Joel Embiid vs. Dennis Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dennis Johnson and Joel Embiid, 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.

Joel Embiid played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Dennis Johnson, who played 14. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Dennis Johnson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2016-17	1976-77
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	31	25.4	20.2	2.0	5.9	7.8	2.1	0.9	2.5	3.8	3.6	6.5	13.8	.466	1.2	3.2	.367	6.2	7.9	.783
difference:	+50	+4.8	+11.0		+4.2	+4.1	+0.6	+0.6	+1.8		-0.9	+3.0	+6.8	+.038				+4.0	+4.4	+.159
Dennis Johnson	81	20.6	9.2	2.0	1.7	3.7	1.5	1.5	0.7	-	2.7	3.5	7.0	.504	-	-	-	2.2	3.5	.624
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Joel Embiid nor Dennis Johnson played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2017-18	1977-78
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	63	30.3	22.9	2.3	8.7	11.0	3.2	0.6	1.8	3.7	3.3	8.1	16.8	.483	1.0	3.4	.308	5.7	7.4	.769
difference:	+18	+3.0	+10.2	+0.4	+6.9	+7.4	+0.4	+0.9	+1.2	-1.7	-0.7	+3.6	+5.9	+.066				+2.0	+2.4	+.037
Dennis Johnson	81	27.3	12.7	1.9	1.8	3.6	2.8	1.5	0.6	2.0	2.6	4.5	10.9	.417	-	-	-	3.7	5.0	.732
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	8	34.8	21.4	2.9	9.8	12.6	3.0	0.9	1.8	3.6	3.9	7.5	17.3	.435	1.0	3.6	.276	5.4	7.6	.705
difference:	+14	+2.8	+5.3	+0.8	+7.3	+8.0	+0.3	+0.1	+0.8	-1.1	-1.0	+2.0	+3.9	+.023				+0.3	+0.4	+.001
Dennis Johnson	22	37.6	16.1	2.1	2.5	4.6	3.3	1.0	1.0	2.5	2.9	5.5	13.4	.412	-	-	-	5.1	7.2	.704

Season 3
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2018-19	1978-79
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	64	33.7	27.5	2.5	11.1	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	3.5	3.3	9.1	18.7	.484	1.2	4.1	.300	8.2	10.1	.804
difference:	+16	+0.3	+11.6	+0.7	+8.2	+8.9	+0.2	+0.6	+0.7	-1.1	-0.7	+3.1	+4.8	+.050				+4.4	+5.2	+.023
Dennis Johnson	80	34.0	15.9	1.8	2.9	4.7	3.5	1.3	1.2	2.4	2.6	6.0	13.9	.434	-	-	-	3.8	4.9	.781
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	30.4	20.2	1.9	8.5	10.5	3.4	0.7	2.3	3.6	3.1	6.2	14.5	.428	1.1	3.5	.308	6.7	8.2	.822
difference:	+6	+9.7	+0.7	+0.7	+5.0	+4.4	+0.7	+0.9	+0.8	-0.6	-0.6	+1.8	+3.3	+.022				+1.8	+1.8	+.051
Dennis Johnson	17	40.1	20.9	2.6	3.5	6.1	4.1	1.6	1.5	3.0	3.7	8.0	17.8	.450	-	-	-	4.9	6.4	.771

Season 4
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2019-20	1979-80
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	29.5	23.0	2.8	8.9	11.6	3.0	0.9	1.3	3.1	3.4	7.5	15.7	.477	1.1	3.4	.331	6.9	8.5	.807
difference:	+30	+6.8	+4.0	+0.7	+5.9	+6.5	+1.1	+0.9	+0.3	-0.3	-0.1	+0.4	+1.1	+.055	+1.0	+2.7	+.124	+2.2	+2.5	+.027
Dennis Johnson	81	36.3	19.0	2.1	3.0	5.1	4.1	1.8	1.0	2.8	3.3	7.1	16.8	.422	0.1	0.7	.207	4.7	6.0	.780
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	4	36.3	30.0	2.8	9.5	12.3	1.3	1.5	1.3	3.8	4.5	8.5	18.5	.459	1.0	4.0	.250	12.0	14.8	.814
difference:	+11	+2.5	+12.9	+1.1	+6.9	+8.0	+2.5	+0.3	+0.6	-0.9	-1.3	+1.8	+2.2	+.049	+0.7	+3.0	+.083	+8.5	+10.7	+.025
Dennis Johnson	15	38.8	17.1	1.7	2.6	4.3	3.8	1.8	0.7	2.9	3.2	6.7	16.3	.410	0.3	1.0	.333	3.5	4.1	.839

Season 5
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2020-21	1980-81
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	51	31.1	28.5	2.2	8.4	10.6	2.8	1.0	1.4	3.1	2.4	9.0	17.6	.513	1.1	3.0	.377	9.2	10.7	.859
difference:	+28	+2.0	+9.7	+0.2	+5.8	+6.0	+0.9	+0.7	+0.6	-0.5	-0.7	+2.3	+2.2	+.077	+1.0	+2.4	+.161	+4.0	+4.4	+.039
Dennis Johnson	79	33.1	18.8	2.0	2.6	4.6	3.7	1.7	0.8	2.6	3.1	6.7	15.4	.436	0.1	0.6	.216	5.2	6.3	.820
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	11	32.5	28.1	1.5	9.1	10.5	3.4	1.0	1.5	3.8	3.0	9.2	17.9	.513	1.5	3.7	.390	8.3	9.9	.835
difference:	+4	+5.6	+8.5	+0.5	+5.4	+5.8	+0.5	+0.3	+0.2	-1.1	-0.4	+1.8	+2.2	+.040	+1.4	+3.0	+.190	+3.7	+3.9	+.073
Dennis Johnson	7	38.1	19.6	1.0	3.7	4.7	2.9	1.3	1.3	2.7	2.6	7.4	15.7	.473	0.1	0.7	.200	4.6	6.0	.762

Season 6
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2021-22	1981-82
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	68	33.8	30.6	2.1	9.6	11.7	4.2	1.1	1.5	3.1	2.7	9.8	19.6	.499	1.4	3.7	.371	9.6	11.8	.814
difference:	+12	+2.9	+11.1	+0.3	+6.2	+6.6	+0.4	+0.2	+0.8	-0.2	-0.5	+2.6	+4.2	+.029	+1.3	+3.2	+.181	+4.6	+5.6	+.008
Dennis Johnson	80	36.7	19.5	1.8	3.4	5.1	4.6	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.2	7.2	15.4	.470	0.1	0.5	.190	5.0	6.2	.806
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	10	38.5	23.6	2.1	8.6	10.7	2.1	0.4	0.8	3.2	3.4	7.8	16.1	.484	0.7	3.3	.212	7.3	8.9	.820
difference:	+3	+0.2	+1.3	+0.2	+6.0	+6.3	+2.5	+1.7	+0.2	-0.4	-0.6	+1.2	+2.8	+.007	+0.7	+2.9	+.212	+3.0	+3.3	+.051
Dennis Johnson	7	38.7	22.3	1.9	2.6	4.4	4.6	2.1	0.6	3.6	4.0	9.0	18.9	.477	0.0	0.4	.000	4.3	5.6	.769

Season 7
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2022-23	1982-83
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	66	34.6	33.1	1.7	8.4	10.2	4.2	1.0	1.7	3.4	3.1	11.0	20.1	.548	1.0	3.0	.330	10.0	11.7	.857
difference:	+11	+1.5	+18.9	+0.5	+5.2	+5.8	+0.8	+0.3	+1.2	-0.8	-0.5	+5.8	+8.9	+.086	+0.9	+2.6	+.169	+6.2	+6.9	+.066
Dennis Johnson	77	33.1	14.2	1.2	3.2	4.4	5.0	1.3	0.5	2.6	2.6	5.2	11.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.161	3.8	4.8	.791
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	9	37.3	23.7	1.8	8.0	9.8	2.7	0.7	2.8	3.9	3.0	7.3	17.0	.431	0.6	3.1	.179	8.4	9.3	.905
difference:	+6	+1.3	+5.7	+0.2	+2.3	+2.1	+3.0	+1.0	+2.1	-1.2			+1.0	+.027	+0.6	+2.8	+.179	+5.1	+5.3	+.072
Dennis Johnson	3	36.0	18.0	2.0	5.7	7.7	5.7	1.7	0.7	2.7	3.0	7.3	16.0	.458	0.0	0.3	.000	3.3	4.0	.833

Season 8
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2023-24	1983-84
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	39	33.6	34.7	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.6	1.2	1.7	3.8	2.9	11.5	21.8	.529	1.4	3.6	.388	10.2	11.6	.883
difference:	+41	+0.3	+21.5	+1.3	+6.2	+7.5	+1.4		+1.0	-1.6	-0.2	+6.7	+10.8	+.092	+1.3	+3.2	+.263	+6.7	+7.5	+.031
Dennis Johnson	80	33.3	13.2	1.1	2.4	3.5	4.2	1.2	0.7	2.2	3.1	4.8	11.0	.437	0.1	0.4	.125	3.5	4.1	.852
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	6	41.3	33.0	3.2	7.7	10.8	5.7	1.2	1.5	4.2	3.3	9.8	22.2	.444	2.2	6.5	.333	11.2	13.0	.859
difference:	+16	+4.6	+16.4	+1.8	+5.5	+7.2	+1.3	+0.1	+1.2	-1.8	-0.1	+3.9	+7.7	+.040	+2.1	+6.2	+.096	+6.5	+7.5	+.008
Dennis Johnson	22	36.7	16.6	1.4	2.2	3.6	4.4	1.1	0.3	2.4	3.4	5.9	14.5	.404	0.1	0.3	.429	4.7	5.5	.867

Season 9
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2024-25	1984-85
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	19	30.2	23.8	1.9	6.3	8.2	4.5	0.7	0.9	3.3	2.2	7.4	16.6	.444	1.2	4.1	.299	7.8	8.9	.882
difference:	+61	+7.0	+8.1	+0.8	+3.5	+4.2	+2.3	+0.5	+0.4	-0.6	-0.6	+1.2	+3.3	+.018	+1.1	+3.8	+.030	+4.5	+5.1	+.029
Dennis Johnson	80	37.2	15.7	1.1	2.8	4.0	6.8	1.2	0.5	2.7	2.8	6.2	13.3	.462	0.1	0.3	.269	3.3	3.8	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Johnson	21	40.4	17.3	1.1	2.9	4.0	7.3	1.5	0.4	3.4	3.1	6.8	15.2	.445	0.0	0.7	.000	3.8	4.4	.860

Season 10
	Joel Embiid	Dennis Johnson
Season	2025-26	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	6	23.3	19.7	1.5	4.0	5.5	3.3	0.8	1.5	2.7	2.2	6.7	14.5	.460	1.5	4.7	.321	4.8	5.8	.829
difference:	+72	+11.7	+4.1	+0.6	+1.4	+2.1	+2.5	+0.6	+1.1	-0.5	-0.4	+0.5	+0.9	+.005	+1.4	+4.2	+.178	+1.7	+2.0	+.011
Dennis Johnson	78	35.0	15.6	0.9	2.6	3.4	5.8	1.4	0.4	2.2	2.6	6.2	13.6	.455	0.1	0.5	.143	3.1	3.8	.818
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dennis Johnson	18	39.7	16.2	1.3	2.9	4.2	5.9	2.2	0.3	2.8	3.2	6.1	13.6	.445	0.3	0.9	.375	3.7	4.7	.798

Additional Years
* Dennis Johnson played 4 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 1987 to 1990—Dennis Johnson played in 4 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Joel Embiid, Dennis Johnson got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Defensive First Team