John Havlicek vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum and John Havlicek, 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.

John Havlicek played 16 years in the NBA, 8 more than Jayson Tatum, who played 8. John Havlicek had the first of his seasons in 1962-63, while Jayson Tatum had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
John Havlicek 16 13 1962-63 to 1977-78
Jayson Tatum 8 8 2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1962-632017-18
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 80 27.5 14.3 - - 6.7 2.2 - - - 2.4 6.0 13.6 .445 - - - 2.2 3.0 .728
difference:+3.0+0.4+1.7+0.6-0.3+1.0+3.2+.030+0.5+0.2+.098
Jayson Tatum 80 30.5 13.9 0.6 4.4 5.0 1.6 1.0 0.7 1.4 2.1 5.0 10.4 .475 1.3 3.0 .434 2.7 3.2 .826
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 11 23.1 11.8 - - 4.8 1.5 - - - 2.5 5.1 11.4 .448 - - - 1.6 2.5 .667
difference:+8+12.8+6.7+0.4+1.2-0.1+1.4+2.3+.023+2.7+2.6+.178
Jayson Tatum 19 35.9 18.5 0.5 3.8 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.5 2.2 2.6 6.5 13.7 .471 1.2 3.7 .324 4.3 5.1 .845

Season 2

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1963-642018-19
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 80 32.3 19.9 - - 5.4 3.0 - - - 2.8 8.0 19.2 .417 - - - 3.9 5.3 .746
difference:+1+1.2+4.2+0.6+0.9-0.7+2.1+6.1+.033+1.4+2.4+.109
Jayson Tatum 79 31.1 15.7 0.9 5.2 6.0 2.1 1.1 0.7 1.5 2.1 5.9 13.1 .450 1.5 3.9 .373 2.5 2.9 .855
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 10 28.9 15.7 - - 4.3 3.2 - - - 2.6 6.1 15.9 .384 - - - 3.5 4.4 .795
difference:+1+3.9+0.5+2.4+1.3-0.3+0.7+3.5+.054+0.3+0.1+.051
Jayson Tatum 9 32.8 15.2 0.8 5.9 6.7 1.9 1.1 0.8 2.0 2.3 5.4 12.4 .438 1.1 3.4 .323 3.2 4.3 .744

Season 3

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1964-652019-20
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 75 28.9 18.3 - - 4.9 2.7 - - - 2.7 7.6 18.9 .401 - - - 3.1 4.2 .744
difference:+9+5.4+5.1+2.1+0.3-0.6+0.8+0.3+.049+0.7+0.5+.068
Jayson Tatum 66 34.3 23.4 1.0 6.0 7.0 3.0 1.4 0.9 2.3 2.1 8.4 18.6 .450 2.9 7.1 .403 3.8 4.7 .812
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 12 33.8 18.5 - - 7.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 7.3 20.8 .352 - - - 3.8 4.6 .836
difference:+5+6.8+7.2+2.7+2.6-1.3+1.2+1.2+.082+2.1+2.6+.023
Jayson Tatum 17 40.6 25.7 1.3 8.7 10.0 5.0 1.0 1.2 2.8 2.4 8.5 19.6 .434 2.8 7.4 .373 5.9 7.2 .813

Season 4

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1965-662020-21
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 71 30.6 18.8 - - 6.0 3.0 - - - 2.2 7.5 18.7 .399 - - - 3.9 4.9 .785
difference:+7+5.2+7.6+1.4+1.3-0.3+2.0+1.9+.060+0.7+0.4+.083
Jayson Tatum 64 35.8 26.4 0.8 6.6 7.4 4.3 1.2 0.5 2.7 1.9 9.5 20.6 .459 2.9 7.6 .386 4.6 5.3 .868
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 17 42.3 23.6 - - 9.1 4.1 - - - 4.1 9.0 22.0 .409 - - - 5.6 6.6 .841
difference:+12+5.3+7.0+3.3+0.5-1.1+0.4+0.2+.014+3.4+3.2+.077
Jayson Tatum 5 37.0 30.6 0.6 5.2 5.8 4.6 1.2 1.6 2.6 3.0 9.4 22.2 .423 2.8 7.2 .389 9.0 9.8 .918

Season 5

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1966-672021-22
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsCeltics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 81 32.1 21.4 - - 6.6 3.4 - - - 2.6 8.4 19.0 .444 - - - 4.5 5.4 .828
difference:+5+3.8+5.5+1.4+1.0-0.3+0.9+1.6+.009+0.8+0.8+.025
Jayson Tatum 76 35.9 26.9 1.1 6.9 8.0 4.4 1.0 0.6 2.9 2.3 9.3 20.6 .453 3.0 8.6 .353 5.3 6.2 .853
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 9 36.7 27.4 - - 8.1 3.1 - - - 3.3 10.6 23.6 .448 - - - 6.3 7.9 .803
difference:+15+4.3+1.8+1.4+3.1-0.3+2.2+3.9+.022+0.6+0.8+.003
Jayson Tatum 24 41.0 25.6 1.0 5.7 6.7 6.2 1.2 0.9 4.2 3.0 8.4 19.7 .426 3.2 8.2 .393 5.7 7.1 .800

Season 6

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1967-682022-23
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 82 35.6 20.7 - - 6.7 4.7 - - - 2.9 8.1 18.9 .429 - - - 4.5 5.5 .812
difference:+8+1.3+9.4+2.1+0.1-0.7+1.7+2.2+.037+2.7+2.9+.042
Jayson Tatum 74 36.9 30.1 1.1 7.7 8.8 4.6 1.1 0.7 2.9 2.2 9.8 21.1 .466 3.2 9.3 .350 7.2 8.4 .854
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 19 45.4 25.9 - - 8.6 7.5 - - - 3.5 9.7 21.4 .452 - - - 6.6 7.9 .828
difference:+1+5.4+1.3+1.9+2.2-1.3+0.4+1.2+.006+0.6+1.0+.048
Jayson Tatum 20 40.0 27.2 1.3 9.2 10.5 5.3 1.1 1.1 2.8 2.2 9.3 20.2 .458 2.7 8.2 .323 6.0 6.9 .876

Season 7

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1968-692023-24
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 82 38.7 21.6 - - 7.0 5.4 - - - 3.0 8.4 20.8 .405 - - - 4.7 6.0 .780
difference:+8+3.0+5.3+1.1+0.5-1.0+0.7+1.5+.066+0.9+0.7+.053
Jayson Tatum 74 35.7 26.9 0.9 7.2 8.1 4.9 1.0 0.6 2.5 2.0 9.1 19.3 .471 3.1 8.2 .376 5.6 6.7 .833
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 18 47.2 25.4 - - 9.9 5.6 - - - 3.2 9.4 21.2 .445 - - - 6.6 7.7 .855
difference:+1+6.8+0.4+0.2+0.7-0.4+1.0+1.6+.018+0.4+0.5+.006
Jayson Tatum 19 40.4 25.0 0.9 8.8 9.7 6.3 1.1 0.7 2.6 2.8 8.4 19.6 .427 2.1 7.3 .283 6.2 7.2 .861

Season 8

John Havlicek Jayson Tatum
Season 1969-702024-25
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek 81 41.6 24.2 - - 7.8 6.8 - - - 2.6 9.1 19.6 .464 - - - 6.0 7.1 .844
difference:+9+5.2+2.6+0.9+0.8-0.4+0.1+0.7+.012+1.0+1.0+.030
Jayson Tatum 72 36.4 26.8 0.7 8.0 8.7 6.0 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.2 9.2 20.3 .452 3.5 10.1 .343 5.0 6.1 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
John Havlicek DNP------ --- ----------
Jayson Tatum 8 40.3 28.1 1.1 10.4 11.5 5.4 2.1 0.8 3.3 2.6 9.3 21.9 .423 3.6 9.8 .372 6.0 6.8 .889

Additional Years

* John Havlicek played 8 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 16, from 1971 to 1978—John Havlicek played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

In those 8 extra years over Jayson Tatum, John Havlicek got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 4 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 5 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 8 All-Star Game