8	+1.3	+1.7	+3.1	-1.3	-1.6	+8.4	+16.0	+.018				+4.7	+7.9	+.151
Jakob Poeltl	9	15.6	5.4	1.7	2.3	4.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.9	2.8	1.9	3.4	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.1	.789

Season 3
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1986-87	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	75	36.8	23.4	4.2	7.2	11.4	2.9	1.9	3.4	3.0	3.9	9.0	17.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	5.3	7.6	.702
difference:	+2	+20.3	+17.9	+1.9	+4.2	+6.1	+1.7	+1.5	+2.5	-2.4	-2.3	+6.6	+14.0	+.137		+0.1		+4.7	+6.4	+.169
Jakob Poeltl	77	16.5	5.5	2.3	3.0	5.3	1.2	0.4	0.9	0.6	1.6	2.4	3.8	.645	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.2	.533
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	10	38.9	29.2	3.9	7.4	11.3	2.5	1.3	4.3	3.6	4.4	11.0	17.9	.615	0.0	0.1	.000	7.2	9.7	.742
difference:	+3	+13.6	+21.9	+0.3	+3.3	+3.6	+0.8	+1.0	+3.6	-3.2	-0.7	+7.7	+12.8	+.024				+6.5	+8.4	+.186
Jakob Poeltl	7	25.3	7.3	3.6	4.1	7.7	1.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.1	.639	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.3	.556

Season 4
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1987-88	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	79	35.8	22.8	3.8	8.3	12.1	2.1	2.1	2.7	3.1	4.1	9.0	17.5	.514	0.0	0.1	.000	4.8	6.9	.695
difference:	+13	+18.1	+17.2	+1.8	+4.6	+6.4	+0.3	+1.5	+1.3	-2.3	-2.2	+6.5	+13.5	+.110		+0.1		+4.2	+5.6	+.230
Jakob Poeltl	66	17.7	5.6	2.0	3.7	5.7	1.8	0.6	1.4	0.8	1.9	2.5	4.0	.624	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.3	.465
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	37.5	5.0	11.8	16.8	1.8	2.3	2.8	2.3	3.5	14.0	24.5	.571	0.0	0.3	.000	9.5	10.8	.884
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1988-89	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	36.9	24.8	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.8	2.6	3.4	3.4	4.0	9.6	19.0	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	5.5	8.0	.696
difference:	+13	+10.2	+16.2	+0.9	+4.6	+5.6	+0.1	+1.9	+1.6	-2.2	-1.5	+5.8	+12.8	+.108		+0.1		+4.6	+6.2	+.188
Jakob Poeltl	69	26.7	8.6	3.2	4.8	7.9	1.9	0.7	1.8	1.2	2.5	3.8	6.2	.616	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.508
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.5	25.3	3.5	9.5	13.0	3.0	2.5	2.8	2.5	4.3	10.5	20.3	.519	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.3	.680
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1989-90	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	38.1	24.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.9	2.1	4.6	3.9	3.8	9.8	19.6	.501	0.0	0.1	.167	4.7	6.5	.713
difference:	+14	+9.1	+10.8	+0.3	+4.9	+4.7	+0.1	+1.4	+2.9	-2.3	-0.7	+3.8	+9.8	+.117		+0.1		+3.3	+3.7	+.218
Jakob Poeltl	68	29.0	13.5	3.9	5.5	9.3	2.8	0.7	1.7	1.6	3.1	6.0	9.8	.618	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.8	.495
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	4	40.3	18.5	3.8	7.8	11.5	2.0	2.5	5.8	2.8	4.8	7.8	17.5	.443	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.3	.706
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1990-91	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	56	36.8	21.2	3.9	9.8	13.8	2.3	2.2	3.9	3.1	3.9	8.7	17.1	.508	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	4.9	.769
difference:	+16	+10.3	+8.7	+0.6	+4.0	+4.7	+0.4	+1.3	+2.7	-1.4	-1.2	+3.3	+8.5	+.121		+0.1		+2.1	+2.1	+.177
Jakob Poeltl	72	26.5	12.5	3.3	5.8	9.1	2.7	0.9	1.2	1.7	2.7	5.4	8.6	.629	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.592
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	3	43.0	22.0	4.0	10.7	14.7	2.0	1.3	2.7	2.7	3.7	8.7	15.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.7	.824
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1991-92	2023-24
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	70	37.7	21.6	3.5	8.6	12.1	2.2	1.8	4.3	2.7	3.8	8.4	16.8	.502	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	6.1	.766
difference:	+20	+11.3	+10.5	+0.6	+2.9	+3.5	+0.3	+1.1	+2.8	-1.2	-0.8	+3.4	+9.2	+.154				+3.5	+4.0	+.215
Jakob Poeltl	50	26.4	11.1	2.9	5.7	8.6	2.5	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.0	5.0	7.6	.656	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.1	.551
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Hakeem Olajuwon nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 9
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1992-93	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	82	39.5	26.1	3.5	9.6	13.0	3.5	1.8	4.2	3.2	3.7	10.3	19.5	.529	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	7.0	.779
difference:	+25	+9.9	+11.6	+0.2	+3.3	+3.4	+0.7	+0.6	+3.0	-1.3	-0.6	+3.9	+9.3	+.098			+.333	+3.7	+4.5	+.105
Jakob Poeltl	57	29.6	14.5	3.3	6.3	9.6	2.8	1.2	1.2	1.9	3.1	6.4	10.2	.627	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.5	.674
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	12	43.2	25.7	4.3	9.7	14.0	4.8	1.8	4.9	3.8	3.1	10.3	19.8	.517	0.0	0.1	.000	5.2	6.3	.827
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 9 seasons more than Jakob Poeltl in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 18, from 1994 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 7 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 9 extra years over Jakob Poeltl, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 4 All-Star Game