Jalen Brunson vs. Dwight Howard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dwight Howard and Jalen Brunson, 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.

Jalen Brunson played 7 years in the NBA, 11 less than Dwight Howard, who played 18. Jalen Brunson had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while Dwight Howard had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2018-19	2004-05
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	73	21.8	9.3	0.3	2.0	2.3	3.2	0.5	0.1	1.2	1.7	3.6	7.7	.467	0.9	2.5	.348	1.2	1.6	.725
difference:	+9	+10.8	+2.7	+3.2	+4.5	+7.7	+2.3	+0.4	+1.6	-0.8	-1.1	+0.7	+0.6	+.053	+0.9	+2.5		+2.2	+3.4	+.054
Dwight Howard	82	32.6	12.0	3.5	6.5	10.0	0.9	0.9	1.7	2.0	2.8	4.3	8.3	.520	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.671
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jalen Brunson nor Dwight Howard played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2020-21	2006-07
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	68	25.0	12.6	0.4	3.0	3.4	3.5	0.5	0.0	1.2	1.6	4.8	9.2	.523	1.2	2.9	.405	1.8	2.2	.795
difference:	+14	+11.9	+5.0	+3.1	+5.8	+8.9	+1.6	+0.4	+1.9	-2.7	-1.4	+1.6	+1.4	+.080	+1.2	+2.9		+3.0	+5.9	+.209
Dwight Howard	82	36.9	17.6	3.5	8.8	12.3	1.9	0.9	1.9	3.9	3.0	6.4	10.6	.603	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	8.1	.586
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	7	16.3	8.0	0.9	1.7	2.6	1.4	0.0	0.0	0.6	0.9	2.9	6.3	.455	0.9	1.9	.462	1.4	1.9	.769
difference:	+3	+25.5	+7.3	+3.1	+9.1	+12.2	+0.4	+0.5	+1.0	-3.7	-2.4	+2.9	+4.2	+.093	+0.9	+1.9		+2.4	+6.4	+.314
Dwight Howard	4	41.8	15.3	4.0	10.8	14.8	1.8	0.5	1.0	4.3	3.3	5.8	10.5	.548	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	8.3	.455

Season 4
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2021-22	2007-08
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Magic Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	79	31.9	16.3	0.5	3.4	3.9	4.8	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.9	6.4	12.8	.502	1.2	3.2	.373	2.3	2.7	.840
difference:	+3	+5.8	+4.4	+2.9	+7.4	+10.3	+3.5	+0.1	+2.1	-1.6	-1.4	+0.7	+0.9	+.097	+1.2	+3.2		+4.2	+8.2	+.250
Dwight Howard	82	37.7	20.7	3.4	10.8	14.2	1.3	0.9	2.1	3.2	3.3	7.1	11.9	.599	0.0	0.0	-	6.5	10.9	.590
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	18	34.9	21.6	0.8	3.8	4.6	3.7	0.8	0.1	1.1	2.1	8.1	17.3	.466	1.4	4.2	.347	4.0	5.0	.800
difference:	+8	+7.2	+2.7	+5.2	+6.0	+11.2	+2.8		+3.3	-2.1	-1.7	+0.9	+4.9	+.115	+1.4	+4.2		+0.5	+3.3	+.258
Dwight Howard	10	42.1	18.9	6.0	9.8	15.8	0.9	0.8	3.4	3.2	3.8	7.2	12.4	.581	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	8.3	.542

Season 5
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2022-23	2008-09
Team	New York Knicks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost NBA Finals

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	68	35.0	24.0	0.6	3.0	3.5	6.2	0.9	0.2	2.1	2.2	8.6	17.6	.491	2.0	4.7	.416	4.8	5.8	.829
difference:	+11	+0.7	+3.4	+3.7	+6.6	+10.3	+4.8	+0.1	+2.7	-0.9	-1.2	+1.5	+5.2	+.081	+2.0	+4.7		+1.6	+4.9	+.235
Dwight Howard	79	35.7	20.6	4.3	9.6	13.8	1.4	1.0	2.9	3.0	3.4	7.1	12.4	.572	0.0	0.0	-	6.4	10.7	.594
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	11	40.3	27.8	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.6	1.5	0.1	2.1	2.4	9.9	20.9	.474	2.4	7.3	.325	5.6	6.2	.912
difference:	+12	+1.0	+7.5	+3.5	+6.9	+10.4	+3.7	+0.6	+2.5	-0.8	-2.0	+2.9	+9.2	+.127	+2.4	+7.2	+.325	+0.7	+3.7	+.276
Dwight Howard	23	39.3	20.3	4.3	11.0	15.3	1.9	0.9	2.6	2.9	4.4	7.0	11.7	.601	0.0	0.1	.000	6.3	9.9	.636

Season 6
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2023-24	2009-10
Team	New York Knicks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	77	35.4	28.7	0.6	3.1	3.6	6.7	0.9	0.2	2.4	1.9	10.3	21.4	.479	2.7	6.8	.401	5.5	6.5	.847
difference:	+5	+0.7	+10.4	+2.9	+6.6	+9.6	+4.9		+2.6	-0.9	-1.6	+4.1	+11.2	+.133	+2.7	+6.7	+.401	+0.4	+3.5	+.255
Dwight Howard	82	34.7	18.3	3.5	9.7	13.2	1.8	0.9	2.8	3.3	3.5	6.2	10.2	.612	0.0	0.1	.000	5.9	10.0	.592
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	13	39.8	32.4	0.6	2.7	3.3	7.5	0.8	0.2	2.7	2.0	11.6	26.2	.444	2.0	6.5	.310	7.2	9.2	.775
difference:	+1	+4.3	+14.3	+2.1	+5.7	+7.8	+6.1		+3.3	-0.9	-2.2	+5.5	+16.2	+.170	+2.0	+6.5		+1.3	+2.1	+.256
Dwight Howard	14	35.5	18.1	2.7	8.4	11.1	1.4	0.8	3.5	3.6	4.2	6.1	10.0	.614	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	11.3	.519

Season 7
	Jalen Brunson	Dwight Howard
Season	2024-25	2010-11
Team	New York Knicks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Clutch Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	65	35.4	26.0	0.4	2.5	2.9	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.5	2.1	9.0	18.5	.488	2.3	6.1	.383	5.7	6.9	.821
difference:	+13	+2.2	+3.1	+3.6	+7.6	+11.2	+5.9	+0.5	+2.3	-1.1	-1.2	+1.1	+5.1	+.105	+2.3	+6.0	+.383	+1.3	+4.8	+.225
Dwight Howard	78	37.6	22.9	4.0	10.1	14.1	1.4	1.4	2.4	3.6	3.3	7.9	13.4	.593	0.0	0.1	.000	7.0	11.7	.596
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	18	37.8	29.4	0.7	2.8	3.4	7.0	0.4	0.3	3.1	3.3	10.1	21.8	.461	2.7	7.4	.358	6.7	7.8	.851
difference:	+12	+5.2	+2.4	+3.8	+8.2	+12.1	+6.5	+0.3	+1.5	-2.4	-0.9	+1.6	+8.3	+.169	+2.7	+7.2	+.358	+3.3	+6.9	+.169
Dwight Howard	6	43.0	27.0	4.5	11.0	15.5	0.5	0.7	1.8	5.5	4.2	8.5	13.5	.630	0.0	0.2	.000	10.0	14.7	.682

Additional Years
* Dwight Howard played 11 seasons more than Jalen Brunson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 18, from 2012 to 2022—Dwight Howard played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 11 extra years over Jalen Brunson, Dwight Howard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 Rebounds Leader 3 All-Star Game