Joel Embiid vs. John Havlicek Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Havlicek 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 6 less than John Havlicek, who played 16. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while John Havlicek had his rookie season in 1962-63. 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
Joel Embiid	10	7	2016-17 to 2025-26
John Havlicek	16	13	1962-63 to 1977-78

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


Rookie Season
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2016-17	1962-63
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+49	+2.1	+5.9			+1.1	+0.1				-1.2	+0.5	+0.2	+.021				+4.0	+4.9	+.055
John Havlicek	80	27.5	14.3	-	-	6.7	2.2	-	-	-	2.4	6.0	13.6	.445	-	-	-	2.2	3.0	.728

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Havlicek	11	23.1	11.8	-	-	4.8	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	5.1	11.4	.448	-	-	-	1.6	2.5	.667


Season 2
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2017-18	1963-64
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+17	+2.0	+3.0			+5.6	+0.2				-0.5	+0.1	+2.4	+.066				+1.8	+2.1	+.023
John Havlicek	80	32.3	19.9	-	-	5.4	3.0	-	-	-	2.8	8.0	19.2	.417	-	-	-	3.9	5.3	.746

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:	+2	+5.9	+5.7			+8.3	+0.2				-1.3	+1.4	+1.4	+.051				+1.9	+3.2	+.090
John Havlicek	10	28.9	15.7	-	-	4.3	3.2	-	-	-	2.6	6.1	15.9	.384	-	-	-	3.5	4.4	.795


Season 3
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2018-19	1964-65
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+11	+4.8	+9.2			+8.7	+1.0				-0.6	+1.5	+0.2	+.083				+5.1	+5.9	+.060
John Havlicek	75	28.9	18.3	-	-	4.9	2.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.6	18.9	.401	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.744

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:	+1	+3.4	+1.7			+3.2	+1.0				-0.6	+1.1	+6.3	+.076				+2.9	+3.6	+.014
John Havlicek	12	33.8	18.5	-	-	7.3	2.4	-	-	-	3.7	7.3	20.8	.352	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.836


Season 4
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2019-20	1965-66
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+20	+1.1	+4.2			+5.6					-1.2		+3.0	+.078				+3.0	+3.6	+.022
John Havlicek	71	30.6	18.8	-	-	6.0	3.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.5	18.7	.399	-	-	-	3.9	4.9	.785

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:	+13	+6.0	+6.4			+3.2	+2.8				-0.4	+0.5	+3.5	+.050				+6.4	+8.2	+.027
John Havlicek	17	42.3	23.6	-	-	9.1	4.1	-	-	-	4.1	9.0	22.0	.409	-	-	-	5.6	6.6	.841


Season 5
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2020-21	1966-67
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
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:	+30	+1.0	+7.1			+4.0	+0.6				-0.2	+0.6	+1.4	+.069				+4.7	+5.3	+.031
John Havlicek	81	32.1	21.4	-	-	6.6	3.4	-	-	-	2.6	8.4	19.0	.444	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.828

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:	+2	+4.2	+0.7			+2.4	+0.3				-0.3	+1.4	+5.7	+.065				+2.0	+2.0	+.032
John Havlicek	9	36.7	27.4	-	-	8.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.6	.448	-	-	-	6.3	7.9	.803


Season 6
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2021-22	1967-68
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+14	+1.8	+9.9			+5.0	+0.5				-0.2	+1.7	+0.7	+.070				+5.1	+6.3	+.002
John Havlicek	82	35.6	20.7	-	-	6.7	4.7	-	-	-	2.9	8.1	18.9	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.812

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:	+9	+6.9	+2.3			+2.1	+5.4				-0.1	+1.9	+5.3	+.032				+0.7	+1.0	+.008
John Havlicek	19	45.4	25.9	-	-	8.6	7.5	-	-	-	3.5	9.7	21.4	.452	-	-	-	6.6	7.9	.828


Season 7
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2022-23	1968-69
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
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:	+16	+4.1	+11.5			+3.2	+1.2				-0.1	+2.6	+0.7	+.143				+5.3	+5.7	+.077
John Havlicek	82	38.7	21.6	-	-	7.0	5.4	-	-	-	3.0	8.4	20.8	.405	-	-	-	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	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:	+9	+9.9	+1.7			+0.1	+2.9				-0.2	+2.1	+4.2	+.014				+1.8	+1.6	+.050
John Havlicek	18	47.2	25.4	-	-	9.9	5.6	-	-	-	3.2	9.4	21.2	.445	-	-	-	6.6	7.7	.855


Season 8
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2023-24	1969-70
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
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:	+42	+8.0	+10.5			+3.2	+1.2				-0.3	+2.4	+2.2	+.065				+4.2	+4.5	+.039
John Havlicek	81	41.6	24.2	-	-	7.8	6.8	-	-	-	2.6	9.1	19.6	.464	-	-	-	6.0	7.1	.844

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
John Havlicek	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2024-25	1970-71
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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:	+62	+15.2	+5.1			+0.8	+3.0				-0.3	+3.6	+7.9	+.006				+1.0	+0.5	+.064
John Havlicek	81	45.4	28.9	-	-	9.0	7.5	-	-	-	2.5	11.0	24.5	.450	-	-	-	6.8	8.4	.818

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Joel Embiid nor John Havlicek played in the postseason in their season 9


Season 10
	Joel Embiid	John Havlicek
Season	2025-26	1971-72
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Joel Embiid	11	26.2	20.5	1.8	4.8	6.6	2.8	0.8	1.3	2.5	2.0	6.8	16.2	.421	1.1	4.8	.226	5.7	7.0	.818
difference:	+71	+18.9	+7.0			+1.6	+4.7				-0.2	+4.1	+7.7	+.037				+0.1	+0.3	+.016
John Havlicek	82	45.1	27.5	-	-	8.2	7.5	-	-	-	2.2	10.9	23.9	.458	-	-	-	5.6	6.7	.834

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Havlicek	11	47.0	27.4	-	-	8.4	6.4	-	-	-	3.2	9.8	21.4	.460	-	-	-	7.7	9.0	.859


Additional Years
* John Havlicek played 6 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 16, from 1973 to 1978—John Havlicek played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 6 extra years over Joel Embiid, John Havlicek got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-Defensive First Team 6 All-Star Game

Joel Embiid vs. John Havlicek Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Havlicek 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.

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

Additional Years