Jimmy Butler vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio and Jimmy Butler, 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 / 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.

Jimmy Butler played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. Jimmy Butler had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Jimmy Butler	14	12	2011-12 to 2024-25
Ricky Rubio	12	3	2011-12 to 2022-23

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2011-12	2011-12
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jimmy Butler	42	8.5	2.6	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.8	1.9	.405	0.0	0.3	.182	1.0	1.3	.768
difference:	+1	+25.7	+8.0		+2.9	+2.9	+7.9	+1.9	+0.1	-2.9	-1.9	+2.6	+7.6	+.048	+0.8	+2.0	+.158	+2.1	+2.5	+.035
Ricky Rubio	41	34.2	10.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	8.2	2.2	0.2	3.2	2.4	3.4	9.5	.357	0.8	2.3	.340	3.1	3.8	.803

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	3	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2012-13	2012-13
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	82	26.0	8.6	1.7	2.3	4.0	1.4	1.0	0.4	0.8	1.2	2.9	6.2	.467	0.5	1.3	.381	2.3	2.8	.803
difference:	+25	+3.7	+2.1	+0.9	+0.9		+5.9	+1.4	+0.3	-2.2	-1.3	+0.3	+2.8	+.107		+0.3	+.088	+1.4	+1.8	+.004
Ricky Rubio	57	29.7	10.7	0.8	3.2	4.0	7.3	2.4	0.1	3.0	2.5	3.2	9.0	.360	0.5	1.6	.293	3.7	4.6	.799

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	40.8	13.3	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.7	1.3	0.5	1.3	2.2	4.2	9.6	.435	1.3	3.1	.405	3.8	4.6	.818
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2013-14	2013-14
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	67	38.7	13.1	1.3	3.6	4.9	2.6	1.9	0.5	1.5	1.6	4.1	10.3	.397	1.0	3.6	.283	3.9	5.0	.769
difference:	+15	+6.5	+3.6	+0.6	+0.2	+0.7	+6.0	+0.4	+0.4	-1.2	-1.1	+1.0	+2.1	+.016	+0.5	+2.0	+.048	+1.1	+1.5	+.033
Ricky Rubio	82	32.2	9.5	0.7	3.4	4.2	8.6	2.3	0.1	2.7	2.7	3.1	8.2	.381	0.5	1.6	.331	2.8	3.5	.802

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	5	43.6	13.6	1.2	4.0	5.2	2.2	1.2	0.0	0.6	2.6	4.4	11.4	.386	1.2	4.0	.300	3.6	4.6	.783
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2014-15	2014-15
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	65	38.7	20.0	1.8	4.1	5.8	3.3	1.8	0.6	1.4	1.7	6.5	14.0	.462	1.1	3.0	.378	5.9	7.1	.834
difference:	+43	+7.2	+9.7	+0.9	+0.7	+0.1	+5.5	+0.1	+0.6	-1.5	-1.0	+3.0	+4.0	+.106	+0.5	+0.7	+.123	+3.3	+3.9	+.031
Ricky Rubio	22	31.5	10.3	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.8	1.7	0.0	2.9	2.7	3.5	10.0	.356	0.6	2.3	.255	2.6	3.2	.803

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	42.2	22.9	1.5	4.1	5.6	3.2	2.4	0.8	1.8	2.3	7.8	17.8	.441	2.3	6.0	.389	4.9	6.0	.819
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2015-16	2015-16
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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		%
Jimmy Butler	67	36.9	20.9	1.2	4.2	5.3	4.8	1.6	0.6	2.0	1.9	7.0	15.4	.454	1.0	3.1	.312	5.9	7.1	.832
difference:	+9	+6.3	+10.8	+0.7	+0.4	+1.0	+3.9	+0.5	+0.5	-0.5	-0.7	+4.1	+7.7	+.080	+0.2	+0.6	+.014	+2.4	+3.0	+.015
Ricky Rubio	76	30.6	10.1	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.7	2.1	0.1	2.5	2.6	2.9	7.7	.374	0.8	2.5	.326	3.5	4.1	.847

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jimmy Butler nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 5


Season 6
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2016-17	2016-17
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	76	37.0	23.9	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.5	1.9	0.4	2.1	1.5	7.5	16.5	.455	1.2	3.3	.367	7.7	8.9	.865
difference:	+1	+4.1	+12.8	+0.8	+1.3	+2.1	+3.6	+0.2	+0.3	-0.5	-1.2	+4.0	+7.8	+.053	+0.4	+0.7	+.061	+4.3	+5.1	+.026
Ricky Rubio	75	32.9	11.1	0.9	3.2	4.1	9.1	1.7	0.1	2.6	2.7	3.5	8.7	.402	0.8	2.6	.306	3.4	3.8	.891

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	6	39.8	22.7	1.5	5.8	7.3	4.3	1.7	0.8	2.5	1.7	7.7	18.0	.426	1.0	3.8	.261	6.3	7.8	.809
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2017-18	2017-18
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	59	36.7	22.2	1.3	4.0	5.3	4.9	2.0	0.4	1.8	1.3	7.4	15.6	.474	1.2	3.4	.350	6.2	7.2	.854
difference:	+18	+7.4	+9.1	+0.7		+0.7	+0.4	+0.4	+0.3	-0.9	-1.4	+2.9	+4.9	+.056		+0.1	+.002	+3.3	+3.9	+.012
Ricky Rubio	77	29.3	13.1	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.7	2.7	4.5	10.7	.418	1.2	3.5	.352	2.9	3.3	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	5	34.0	15.8	0.6	5.4	6.0	4.0	0.8	0.2	1.0	1.8	5.6	12.6	.444	1.6	3.4	.471	3.0	3.6	.833
difference:	+1	+3.8	+1.8	+0.2	+1.1	+1.3	+3.0	+0.5	+0.3	-2.0	-0.4	+0.9	+0.6	+.090	+0.1	+1.9	+.158		+0.2	+.050
Ricky Rubio	6	30.2	14.0	0.8	6.5	7.3	7.0	1.3	0.5	3.0	2.2	4.7	13.2	.354	1.7	5.3	.313	3.0	3.8	.783


Season 8
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2018-19	2018-19
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	65	33.6	18.7	1.9	3.4	5.3	4.0	1.9	0.6	1.5	1.7	6.4	13.9	.462	1.0	3.0	.347	4.8	5.6	.855
difference:	+3	+5.7	+6.0	+1.4	+0.3	+1.7	+2.1	+0.6	+0.5	-1.1	-0.9	+2.1	+3.2	+.058	+0.2	+0.7	+.036	+1.9	+2.2
Ricky Rubio	68	27.9	12.7	0.5	3.1	3.6	6.1	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.6	4.3	10.7	.404	1.2	3.7	.311	2.9	3.4	.855

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	35.1	19.4	1.8	4.2	6.0	5.2	1.5	0.6	1.8	1.7	6.6	14.6	.451	1.0	3.8	.267	5.3	6.0	.875
difference:	+7	+1.5	+4.0	+1.2	+1.6	+2.8	+3.4	+0.9	+0.4	-1.2	-1.1	+1.0	+1.4	+.027	+0.2	+0.2	+.067	+1.9	+2.0	+.025
Ricky Rubio	5	33.6	15.4	0.6	2.6	3.2	8.6	2.4	0.2	3.0	2.8	5.6	13.2	.424	0.8	4.0	.200	3.4	4.0	.850


Season 9
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2019-20	2019-20
Team	Miami Heat	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Jimmy Butler	58	33.8	19.9	1.8	4.8	6.7	6.0	1.8	0.6	2.2	1.4	5.9	13.1	.455	0.5	2.1	.244	7.6	9.1	.834
difference:	+7	+2.8	+6.9	+1.1	+0.8	+2.0	+2.8	+0.4	+0.4	-0.5	-1.2	+1.5	+2.5	+.040	+0.7	+1.2	+.117	+4.6	+5.6	+.029
Ricky Rubio	65	31.0	13.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	8.8	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	4.4	10.6	.415	1.2	3.3	.361	3.0	3.5	.863

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	21	38.4	22.2	2.2	4.3	6.5	6.0	2.0	0.7	2.8	1.8	6.9	14.0	.488	0.7	2.0	.349	7.8	9.1	.859
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2020-21	2020-21
Team	Miami Heat	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	52	33.6	21.5	1.8	5.1	6.9	7.1	2.1	0.3	2.1	1.4	7.0	14.2	.497	0.5	2.0	.245	6.9	8.0	.863
difference:	+16	+7.5	+12.9	+1.4	+2.2	+3.6	+0.7	+0.7	+0.2	-0.5	-0.6	+4.2	+6.9	+.109	+0.5	+1.1	+.063	+5.0	+5.8	+.004
Ricky Rubio	68	26.1	8.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	6.4	1.4	0.1	1.6	2.0	2.8	7.3	.388	1.0	3.1	.308	1.9	2.2	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	4	38.5	14.5	1.5	6.0	7.5	7.0	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.5	4.8	16.0	.297	1.0	3.8	.267	4.0	5.5	.727
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2021-22	2021-22
Team	Miami Heat	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	57	33.9	21.4	1.8	4.1	5.9	5.5	1.6	0.5	2.1	1.5	7.0	14.5	.480	0.5	2.0	.233	6.9	8.0	.870
difference:	+23	+5.4	+8.3	+1.4	+0.4	+1.8	+1.1	+0.2	+0.3	-0.5	-0.7	+2.6	+2.4	+.117	+1.2	+3.1	+.106	+4.3	+5.0	+.016
Ricky Rubio	34	28.5	13.1	0.4	3.7	4.1	6.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	2.2	4.4	12.1	.363	1.7	5.1	.339	2.6	3.0	.854

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	17	37.0	27.4	2.4	4.9	7.4	4.6	2.1	0.6	1.5	1.5	9.8	19.3	.506	1.4	4.0	.338	6.5	7.8	.841
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Jimmy Butler	Ricky Rubio
Season	2022-23	2022-23
Team	Miami Heat	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	64	33.4	22.9	2.2	3.7	5.9	5.3	1.8	0.3	1.6	1.3	7.5	13.9	.539	0.6	1.6	.350	7.4	8.7	.850
difference:	+31	+16.2	+17.7	+1.9	+1.9	+3.8	+1.8	+1.0	+0.1	-0.7	-0.2	+5.7	+8.5	+.196		+0.9	+.094	+6.6	+7.6	+.050
Ricky Rubio	33	17.2	5.2	0.3	1.8	2.1	3.5	0.8	0.2	0.9	1.5	1.8	5.4	.343	0.6	2.5	.256	0.8	1.1	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	22	39.7	26.9	2.1	4.3	6.5	5.9	1.8	0.6	1.9	1.7	9.4	20.1	.468	1.3	3.5	.359	6.8	8.5	.806
difference:	+19	+34.0	+26.9	+1.4	+3.0	+4.5	+4.9	+1.5	+0.6	-0.2		+9.4	+19.8	+.468	+1.3	+3.5		+6.8	+8.5
Ricky Rubio	3	5.7	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	1.7	1.7	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years

* Jimmy Butler played 2 seasons more than Ricky Rubio in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 14, from 2024 to 2025—Jimmy Butler played in one postseason.

Jimmy Butler vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio and Jimmy Butler, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years