Jimmy Butler vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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

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 13 years in the NBA, 5 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Jimmy Butler had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
Jimmy Butler	13	11	2011-12 to 2023-24
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2011-12	2002-03
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	.500	3.7	4.5	.811

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	-
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2012-13	2003-04
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	.000	4.4	5.4	.809

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
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765


Season 3
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2004-05
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783

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
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727


Season 4
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2005-06
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	.000	5.9	6.9	.853

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2006-07
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	.000	7.4	8.6	.862

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880


Season 6
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2007-08
Team	Chicago Bulls	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	.000	6.3	7.4	.850

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2017-18	2008-09
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	1.000	4.9	5.7	.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
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.


Season 8
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2018-19	2010-11
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2019-20	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	-

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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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2020-21	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

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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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2021-22	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	-

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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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2022-23	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	-

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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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Jimmy Butler	Yao Ming
Season	2023-24	-
Team	Miami Heat	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	60	34.0	20.8	1.8	3.6	5.3	5.0	1.3	0.3	1.7	1.1	6.6	13.2	.499	1.0	2.4	.414	6.6	7.7	.858
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Jimmy Butler vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13