Jim Ard vs. Nikola Jokic Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nikola Jokic and Jim Ard, 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

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.

Jim Ard played 4 years in the NBA, 5 less than Nikola Jokic, who played 9. Jim Ard had the first of his seasons in 1974-75, while Nikola Jokic 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 achivements, 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
Jim Ard 4 2 1974-75 to 1977-78
Nikola Jokic 9 6 2015-16 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season 1974-752015-16
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 59 12.2 3.8 1.0 2.4 3.4 0.7 0.2 0.5 - 1.6 1.5 4.5 .335 - - - 0.8 1.1 .738
Nikola Jokic 80 21.7 10.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 2.4 1.0 0.6 1.3 2.6 3.8 7.5 .512 0.4 1.1 .333 1.9 2.4 .811
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 5 2.8 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.2 - 1.0 0.2 1.6 .125 - - - 0.0 0.0 -
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season 1975-762016-17
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 81 10.5 3.5 1.2 2.4 3.6 0.6 0.1 0.4 - 1.7 1.3 3.6 .364 - - - 0.9 1.2 .710
Nikola Jokic 73 27.9 16.7 2.9 6.9 9.8 4.9 0.8 0.8 2.3 2.9 6.8 11.7 .578 0.6 1.9 .324 2.6 3.1 .825
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 16 6.9 2.3 0.6 1.0 1.6 0.5 0.1 0.2 - 1.8 0.8 1.8 .448 - - - 0.7 0.9 .786
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season 1976-772017-18
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 63 15.4 3.8 1.2 3.5 4.7 0.8 0.3 0.4 - 2.0 1.5 4.0 .378 - - - 0.8 1.2 .645
Nikola Jokic 75 32.6 18.5 2.6 8.1 10.7 6.1 1.2 0.8 2.8 2.8 6.7 13.5 .499 1.5 3.7 .396 3.5 4.2 .850
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------

Season 4
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season 1977-782018-19
Team Boston Celtics, Chicago BullsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNuggets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard 15 8.3 1.3 0.6 1.8 2.4 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.9 1.3 0.5 1.1 .471 - - - 0.2 0.3 .600
Nikola Jokic 80 31.3 20.1 2.9 8.0 10.8 7.3 1.4 0.7 3.1 2.9 7.7 15.1 .511 1.0 3.4 .307 3.6 4.4 .821
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 14 39.8 25.1 3.9 9.1 13.0 8.4 1.1 0.9 2.6 3.9 9.4 18.6 .506 1.6 4.0 .393 4.7 5.6 .846

Season 5
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season -2019-20
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 73 32.0 19.9 2.3 7.5 9.7 7.0 1.2 0.6 3.1 3.0 7.7 14.7 .528 1.1 3.5 .314 3.4 4.1 .817
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 19 36.5 24.4 1.9 7.9 9.8 5.7 1.1 0.8 3.3 3.6 9.4 18.1 .519 2.2 5.2 .429 3.5 4.2 .835

Season 6
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season -2020-21
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 72 34.6 26.4 2.8 8.0 10.8 8.3 1.3 0.7 3.1 2.7 10.2 18.0 .566 1.3 3.3 .388 4.8 5.5 .868
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 10 34.5 29.8 3.7 7.9 11.6 5.0 0.6 0.9 2.4 2.3 11.6 22.8 .509 2.0 5.3 .377 4.6 5.5 .836

Season 7
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season -2021-22
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 74 33.5 27.1 2.8 11.0 13.8 7.9 1.5 0.9 3.8 2.6 10.3 17.7 .583 1.3 3.9 .337 5.1 6.3 .810
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 5 34.2 31.0 3.4 9.8 13.2 5.8 1.6 1.0 4.8 4.0 12.2 21.2 .575 1.0 3.6 .278 5.6 6.6 .848

Season 8
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season -2022-23
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -NBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 69 33.7 24.5 2.4 9.4 11.8 9.8 1.3 0.7 3.6 2.5 9.4 14.8 .632 0.8 2.2 .383 4.9 6.0 .822
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 20 39.5 30.0 3.5 10.0 13.5 9.5 1.1 1.0 3.5 3.5 11.4 20.7 .548 1.8 3.8 .461 5.6 7.0 .799

Season 9
Jim Ard Nikola Jokic
Season -2023-24
Team -Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Nuggets TBD
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 79 34.6 26.4 2.8 9.5 12.4 9.0 1.4 0.9 3.0 2.5 10.4 17.9 .583 1.1 2.9 .359 4.5 5.5 .817
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim Ard ------- --- ----------
Nikola Jokic 10 40.0 28.8 3.2 10.1 13.3 9.5 1.7 0.7 3.4 2.9 11.1 19.7 .563 1.2 3.9 .308 5.4 6.0 .900
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