Jalen Brunson vs. Hakeem Olajuwon Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Hakeem Olajuwon 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 8 years in the NBA, 10 less than Hakeem Olajuwon, who played 18. Jalen Brunson had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while Hakeem Olajuwon had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2018-19	1984-85
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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	+13.7	+11.3	+5.1	+4.5	+9.6	+1.8	+0.7	+2.6	-1.7	-2.5	+4.7	+7.6	+.071	+0.9	+2.5		+2.9	+5.1	+.112
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 2
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2019-20	1985-86
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Jalen Brunson	57	17.9	8.2	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.3	0.4	0.1	1.2	1.3	3.2	6.8	.466	0.8	2.1	.358	1.1	1.3	.813
difference:	+11	+18.4	+15.3	+4.5	+4.6	+9.1	+1.3	+1.6	+3.3	-1.7	-2.7	+6.0	+10.7	+.060	+0.8	+2.1		+4.0	+6.6	+.168
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jalen Brunson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 3
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2020-21	1986-87
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
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:	+7	+11.8	+10.8	+3.8	+4.2	+8.0	+0.6	+1.4	+3.4	-1.8	-2.3	+4.2	+8.6	+.015	+1.2	+2.8	+.205	+3.5	+5.4	+.093
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
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	+22.6	+21.2	+3.0	+5.7	+8.7	+1.1	+1.3	+4.3	-3.0	-3.5	+8.1	+11.6	+.160	+0.9	+1.8	+.462	+5.8	+7.8	+.027
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

Season 4
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2021-22	1987-88
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:		+3.9	+6.5	+3.3	+4.9	+8.2	+2.7	+1.3	+2.7	-1.5	-2.2	+2.6	+4.7	+.012	+1.2	+3.1	+.373	+2.5	+4.2	+.145
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
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:	+14	+5.6	+15.9	+4.2	+8.0	+12.2	+1.9	+1.5	+2.7	-1.2	-1.4	+5.9	+7.2	+.105	+1.4	+3.9	+.347	+5.5	+5.8	+.084
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

Season 5
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2022-23	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
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:	+14	+1.9	+0.8	+3.5	+6.4	+10.0	+4.4	+1.7	+3.2	-1.3	-1.8	+1.0	+1.4	+.017	+2.0	+4.6	+.416	+0.7	+2.2	+.133
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
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:	+7	+0.2	+2.5	+2.7	+5.4	+8.1	+2.6	+1.0	+2.7	-0.4	-1.9	+0.6	+0.6	+.045	+2.4	+7.3		+1.3	+0.1	+.232
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

Season 6
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2023-24	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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	+2.7	+4.4	+3.0	+7.3	+10.4	+3.8	+1.2	+4.4	-1.5	-1.9	+0.5	+1.8	+.022	+2.7	+6.7	+.234	+0.8		+.134
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
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:	+9	+0.5	+13.9	+3.2	+5.1	+8.2	+5.5	+1.7	+5.6	-0.1	-2.8	+3.8	+8.7	+.001	+2.0	+6.5		+4.2	+4.9	+.069
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

Season 7
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2024-25	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Clutch Player of the Year	-
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	Rockets 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		%
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:	+9	+1.4	+4.8	+3.5	+7.3	+10.9	+5.0	+1.3	+3.8	-0.6	-1.8	+0.3	+1.4	+.020	+2.3	+6.0	+.383	+1.9	+2.0	+.052
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
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:	+15	+5.2	+7.4	+3.3	+7.9	+11.3	+5.0	+0.9	+2.4	-0.4	-0.4	+1.4	+6.8	+.117	+2.7	+7.1	+.358	+2.0	+2.1	+.027
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

Season 8
	Jalen Brunson	Hakeem Olajuwon
Season	2025-26	1991-92
Team	New York Knicks	Houston Rockets
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		%
Jalen Brunson	5	34.8	31.2	0.6	3.0	3.6	5.4	1.0	0.0	2.0	2.8	11.0	22.8	.482	2.6	8.0	.325	6.6	8.0	.825
difference:	+65	+2.9	+9.6	+2.9	+5.6	+8.5	+3.2	+0.8	+4.3	-0.7	-1.0	+2.6	+6.0	+.020	+2.6	+8.0		+1.9	+1.9	+.059
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
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jalen Brunson nor Hakeem Olajuwon played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years
* Hakeem Olajuwon played 10 seasons more than Jalen Brunson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 1993 to 2002—Hakeem Olajuwon played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Jalen Brunson, Hakeem Olajuwon got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 Defensive Player of the Year 1 Blocks Leader 5 All-Star Game