John Paxson vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns and John Paxson, 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.

John Paxson played 11 years in the NBA, 2 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 9. John Paxson had the first of his seasons in 1983-84, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
John Paxson	11	10	1983-84 to 1993-94
Karl-Anthony Towns	9	4	2015-16 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1983-84	2015-16
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
John Paxson	49	9.3	2.9	0.1	0.6	0.7	3.0	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.0	1.2	2.8	.445	0.1	0.4	.182	0.3	0.5	.615
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	32.0	18.3	2.8	7.7	10.5	2.0	0.7	1.7	2.2	3.0	7.6	14.1	.542	0.4	1.1	.341	2.7	3.4	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1984-85	2016-17
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West 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		%
John Paxson	78	16.1	6.2	0.2	0.6	0.9	2.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	4.9	.509	0.1	0.4	.294	1.1	1.3	.840
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	37.0	25.1	3.6	8.7	12.3	2.7	0.7	1.3	2.6	2.9	9.8	18.0	.542	1.2	3.4	.367	4.3	5.2	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	5	22.8	10.2	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.2	1.0	0.0	1.0	1.8	4.2	8.4	.500	0.4	1.8	.222	1.4	1.8	.778
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1985-86	2017-18
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves 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		%
John Paxson	75	20.9	5.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	3.7	0.7	0.0	0.8	2.3	2.0	4.4	.466	0.2	0.7	.300	1.0	1.2	.804
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	35.6	21.3	2.9	9.4	12.3	2.4	0.8	1.4	1.9	3.5	7.8	14.3	.545	1.5	3.5	.421	4.2	4.9	.858

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	3	26.7	9.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.7	1.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	2.3	5.0	.467	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.7	.765
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	34.0	15.2	3.0	10.4	13.4	2.2	0.4	1.0	2.4	2.8	5.6	12.0	.467	0.6	2.2	.273	3.4	4.6	.739


Season 4
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1986-87	2018-19
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
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		%
John Paxson	82	32.8	11.3	0.3	1.4	1.7	5.7	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.5	4.7	9.7	.487	0.6	1.7	.371	1.3	1.6	.809
Karl-Anthony Towns	77	33.1	24.4	3.4	9.0	12.4	3.4	0.9	1.6	3.1	3.8	8.8	17.1	.518	1.8	4.6	.400	4.9	5.8	.836

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	3	29.0	8.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.7	3.0	3.7	7.3	.500	1.0	2.3	.429	0.3	0.3	1.000
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1987-88	2019-20
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
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		%
John Paxson	81	23.3	7.9	0.2	1.1	1.3	3.7	0.6	0.0	0.8	1.9	3.5	7.2	.493	0.4	1.2	.347	0.4	0.6	.733
Karl-Anthony Towns	35	33.9	26.5	2.7	8.1	10.8	4.4	0.9	1.2	3.1	3.3	9.0	17.8	.508	3.3	7.9	.412	5.1	6.5	.796

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	10	16.5	4.6	0.0	0.4	0.4	3.0	0.1	0.1	0.5	2.4	2.0	5.3	.377	0.2	1.2	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1988-89	2020-21
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
John Paxson	78	22.3	7.3	0.2	1.0	1.2	3.9	0.7	0.1	0.9	2.1	3.2	6.6	.480	0.6	1.7	.331	0.4	0.5	.861
Karl-Anthony Towns	50	33.8	24.8	2.7	7.9	10.6	4.5	0.8	1.1	3.2	3.7	8.5	17.5	.486	2.4	6.3	.387	5.3	6.2	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	16	18.9	5.8	0.1	0.5	0.6	2.1	0.8	0.0	0.9	2.2	2.3	4.9	.474	0.3	1.2	.263	0.9	1.0	.875
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1989-90	2021-22
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	Timberwolves 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		%
John Paxson	82	28.8	10.0	0.3	1.1	1.5	4.1	1.0	0.1	1.0	2.1	4.5	8.6	.516	0.4	1.1	.359	0.7	0.8	.824
Karl-Anthony Towns	74	33.5	24.6	2.6	7.2	9.8	3.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	3.6	8.7	16.4	.529	2.0	4.9	.410	5.2	6.3	.822

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	15	26.3	6.1	0.1	1.3	1.5	3.6	0.6	0.0	1.0	2.8	2.5	5.8	.425	0.3	0.6	.444	0.9	0.9	1.000
Karl-Anthony Towns	6	37.0	21.8	1.8	9.0	10.8	2.2	0.7	2.0	4.5	4.2	6.5	13.3	.488	1.7	3.7	.455	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 8
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1990-91	2022-23
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves 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		%
John Paxson	82	24.0	8.7	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.6	0.8	0.0	0.8	1.7	3.9	7.0	.548	0.5	1.2	.438	0.4	0.5	.829
Karl-Anthony Towns	29	33.0	20.8	1.7	6.5	8.1	4.8	0.7	0.6	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.8	.495	2.1	5.7	.366	4.1	4.7	.874

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	17	28.6	8.2	0.1	1.2	1.4	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.4	1.9	3.6	6.9	.530	0.1	0.8	.143	0.8	0.8	1.000
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	36.0	18.2	1.2	9.0	10.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	3.6	4.2	6.4	14.0	.457	1.2	4.8	.250	4.2	5.6	.750


Season 9
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1991-92	2023-24
Team	Chicago Bulls	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves TBD

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	79	24.6	7.0	0.3	0.9	1.2	3.1	0.6	0.1	0.6	1.8	3.3	6.2	.528	0.2	0.6	.273	0.4	0.5	.784
Karl-Anthony Towns	62	32.7	21.8	1.5	6.8	8.3	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.9	3.3	7.7	15.3	.504	2.2	5.3	.416	4.1	4.7	.873

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	22	27.2	7.9	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.8	0.6	0.0	0.6	2.4	3.3	6.3	.525	0.5	1.2	.444	0.7	0.9	.842
Karl-Anthony Towns	10	31.7	18.4	2.0	7.0	9.0	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.7	3.8	6.7	13.1	.511	2.1	4.4	.477	2.9	3.6	.806


Season 10
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1992-93	-
Team	Chicago Bulls	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	59	17.5	4.2	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.7	1.8	3.9	.451	0.3	0.7	.463	0.3	0.3	.850
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	19	17.4	4.9	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.1	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.2	.583	0.8	1.3	.625	0.4	0.6	.727
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	John Paxson	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1993-94	-
Team	Chicago Bulls	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	27	12.7	2.6	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.1	2.5	.441	0.3	0.8	.409	0.0	0.1	.500
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
John Paxson	9	6.4	0.7	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.8	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	0.0	0.0	-
Karl-Anthony Towns	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

John Paxson vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns and John Paxson, 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