Jeremy Lin vs. Dikembe Mutombo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dikembe Mutombo and Jeremy Lin, 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.

Jeremy Lin played 9 years in the NBA, 9 less than Dikembe Mutombo, who played 18. Jeremy Lin had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, while Dikembe Mutombo had his rookie season in 1991-92. 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
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2010-11	1991-92
Team	Golden State Warriors	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jeremy Lin	29	9.8	2.6	0.4	0.8	1.2	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.0	2.5	.389	0.0	0.2	.200	0.7	0.9	.760
difference:	+42	+28.5	+14.0	+4.1	+7.0	+11.1	+0.8	+0.5	+2.7	-2.9	-2.7	+5.0	+9.7	+.104		+0.2		+3.8	+6.1	+.118
Dikembe Mutombo	71	38.3	16.6	4.5	7.8	12.3	2.2	0.6	3.0	3.5	3.8	6.0	12.2	.493	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	7.0	.642
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jeremy Lin nor Dikembe Mutombo played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 3
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2012-13	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Blocks Leader
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785
difference:		+2.6	+1.4	+3.1	+5.8	+8.8	+4.6	+0.9	+3.7	-0.4	-0.7	+0.3	+3.1	+.128	+1.1	+3.1		+0.5	+2.0	+.202
Dikembe Mutombo	82	34.8	12.0	3.5	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.7	4.1	2.5	3.2	4.5	7.8	.569	0.0	0.0	-	3.1	5.4	.583
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+8	+21.6	+9.3	+3.3	+6.7	+10.0	+0.2	+0.2	+5.5	-0.5	-1.2	+2.7	+3.0	+.213	+0.5	+3.0		+4.4	+7.7	+.398
Dikembe Mutombo	12	42.6	13.3	3.3	8.7	12.0	1.8	0.7	5.8	2.5	3.5	4.2	9.0	.463	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	8.2	.602

Season 4
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2013-14	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823
difference:	+11	+8.9	+1.0	+3.4	+6.5	+9.9	+2.7	+0.5	+3.5	-0.2	-1.2	+0.1	+1.6	+.110	+1.2	+3.2		+0.1	+0.9	+.169
Dikembe Mutombo	82	37.8	11.5	3.9	8.7	12.5	1.4	0.5	3.9	2.3	3.5	4.3	7.7	.556	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.6	.654
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813
difference:	+3	+1.5	+5.3	+0.1	+2.5	+2.6	+4.0	+0.5	+2.1	-0.1	-2.5	+2.2	+6.9	+.190	+0.8	+3.8		+0.2	+0.3	+.146
Dikembe Mutombo	3	28.0	6.0	1.3	5.0	6.3	0.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	5.0	2.0	3.3	.600	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.0	.667

Season 5
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2014-15	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795
difference:		+10.9	+0.2	+3.0	+6.1	+9.2	+3.1	+0.6	+4.1	-0.2	-0.9	+0.1	+1.1	+.075	+0.9	+2.4		+0.4	+1.2	+.100
Dikembe Mutombo	74	36.7	11.0	3.4	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.5	4.5	2.0	3.5	3.8	7.7	.499	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.8	.695
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jeremy Lin nor Dikembe Mutombo played in the postseason in their season 5

Season 6
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2015-16	1996-97
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815
difference:	+2	+10.9	+1.6	+2.9	+5.6	+8.4	+1.6	+0.1	+2.8	-0.4	-1.0	+1.0	+0.3	+.115	+1.0	+2.9		+0.7	+1.7	+.110
Dikembe Mutombo	80	37.2	13.3	3.4	8.3	11.6	1.4	0.6	3.3	2.3	3.1	4.8	9.0	.527	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	5.4	.705
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821
difference:	+3	+14.5	+3.0	+3.3	+6.7	+10.0	+1.3	+0.6	+2.6	-0.4		+1.7	+0.4	+.215	+0.4	+2.0			+0.8	+.102
Dikembe Mutombo	10	41.5	15.4	3.7	8.6	12.3	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.0	3.0	5.4	8.6	.628	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.4	.719

Season 7
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2016-17	1997-98
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East 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		%
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816
difference:	+46	+11.1	+1.1	+3.1	+4.6	+7.6	+4.1	+0.8	+3.0	-0.4	-0.9		+2.0	+.099	+1.6	+4.3		+0.5	+1.6	+.146
Dikembe Mutombo	82	35.6	13.4	3.4	8.0	11.4	1.0	0.4	3.4	2.0	3.1	4.9	9.1	.537	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.5	.670
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dikembe Mutombo	4	34.0	8.0	3.3	9.5	12.8	0.3	0.3	2.3	2.0	2.5	2.8	6.0	.458	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	4.0	.625

Season 8
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2017-18	1998-99
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000
difference:	+49	+11.6	+7.2	+3.8	+8.4	+12.2	+2.9	+0.3	+2.9	-1.1	-0.1	+1.5	+5.2	+.095	+1.0	+2.0		+3.1	+1.3	+.316
Dikembe Mutombo	50	36.6	10.8	3.8	8.4	12.2	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.9	2.9	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	-	3.9	5.7	.684
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dikembe Mutombo	9	42.2	12.6	4.0	9.9	13.9	1.2	0.6	2.6	2.0	3.1	4.4	7.9	.563	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.2	.702

Season 9
	Jeremy Lin	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	2018-19	1999-00
Team	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838
difference:	+8	+17.0	+1.9	+3.4	+8.3	+11.7	+1.8	+0.3	+3.1	-0.4	-1.1	+0.7	+0.3	+.122	+0.7	+2.5		+1.2	+2.3	+.130
Dikembe Mutombo	82	36.4	11.5	3.7	10.4	14.1	1.3	0.3	3.3	2.1	3.0	3.9	7.0	.562	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	5.1	.708
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Dikembe Mutombo played 9 seasons more than Jeremy Lin in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 18, from 2001 to 2009—Dikembe Mutombo played in 8 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Jeremy Lin, Dikembe Mutombo got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 1 Rebounds Leader 2 All-Star Game