Jamal Murray vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns 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 / Games against each other

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 8 years in the NBA, 2 less than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 10. Jamal Murray had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, 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
Jamal Murray 8 5 2016-17 to 2024-25
Karl-Anthony Towns 10 5 2015-16 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2016-172015-16
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
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:+10.5+8.4+2.3+5.6+7.9+0.1+0.1+1.4-0.8-1.5+4.0+5.2+.138+1.0+3.1+.007+1.4+1.9+.072
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
* Neiher Jamal Murray nor Karl-Anthony Towns played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2017-182016-17
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
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:+1+5.3+8.4+2.6+6.0+8.6+0.7+0.3+1.0-0.5-0.8+3.9+4.9+.091+0.8+2.0+.011+1.5+2.1+.073
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
* Neiher Jamal Murray nor Karl-Anthony Towns played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2018-192017-18
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTimberwolves 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:+7+3.0+3.1+2.0+6.0+8.1+2.4+0.1+1.0-0.2-1.5+1.0+1.3+.108+0.5+2.0+.054+1.7+1.9+.010
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 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:+9+2.3+6.1+1.6+7.4+9.0+2.5+0.6+0.9-0.8-1.1+2.0+6.0+.042+1.4+3.7+.064+0.6+0.2+.164
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

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2019-202018-19
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
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:+18+0.8+5.9+2.6+5.8+8.4+1.4+0.2+1.3-0.9-2.1+1.9+1.9+.062+0.1+0.9+.054+2.1+2.7+.045
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 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
Karl-Anthony Towns DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2020-212019-20
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
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:+13+1.6+5.3+1.9+4.8+6.8+0.4+0.4+0.9-0.8-1.3+1.1+1.3+.031+0.6+1.3+.004+2.3+3.3+.073
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
* Neiher Jamal Murray nor Karl-Anthony Towns played in the postseason in their season 5

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

Season 6

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2022-232020-21
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
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:+15+1.0+4.8+2.0+4.7+6.6+1.7+0.2+0.9-1.0-2.1+1.2+1.5+.032+0.2+0.3+.011+2.5+2.9+.026
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 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
Karl-Anthony Towns DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2023-242021-22
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTimberwolves 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:+15+2.0+3.4+1.9+3.8+5.7+2.9+0.4-1.0-1.8+0.7+0.3+.048+0.5+0.9+.015+2.5+3.2+.031
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 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+1.5+1.2+1.0+5.4+6.5+3.4+0.1+1.5-1.9-1.9+1.8+7.5+.086+0.2+2.4+.140+5.2+6.1+.063
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

Jamal Murray Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 2024-252022-23
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 67 36.1 21.4 0.7 3.2 3.9 6.0 1.4 0.5 2.1 1.9 7.9 16.7 .474 2.3 5.9 .393 3.3 3.7 .886
difference:+38+3.1+0.6+1.0+3.3+4.2+1.2+0.7+0.1-0.9-1.9+0.6+1.9+.021+0.2+0.2+.027+0.8+1.0+.012
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jamal Murray 14 41.3 21.8 0.6 4.2 4.9 5.2 1.2 0.8 3.1 2.2 7.9 17.9 .444 2.4 6.9 .354 3.5 4.0 .875
difference:+9+5.3+3.6+0.6+4.8+5.3+3.2+0.6-0.5-2.0+1.5+3.9+.013+1.2+2.1+.104+0.7+1.6+.125
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

Additional Years

* Karl-Anthony Towns played 2 seasons more than Jamal Murray in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 10, from 2024 to 2025—Karl-Anthony Towns played in two Playoffs.

In those 2 extra years over Jamal Murray, Karl-Anthony Towns got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 2 All-Star Game