Josh Giddey vs. LeBron James Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of LeBron James and Josh Giddey, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Josh Giddey played 4 years in the NBA, 18 less than LeBron James, who played 22. Josh Giddey had the first of his seasons in 2021-22, while LeBron James had his rookie season in 2003-04. 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
Josh Giddey 4 1 2021-22 to 2024-25
LeBron James 22 18 2003-04 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4

Rookie Season

Josh Giddey LeBron James
Season 2021-222003-04
Team Oklahoma City ThunderCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 54 31.5 12.5 1.8 6.0 7.8 6.4 0.9 0.4 3.2 1.6 5.2 12.4 .419 1.0 3.9 .263 1.0 1.5 .709
difference:+25+8.0+8.4+0.5+1.8+2.3+0.5+0.7+0.3-0.3-0.3+2.7+6.5+.002+0.2+1.2+.027+3.4+4.3+.045
LeBron James 79 39.5 20.9 1.3 4.2 5.5 5.9 1.6 0.7 3.5 1.9 7.9 18.9 .417 0.8 2.7 .290 4.4 5.8 .754
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Josh Giddey nor LeBron James played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2

Josh Giddey LeBron James
Season 2022-232004-05
Team Oklahoma City ThunderCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 76 31.2 16.6 1.9 5.9 7.9 6.2 0.8 0.4 2.8 1.9 7.1 14.7 .482 1.0 3.1 .325 1.4 1.9 .731
difference:+4+11.2+10.6+0.5+0.1+0.5+1.0+1.4+0.3-0.5-0.1+2.8+6.4+.010+0.4+0.8+.026+4.6+6.1+.019
LeBron James 80 42.4 27.2 1.4 6.0 7.4 7.2 2.2 0.7 3.3 1.8 9.9 21.1 .472 1.4 3.9 .351 6.0 8.0 .750
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Josh Giddey nor LeBron James played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3

Josh Giddey LeBron James
Season 2023-242005-06
Team Oklahoma City ThunderCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Thunder Lost West Conf SemisCavaliers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 80 25.1 12.3 1.4 5.0 6.4 4.8 0.7 0.6 2.1 1.4 5.0 10.6 .475 1.0 3.0 .337 1.3 1.6 .806
difference:+1+17.4+19.1+0.5+1.1+0.6+1.8+0.9+0.2-1.2-0.9+6.1+12.5+.005+0.6+1.8+.002+6.3+8.7+.068
LeBron James 79 42.5 31.4 0.9 6.1 7.0 6.6 1.6 0.8 3.3 2.3 11.1 23.1 .480 1.6 4.8 .335 7.6 10.3 .738
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 10 18.1 8.7 0.7 2.9 3.6 2.1 0.2 0.4 1.2 0.9 3.4 7.5 .453 1.2 3.4 .353 0.7 0.8 .875
difference:+3+28.4+22.1+1.0+3.5+4.5+3.7+1.2+0.3-3.8-2.5+7.8+16.1+.023+0.4+1.4+.020+6.0+8.3+.138
LeBron James 13 46.5 30.8 1.7 6.4 8.1 5.8 1.4 0.7 5.0 3.4 11.2 23.6 .476 1.6 4.8 .333 6.7 9.1 .737

Season 4

Josh Giddey LeBron James
Season 2024-252006-07
Team Chicago BullsCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayCavaliers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey 70 30.2 14.6 1.8 6.3 8.1 7.2 1.2 0.6 2.9 1.7 5.3 11.4 .465 1.5 4.0 .378 2.5 3.2 .781
difference:+8+10.7+12.7+0.7+0.6+1.4+1.2+0.4+0.1-0.3-0.5+4.6+9.4+.011+0.2+.059+3.8+5.8+.083
LeBron James 78 40.9 27.3 1.1 5.7 6.7 6.0 1.6 0.7 3.2 2.2 9.9 20.8 .476 1.3 4.0 .319 6.3 9.0 .698
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Josh Giddey DNP------ --- ----------
LeBron James 20 44.7 25.1 1.3 6.8 8.1 8.0 1.7 0.5 3.3 2.0 8.3 20.0 .416 1.1 3.8 .280 7.4 9.8 .755

Additional Years

* LeBron James played 18 seasons more than Josh Giddey in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 5 to 22, from 2008 to 2025—LeBron James played in 16 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships and one NBA Cup.

In those 18 extra years over Josh Giddey, LeBron James got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 4 Finals MVP
Achievement 4 Season MVP
Achievement 12 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 4 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 5 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 1 Scoring Leader
Achievement 1 Assists Leader
Achievement 1 Cup MVP
Achievement 1 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement 18 All-Star Game
Achievement 2 All-Star Game MVP