Horace Grant vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Horace Grant, 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.

Horace Grant played 17 years in the NBA, 9 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Horace Grant had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, 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
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1987-88	2002-03
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Horace Grant	81	22.6	7.7	1.9	3.6	5.5	1.1	0.6	0.7	1.1	2.7	3.1	6.3	.501	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.2	.626
difference:	+1	+6.4	+5.8	+0.5	+2.2	+2.7	+0.6	+0.2	+1.1	-1.0	-0.1	+1.8	+3.5	+.003				+2.3	+2.3	+.185
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Horace Grant	10	29.9	10.1	2.5	4.5	7.0	1.6	1.4	0.2	0.7	3.5	4.6	8.1	.568	0.0	0.1	.000	0.9	1.5	.600
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1988-89	2003-04
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Horace Grant	79	35.6	12.0	3.0	5.6	8.6	2.1	1.1	0.8	1.6	3.2	5.1	9.9	.519	0.0	0.1	.000	1.8	2.5	.704
difference:	+3	+2.8	+5.5	+0.6	+1.0	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	+1.1	-0.9	-0.1	+1.4	+2.6	+.003		+0.1		+2.6	+2.9	+.105
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		%
Horace Grant	17	36.8	10.8	3.1	6.7	9.8	2.1	0.6	0.9	1.8	4.0	4.2	8.2	.518	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	2.9	.800
difference:	+12	+0.8	+4.2	+0.9	+1.5	+2.4	+0.3	+0.2	+0.5	-0.8		+2.0	+5.4	+.062				+0.2	+0.5	+.035
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
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1989-90	2004-05
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Horace Grant	80	34.4	13.4	3.0	4.9	7.9	2.8	1.2	1.1	1.4	2.9	5.6	10.7	.523	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.2	.699
difference:		+3.8	+4.9	+0.4	+0.9	+0.5	+2.0	+0.8	+0.9	-1.1	-0.8	+1.1	+1.5	+.029				+2.7	+3.0	+.084
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		%
Horace Grant	16	38.5	12.2	4.6	5.4	9.9	2.5	1.1	1.1	1.6	3.2	5.1	9.9	.509	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	3.3	.623
difference:	+9	+6.6	+9.2	+1.3	+1.0	+2.2	+1.8	+0.8	+1.6	-1.1	-1.2	+2.8	+2.1	+.146		+0.1		+3.6	+4.6	+.104
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
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1990-91	2005-06
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Horace Grant	78	33.9	12.8	3.4	5.0	8.4	2.3	1.2	0.9	1.2	2.6	5.1	9.4	.547	0.0	0.1	.167	2.5	3.6	.711
difference:	+21	+0.3	+9.5	+0.8	+2.6	+1.8	+0.8	+0.7	+0.7	-1.4	-0.8	+3.1	+6.4	+.028		+0.1		+3.4	+3.3	+.142
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		%
Horace Grant	17	39.2	13.3	3.3	4.8	8.1	2.2	0.9	0.4	1.2	2.6	5.4	9.2	.583	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.5	.733
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1991-92	2006-07
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Horace Grant	81	35.3	14.2	4.2	5.7	10.0	2.7	1.2	1.6	1.2	2.4	5.6	9.8	.578	0.0	0.0	-	2.9	3.9	.741
difference:	+33	+1.5	+10.8	+2.1	+1.6	+0.6	+0.7	+0.8	+0.4	-2.3	-0.9	+3.2	+7.3	+.062				+4.5	+4.7	+.121
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		%
Horace Grant	22	38.9	11.3	3.5	5.4	8.8	3.0	1.1	1.8	1.0	3.1	4.5	8.3	.541	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	3.5	.671
difference:	+15	+1.8	+13.8	+0.2	+1.6	+1.5	+2.1	+1.0	+1.1	-3.7	-0.8	+3.4	+9.6	+.101		+0.1		+7.1	+7.2	+.209
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
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1992-93	2007-08
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Horace Grant	77	35.6	13.2	4.4	5.0	9.5	2.6	1.2	1.2	1.4	2.8	5.5	10.8	.508	0.0	0.1	.200	2.3	3.6	.619
difference:	+22	+1.6	+8.8	+1.3	+2.7	+1.3	+0.3	+0.7	+0.8	-1.9	-0.3	+2.4	+4.7	+.001		+0.1		+4.0	+3.8	+.231
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		%
Horace Grant	19	34.3	10.7	3.2	5.0	8.2	2.3	1.2	1.2	0.9	3.2	4.4	8.0	.546	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	2.8	.685
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1993-94	2008-09
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls 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		%
Horace Grant	70	36.7	15.1	4.4	6.6	11.0	3.4	1.1	1.2	1.6	2.3	6.6	12.5	.524	0.0	0.1	.000	2.0	3.3	.596
difference:	+7	+3.1	+4.6	+1.8	+0.6	+1.1	+1.6	+0.7	+0.7	-1.4	-1.0	+0.8	+0.9	+.024		+0.1		+2.9	+2.4	+.270
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		%
Horace Grant	10	39.3	16.2	3.0	4.4	7.4	2.6	1.0	1.8	1.0	2.3	6.5	12.0	.542	0.1	0.1	1.000	3.1	4.2	.738
difference:	+1	+3.4	+0.9	+0.9	+4.4	+3.5	+1.6	+0.6	+0.6	-0.9	-0.7	+0.5	+1.0	+.003	+0.1	+0.1		+2.0	+1.5	+.164
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
	Horace Grant	Yao Ming
Season	1994-95	2010-11
Team	Orlando Magic	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Horace Grant	74	36.4	12.8	3.0	6.6	9.7	2.3	1.0	1.2	1.1	2.7	5.4	9.6	.567	0.0	0.1	.000	2.0	2.9	.692
difference:	+69	+18.2	+2.6	+1.6	+2.6	+4.3	+1.5	+1.0	+0.4	-0.3	-0.1	+1.8	+2.2	+.081		+0.1		+1.0	+0.3	+.246
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		%
Horace Grant	21	41.4	13.7	3.5	6.9	10.4	1.9	1.0	1.1	1.2	3.2	5.8	10.7	.540	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	2.8	.763
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Horace Grant played 9 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 17, from 1996 to 2004—Horace Grant played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Yao Ming, Horace Grant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive Second Team