Joel Embiid vs. Penny Hardaway Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Penny Hardaway 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 9 years in the NBA, 5 less than Penny Hardaway, who played 14. Joel Embiid had the first of his seasons in 2016-17, while Penny Hardaway had his rookie season in 1993-94. 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	Penny Hardaway
Season	2016-17	1993-94
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+51	+11.4	+4.2	+0.3	+2.9	+2.4	+4.5	+1.4	+1.9	-0.2	-1.1	+0.3	+0.5		+0.6	+0.9	+.100	+3.2	+3.9	+.041
Penny Hardaway	82	36.8	16.0	2.3	3.0	5.4	6.6	2.3	0.6	3.6	2.5	6.2	13.3	.466	0.6	2.3	.267	3.0	4.0	.742
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Joel Embiid	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Penny Hardaway	3	44.3	18.7	2.7	4.0	6.7	7.0	1.7	2.0	6.7	3.3	7.3	16.7	.440	1.7	3.7	.455	2.3	3.3	.700

Season 2
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2017-18	1994-95
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+14	+7.4	+2.0	+0.5	+6.1	+6.6	+4.0	+1.1	+1.5	-0.3	-1.2	+0.5	+2.0	+.029	+0.1	+0.2	+.041	+1.1	+1.4
Penny Hardaway	77	37.7	20.9	1.8	2.6	4.4	7.2	1.7	0.3	3.4	2.1	7.6	14.8	.512	1.1	3.2	.349	4.6	6.0	.769
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:	+13	+5.6	+1.8	+1.5	+7.5	+8.8	+4.7	+1.0	+1.1	-0.1	-0.6	+0.6	+2.8	+.037	+0.9	+1.1	+.128	+1.4	+2.3	+.052
Penny Hardaway	21	40.4	19.6	1.4	2.3	3.8	7.7	1.9	0.7	3.5	3.3	6.9	14.5	.472	1.9	4.7	.404	4.0	5.3	.757

Season 3
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2018-19	1995-96
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+18	+3.1	+5.8	+0.9	+8.4	+9.3	+3.4	+1.3	+1.4	-0.7	-1.3	+1.5	+3.9	+.029	+0.1	+0.6	+.014	+2.8	+3.0	+.037
Penny Hardaway	82	36.8	21.7	1.6	2.7	4.3	7.1	2.0	0.5	2.8	2.0	7.6	14.8	.513	1.1	3.5	.314	5.4	7.1	.767
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	+9.0	+3.1	+0.2	+5.5	+5.8	+2.6	+1.0	+2.0	-1.4	-0.8	+2.2	+3.6	+.037	+0.6	+1.1	+.056	+1.9	+1.7	+.078
Penny Hardaway	12	39.4	23.3	1.7	3.0	4.7	6.0	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	8.4	18.1	.465	1.7	4.6	.364	4.8	6.5	.744

Season 4
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2019-20	1996-97
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+8	+8.1	+2.5	+1.4	+5.8	+7.1	+2.6	+0.7	+0.7	-0.6	-1.3	+0.4	+0.2	+.030	+0.3	+1.1	+.013	+2.1	+2.7	+.013
Penny Hardaway	59	37.6	20.5	1.4	3.1	4.5	5.6	1.6	0.6	2.5	2.1	7.1	15.9	.447	1.4	4.5	.318	4.8	5.8	.820
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:	+1	+8.1	+1.0	+1.4	+4.9	+6.3	+2.1	+0.9	+0.1	-2.0	-1.7	+1.9	+3.7	+.009	+1.2	+2.0	+.117	+4.0	+4.0	+.073
Penny Hardaway	5	44.4	31.0	1.4	4.6	6.0	3.4	2.4	1.4	1.8	2.8	10.4	22.2	.468	2.2	6.0	.367	8.0	10.8	.741

Season 5
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2020-21	1997-98
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
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:	+32	+1.8	+12.1	+1.8	+4.8	+6.6	+0.8	+0.5	+0.6	-0.7		+3.6	+3.2	+.136	+0.3	+0.4	+.077	+4.5	+4.5	+.096
Penny Hardaway	19	32.9	16.4	0.4	3.6	4.0	3.6	1.5	0.8	2.4	2.4	5.4	14.4	.377	0.8	2.6	.300	4.7	6.2	.763
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
Penny Hardaway	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2021-22	1998-99
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+18	+5.1	+14.8	+0.6	+5.4	+6.0	+1.1	+1.1	+1.0	-0.1	-0.5	+3.8	+5.3	+.079	+0.6	+0.9	+.085	+6.6	+7.6	+.108
Penny Hardaway	50	38.9	15.8	1.5	4.2	5.7	5.3	2.2	0.5	3.0	2.2	6.0	14.3	.420	0.8	2.8	.286	3.0	4.2	.706
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:	+6	+3.3	+4.6	+0.2	+5.8	+5.7	+3.4	+1.9	+0.5	-0.2	-0.1	+2.8	+1.8	+.133	+0.8		+.250	+0.2	+0.9	+.051
Penny Hardaway	4	41.8	19.0	2.3	2.8	5.0	5.5	2.3	0.3	3.0	3.3	5.0	14.3	.351	1.5	3.3	.462	7.5	9.8	.769

Season 7
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2022-23	1999-00
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Suns 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		%
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:	+6	+3.0	+16.2	+0.2	+4.1	+4.4	+1.1	+0.6	+1.1	-0.8	-0.4	+4.7	+6.8	+.074	+0.4	+1.3	+.006	+6.2	+6.9	+.067
Penny Hardaway	60	37.6	16.9	1.5	4.3	5.8	5.3	1.6	0.6	2.6	2.7	6.3	13.3	.474	0.6	1.7	.324	3.8	4.8	.790
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:		+5.5	+3.4	+0.2	+4.7	+4.9	+3.0	+0.9	+1.8	-1.1	-0.2	+0.1	+0.9	+.031		+1.0	+.084	+3.5	+2.4	+.195
Penny Hardaway	9	42.8	20.3	1.6	3.3	4.9	5.7	1.6	1.0	2.8	3.2	7.4	16.1	.462	0.6	2.1	.263	4.9	6.9	.710

Season 8
	Joel Embiid	Penny Hardaway
Season	2023-24	2000-01
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	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:	+35	+5.6	+24.9	+1.1	+5.3	+6.5	+1.8	+0.3	+1.4	-3.0	-1.4	+7.7	+12.8	+.112	+0.9	+1.6	+.138	+8.4	+8.8	+.247
Penny Hardaway	4	28.0	9.8	1.3	3.3	4.5	3.8	1.5	0.3	0.8	1.5	3.8	9.0	.417	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.8	.636
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
Penny Hardaway	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-