Jim McElroy vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jim McElroy, 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 McElroy played 7 years in the NBA, 2 less than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 9. Jim McElroy had the first of his seasons in 1975-76, 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 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 McElroy 7 1 1975-76 to 1981-82
Karl-Anthony Towns 9 4 2015-16 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

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

Rookie Season
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1975-762015-16
Team New Orleans JazzMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
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 McElroy 51 22.2 7.5 0.7 1.5 2.2 2.1 0.9 0.1 - 1.4 3.0 5.8 .510 - - - 1.6 2.2 .736
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1976-772016-17
Team New Orleans JazzMinnesota Timberwolves
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 McElroy 73 27.8 10.6 0.8 1.8 2.5 3.6 0.8 0.1 - 1.6 4.1 8.8 .470 - - - 2.3 3.0 .779
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 3
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1977-782017-18
Team New Orleans JazzMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayTimberwolves 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 McElroy 74 23.8 9.4 0.6 1.4 2.0 3.9 0.8 0.5 1.9 1.5 3.9 8.2 .473 - - - 1.7 2.3 .737
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 TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
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
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1978-792018-19
Team New Orleans JazzMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
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 McElroy 79 34.2 16.9 0.8 1.9 2.7 5.7 1.9 0.6 3.0 2.3 6.8 13.9 .491 - - - 3.3 4.3 .762
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 TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 5
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1979-802019-20
Team Detroit Pistons, Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Hawks Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy 67 22.8 8.9 0.5 1.0 1.5 3.4 0.7 0.3 2.0 1.8 3.4 7.9 .433 0.1 0.3 .238 2.0 2.6 .767
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy 5 6.4 2.4 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.8 1.8 .444 0.0 0.2 .000 0.8 1.0 .800
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 6
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1980-812020-21
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
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 McElroy 54 12.6 3.8 0.2 0.7 0.9 1.6 0.4 0.2 1.5 1.1 1.4 3.7 .386 0.0 0.1 .125 0.9 1.1 .814
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 TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns ------- --- ----------

Season 7
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season 1981-822021-22
Team Atlanta HawksMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayTimberwolves 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 McElroy 20 17.5 6.7 0.3 0.6 0.9 2.0 0.4 0.2 1.1 2.2 2.6 6.3 .416 0.1 0.3 .200 1.5 1.8 .806
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 TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
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
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season -2022-23
Team -Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Timberwolves 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 McElroy ------- --- ----------
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 TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
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

Season 9
Jim McElroy Karl-Anthony Towns
Season -2023-24
Team -Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs -Timberwolves TBD
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns 62 32.7 21.8 1.5 6.8 8.3 3.0 0.7 0.7 2.9 3.3 7.7 15.3 .504 2.2 5.3 .416 4.1 4.7 .873
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Jim McElroy ------- --- ----------
Karl-Anthony Towns 10 31.7 18.4 2.0 7.0 9.0 2.9 0.6 0.2 1.7 3.8 6.7 13.1 .511 2.1 4.4 .477 2.9 3.6 .806
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