Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 7 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 11. Hakeem Olajuwon had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Hakeem Olajuwon	18	15	1984-85 to 2001-02
Karl-Anthony Towns	11	5	2015-16 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11


Rookie Season
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1984-85	2015-16
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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:		+3.5	+2.3	+2.6	+1.2	+1.4	+0.6	+0.5	+1.0	-0.7	-1.2	+0.7	+1.2	+.004	+0.4	+1.1		+1.4	+3.3	+.198
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	32.0	18.3	2.8	7.7	10.5	2.0	0.7	1.7	2.2	3.0	7.6	14.1	.542	0.4	1.1	.341	2.7	3.4	.811

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1985-86	2016-17
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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	+0.7	+1.6	+1.3	+2.1	+0.8	+0.7	+1.3	+2.1	-0.3	-1.1	+0.6	+0.5	+.016	+1.2	+3.4		+0.8	+2.7	+.187
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	37.0	25.1	3.6	8.7	12.3	2.7	0.7	1.3	2.6	2.9	9.8	18.0	.542	1.2	3.4	.367	4.3	5.2	.832

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1986-87	2017-18
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Timberwolves 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:	+7	+1.2	+2.1	+1.3	+2.2	+0.9	+0.5	+1.1	+2.0	-1.1	-0.4	+1.2	+3.5	+.037	+1.5	+3.4	+.221	+1.1	+2.7	+.156
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	35.6	21.3	2.9	9.4	12.3	2.4	0.8	1.4	1.9	3.5	7.8	14.3	.545	1.5	3.5	.421	4.2	4.9	.858

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:	+5	+4.9	+14.0	+0.9	+3.0	+2.1	+0.3	+0.9	+3.3	-1.2	-1.6	+5.4	+5.9	+.148	+0.6	+2.1	+.273	+3.8	+5.1	+.003
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	34.0	15.2	3.0	10.4	13.4	2.2	0.4	1.0	2.4	2.8	5.6	12.0	.467	0.6	2.2	.273	3.4	4.6	.739


Season 4
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1987-88	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+2	+2.7	+1.6	+0.4	+0.7	+0.3	+1.3	+1.2	+1.1		-0.3	+0.2	+0.4	+.004	+1.8	+4.5	+.400	+0.1	+1.1	+.141
Karl-Anthony Towns	77	33.1	24.4	3.4	9.0	12.4	3.4	0.9	1.6	3.1	3.8	8.8	17.1	.518	1.8	4.6	.400	4.9	5.8	.836

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1988-89	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+47	+3.0	+1.7	+1.4	+1.3	+2.7	+2.6	+1.7	+2.2	-0.3	-0.7	+0.6	+1.2		+3.3	+7.8	+.412	+0.4	+1.5	+.100
Karl-Anthony Towns	35	33.9	26.5	2.7	8.1	10.8	4.4	0.9	1.2	3.1	3.3	9.0	17.8	.508	3.3	7.9	.412	5.1	6.5	.796

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1989-90	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
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:	+32	+4.3	+0.5	+0.9	+2.5	+3.4	+1.6	+1.3	+3.5	-0.7	-0.1	+1.3	+2.1	+.015	+2.4	+6.2	+.220	+0.6	+0.3	+.146
Karl-Anthony Towns	50	33.8	24.8	2.7	7.9	10.6	4.5	0.8	1.1	3.2	3.7	8.5	17.5	.486	2.4	6.3	.387	5.3	6.2	.859

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
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1990-91	2021-22
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+18	+3.3	+3.4	+1.3	+2.6	+4.0	+1.3	+1.2	+2.8		-0.3		+0.7	+.021	+2.0	+4.8	+.410	+1.4	+1.4	+.053
Karl-Anthony Towns	74	33.5	24.6	2.6	7.2	9.8	3.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	3.6	8.7	16.4	.529	2.0	4.9	.410	5.2	6.3	.822

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
difference:	+3	+6.0	+0.2	+2.2	+1.7	+3.9	+0.2	+0.6	+0.7	-1.8	-0.5	+2.2	+1.7	+.090	+1.7	+3.4	+.455	+2.5	+2.6	+.036
Karl-Anthony Towns	6	37.0	21.8	1.8	9.0	10.8	2.2	0.7	2.0	4.5	4.2	6.5	13.3	.488	1.7	3.7	.455	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 8
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1991-92	2022-23
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+41	+4.7	+0.8	+1.8	+2.1	+4.0	+2.6	+1.1	+3.7	-0.3		+1.1	+2.0	+.007	+2.1	+5.7		+0.6	+1.4	+.108
Karl-Anthony Towns	29	33.0	20.8	1.7	6.5	8.1	4.8	0.7	0.6	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.8	.495	2.1	5.7	.366	4.1	4.7	.874

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	36.0	18.2	1.2	9.0	10.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	3.6	4.2	6.4	14.0	.457	1.2	4.8	.250	4.2	5.6	.750


Season 9
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1992-93	2023-24
Team	Houston Rockets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Timberwolves Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+20	+6.8	+4.3	+2.0	+2.8	+4.7	+0.5	+1.1	+3.5	-0.3	-0.4	+2.6	+4.2	+.025	+2.2	+5.2	+.416	+1.3	+2.3	+.094
Karl-Anthony Towns	62	32.7	21.8	1.5	6.8	8.3	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.9	3.3	7.7	15.3	.504	2.2	5.3	.416	4.1	4.7	.873

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
difference:	+4	+10.6	+6.6	+2.1	+2.9	+5.0	+2.2	+1.0	+4.7	-2.1	-0.3	+3.5	+5.3	+.051	+1.9	+5.1	+.361	+1.5	+2.0	+.028
Karl-Anthony Towns	16	32.6	19.1	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.6	0.8	0.2	1.7	3.4	6.8	14.5	.466	1.9	5.2	.361	3.7	4.3	.855


Season 10
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1993-94	2024-25
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

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10th 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	80	41.0	27.3	2.9	9.1	11.9	3.6	1.6	3.7	3.4	3.6	11.2	21.2	.528	0.1	0.2	.421	4.9	6.8	.716
difference:	+8	+6.0	+2.9		+0.7	+0.9	+0.5	+0.6	+3.0	-0.7	-0.1	+2.3	+4.3	+.002	+1.9	+4.5	+.001	+0.2	+1.1	+.113
Karl-Anthony Towns	72	35.0	24.4	2.9	9.8	12.8	3.1	1.0	0.7	2.7	3.5	8.9	16.9	.526	2.0	4.7	.420	4.7	5.7	.829

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	23	43.0	28.9	2.4	8.7	11.0	4.3	1.7	4.0	3.6	3.6	11.6	22.3	.519	0.1	0.2	.500	5.6	7.0	.795
difference:	+5	+7.5	+7.5	+0.3	+0.8	+0.6	+3.0	+1.0	+3.3	-1.4	-0.7	+3.9	+6.5	+.031	+1.3	+3.9	+.149	+1.0	+1.6	+.050
Karl-Anthony Towns	18	35.5	21.4	2.1	9.5	11.6	1.3	0.7	0.7	2.2	4.3	7.7	15.8	.488	1.4	4.1	.351	4.6	5.4	.845


Season 11
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1994-95	2025-26
Team	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

11th 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	72	39.6	27.8	2.4	8.4	10.8	3.5	1.8	3.4	3.3	3.5	11.1	21.5	.517	0.0	0.2	.188	5.6	7.5	.756
difference:	+68	+5.8	+10.8	+0.9	+1.9	+2.7	+1.5	+1.0	+2.4	-0.2	-0.5	+6.3	+8.0	+.165	+1.8	+5.1	+.145	+0.2	+0.7	+.096
Karl-Anthony Towns	4	33.8	17.0	3.3	10.3	13.5	2.0	0.8	1.0	3.5	4.0	4.8	13.5	.352	1.8	5.3	.333	5.8	6.8	.852

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Hakeem Olajuwon	22	42.2	33.0	2.0	8.3	10.3	4.5	1.2	2.8	3.1	4.3	13.9	26.2	.531	0.1	0.2	.500	5.0	7.4	.681
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 7 seasons more than Karl-Anthony Towns in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 18, from 1996 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 5 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Karl-Anthony Towns, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 All-Star Game

Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years