Jamal Murray vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Jamal Murray, 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 / Scoring / 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.

Jamal Murray played 9 years in the NBA, 2 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Jamal Murray had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
Jamal Murray 9 5 2016-17 to 2025-26
Arvydas Sabonis 7 7 1995-96 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2016-171995-96
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayTrail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 82 21.5 9.9 0.5 2.1 2.6 2.1 0.6 0.3 1.4 1.5 3.6 8.9 .404 1.4 4.2 .334 1.3 1.5 .883
difference:+9+2.3+4.6+1.5+3.9+5.5+0.3+0.3+0.8-0.7-1.4+1.8+1.0+.141+0.9+2.8+.041+1.9+2.7+.126
Arvydas Sabonis 73 23.8 14.5 2.0 6.0 8.1 1.8 0.9 1.1 2.1 2.9 5.4 9.9 .545 0.5 1.4 .375 3.2 4.2 .757
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray DNP------ --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis 5 35.4 23.6 2.4 7.8 10.2 1.8 0.8 0.6 2.0 3.4 7.0 16.2 .432 1.0 1.8 .556 8.6 12.0 .717

Season 2

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2017-181996-97
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayTrail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 81 31.7 16.7 1.0 2.7 3.7 3.4 1.0 0.3 2.1 2.1 5.9 13.1 .451 2.0 5.4 .378 2.8 3.1 .905
difference:+12+6.2+3.3+0.7+3.6+4.2+1.3+0.1+0.9-0.1-0.8+1.1+3.6+.047+1.3+3.5+.007+0.4+1.1+.128
Arvydas Sabonis 69 25.5 13.4 1.7 6.3 7.9 2.1 0.9 1.2 2.2 2.9 4.8 9.5 .498 0.7 1.9 .371 3.2 4.2 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray DNP------ --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 11.3 2.0 4.5 6.5 2.3 0.8 0.8 2.3 4.8 4.5 10.5 .429 0.5 2.0 .250 1.8 2.0 .875

Season 3

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2018-191997-98
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTrail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 75 32.6 18.2 0.9 3.4 4.2 4.8 0.9 0.4 2.1 2.0 6.8 15.6 .437 2.0 5.5 .367 2.5 3.0 .848
difference:+2+0.6+2.2+1.1+4.5+5.8+1.8+0.7-0.5-1.7+1.2+4.3+.056+1.6+3.9+.106+1.9+2.5+.050
Arvydas Sabonis 73 32.0 16.0 2.0 7.9 10.0 3.0 0.9 1.1 2.6 3.7 5.6 11.3 .493 0.4 1.6 .261 4.4 5.5 .798
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 14 36.3 21.3 1.4 3.0 4.4 4.7 1.0 0.1 1.6 1.7 7.6 18.0 .425 2.0 5.9 .337 4.0 4.4 .903
difference:+10+9.5+9.0+0.4+3.0+3.4+3.2+0.8+0.7-0.9-3.1+3.1+8.0+.025+1.7+5.4+.163+1.0+0.9+.046
Arvydas Sabonis 4 26.8 12.3 1.8 6.0 7.8 1.5 1.8 0.8 2.5 4.8 4.5 10.0 .450 0.3 0.5 .500 3.0 3.5 .857

Season 4

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2019-201998-99
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsTrail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 59 32.3 18.5 0.8 3.2 4.0 4.8 1.1 0.3 2.2 1.7 6.9 15.2 .456 1.9 5.5 .346 2.8 3.1 .881
difference:+9+5.3+6.4+1.0+2.9+3.9+2.4+0.4+1.0-0.5-1.2+2.3+5.6+.029+1.8+5.0+.054+0.1+0.4+.110
Arvydas Sabonis 50 27.0 12.1 1.8 6.1 7.9 2.4 0.7 1.3 1.7 2.9 4.6 9.6 .485 0.1 0.5 .292 2.7 3.5 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 19 39.6 26.5 1.1 3.8 4.8 6.6 0.9 0.3 2.8 2.2 9.8 19.4 .505 3.3 7.2 .453 3.7 4.1 .897
difference:+6+9.5+16.5+0.2+4.0+4.0+4.4+0.3+0.9-1.3-0.5+6.3+10.7+.107+3.2+6.8+.253+0.7+0.8+.010
Arvydas Sabonis 13 30.1 10.0 0.9 7.8 8.8 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 2.7 3.5 8.7 .398 0.1 0.4 .200 3.0 3.3 .907

Season 5

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2020-211999-00
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayTrail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 48 35.5 21.2 0.8 3.3 4.0 4.8 1.3 0.3 2.3 2.0 7.9 16.5 .477 2.7 6.6 .408 2.8 3.2 .869
difference:+18+9.9+9.4+0.7+3.0+3.8+3.0+0.6+0.9-0.8-0.8+3.3+7.4+.028+2.6+6.3+.040+0.3+0.2+.026
Arvydas Sabonis 66 25.6 11.8 1.5 6.3 7.8 1.8 0.7 1.2 1.5 2.8 4.6 9.1 .505 0.1 0.3 .368 2.5 3.0 .843
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray DNP------ --- ----------
Arvydas Sabonis 16 30.8 11.3 1.2 5.5 6.7 1.9 0.9 0.8 1.6 3.7 4.3 9.4 .453 0.4 1.3 .286 2.4 3.1 .796

Note: Jamal Murray didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 6

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2022-232000-01
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionTrail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 65 32.8 20.0 0.7 3.2 4.0 6.2 1.0 0.2 2.2 1.6 7.3 16.0 .454 2.6 6.6 .398 2.8 3.3 .833
difference:+4+11.5+9.9+0.1+1.4+1.4+4.7+0.3+0.8-0.8-0.6+3.3+7.5+.025+2.6+6.4+.331+0.8+0.7+.057
Arvydas Sabonis 61 21.3 10.1 0.8 4.6 5.4 1.5 0.7 1.0 1.4 2.2 4.0 8.5 .479 0.0 0.2 .067 2.0 2.6 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 20 40.0 26.1 0.8 4.9 5.7 7.1 1.5 0.3 2.5 2.1 9.7 20.5 .473 3.0 7.5 .396 3.8 4.1 .926
difference:+17+5.0+14.8+1.9+0.8+2.6+4.4+1.2+2.0-1.8-1.9+5.0+10.8+.010+3.0+6.8+.396+1.8+1.4+.176
Arvydas Sabonis 3 35.0 11.3 2.7 5.7 8.3 2.7 0.3 2.3 0.7 4.0 4.7 9.7 .483 0.0 0.7 .000 2.0 2.7 .750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7

Jamal Murray Arvydas Sabonis
Season 2023-242002-03
Team Denver NuggetsPortland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTrail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 59 31.5 21.2 0.7 3.4 4.1 6.5 1.0 0.7 2.1 1.8 8.0 16.7 .481 2.5 5.8 .425 2.7 3.1 .853
difference:+19+16.0+15.1+0.4+0.2+0.2+4.7+0.2+0.1-1.1+5.8+12.1+.005+2.5+5.7+.075+1.0+1.0+.066
Arvydas Sabonis 78 15.5 6.1 1.1 3.2 4.3 1.8 0.8 0.6 1.0 1.8 2.2 4.6 .476 0.0 0.1 .500 1.7 2.1 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 12 38.5 20.6 0.8 3.6 4.3 5.6 0.8 0.5 2.6 2.3 8.3 20.8 .402 1.9 6.1 .315 2.0 2.2 .923
difference:+6+24.0+10.6+0.2+0.6+0.3+4.8+0.1+0.2-1.6+4.3+14.8+.265+1.9+6.1+0.3+.123
Arvydas Sabonis 6 14.5 10.0 1.0 3.0 4.0 0.8 0.7 0.7 1.0 2.3 4.0 6.0 .667 0.0 0.0 - 2.0 2.5 .800

Additional Years

* Jamal Murray played 2 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 8 to 9, from 2025 to 2026—Jamal Murray played in one postseason.