J.R. Smith vs. Franz Wagner Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Franz Wagner and J.R. Smith, 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

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.

J.R. Smith played 16 years in the NBA, 12 more than Franz Wagner, who played 4. J.R. Smith had the first of his seasons in 2004-05, while Franz Wagner had his rookie season in 2021-22. 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
J.R. Smith 16 12 2004-05 to 2019-20
Franz Wagner 4 2 2021-22 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4

Rookie Season
J.R. Smith Franz Wagner
Season 2004-052021-22
Team New Orleans HornetsOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First 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%
J.R. Smith 76 24.5 10.3 0.5 1.5 2.0 1.9 0.7 0.1 1.4 1.8 3.9 9.8 .394 1.1 3.7 .288 1.5 2.1 .689
difference:+3+6.2+4.9+0.6+1.9+2.5+1.0+0.2+0.3-0.1-0.3+1.9+2.5+.074+0.1+0.3+.066+0.9+0.7+.174
Franz Wagner 79 30.7 15.2 1.1 3.4 4.5 2.9 0.9 0.4 1.5 2.1 5.8 12.3 .468 1.2 3.4 .354 2.4 2.8 .863
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher J.R. Smith nor Franz Wagner played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
J.R. Smith Franz Wagner
Season 2005-062022-23
Team New Orleans/Oklahoma City HornetsOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards
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%
J.R. Smith 55 18.0 7.7 0.3 1.7 2.0 1.1 0.7 0.1 1.0 1.6 2.6 6.7 .393 0.9 2.5 .371 1.5 1.8 .822
difference:+25+14.6+10.9+0.6+1.5+2.1+2.4+0.3+0.1-1.1-0.7+4.2+7.3+.092+0.7+2.0+.010+1.9+2.2+.020
Franz Wagner 80 32.6 18.6 0.9 3.2 4.1 3.5 1.0 0.2 2.1 2.3 6.8 14.0 .485 1.6 4.5 .361 3.4 4.0 .842
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher J.R. Smith nor Franz Wagner played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
J.R. Smith Franz Wagner
Season 2006-072023-24
Team Denver NuggetsOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdMagic Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
J.R. Smith 63 23.3 13.0 0.5 1.8 2.3 1.4 0.8 0.1 1.3 2.3 4.5 10.2 .441 2.4 6.1 .390 1.6 2.0 .810
difference:+9+9.2+6.7+0.5+2.5+3.0+2.3+0.3+0.3-0.6+2.8+5.0+.041+1.1+1.5+.109+2.2+2.4+.040
Franz Wagner 72 32.5 19.7 1.0 4.3 5.3 3.7 1.1 0.4 1.9 2.3 7.3 15.2 .482 1.3 4.6 .281 3.8 4.4 .850
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
J.R. Smith 4 11.8 4.5 0.3 2.0 2.3 0.5 1.0 0.3 0.8 1.5 1.5 5.5 .273 0.0 3.0 .000 1.5 1.5 1.000
difference:+3+25.2+14.4+1.1+3.4+4.6+3.9+0.3+1.0-0.5-1.4+4.5+9.2+.135+1.3+1.9+.265+4.1+4.8+.114
Franz Wagner 7 37.0 18.9 1.4 5.4 6.9 4.4 0.7 1.3 1.3 2.9 6.0 14.7 .408 1.3 4.9 .265 5.6 6.3 .886

Season 4
J.R. Smith Franz Wagner
Season 2007-082024-25
Team Denver NuggetsOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdMagic 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%
J.R. Smith 74 19.2 12.3 0.6 1.5 2.1 1.7 0.8 0.2 1.5 1.9 4.2 9.1 .461 2.1 5.3 .403 1.7 2.4 .719
difference:+14+14.5+11.9+0.3+3.3+3.6+3.0+0.5+0.2-0.8-0.6+4.8+10.3+.002+0.4+0.6+.108+2.8+2.8+.152
Franz Wagner 60 33.7 24.2 0.9 4.8 5.7 4.7 1.3 0.4 2.3 2.5 9.0 19.4 .463 1.7 5.9 .295 4.5 5.2 .871
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
J.R. Smith 4 27.0 18.3 0.3 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.0 0.0 1.3 3.0 5.8 10.8 .535 1.8 5.5 .318 5.0 6.0 .833
difference:+1+12.0+7.5+0.3+2.7+3.0+3.8+0.2+0.4-0.7-0.2+4.4+12.2+.092+0.4+1.9+.129+1.0+0.8+.064
Franz Wagner 5 39.0 25.8 0.6 4.2 4.8 5.6 1.2 0.4 2.0 3.2 10.2 23.0 .443 1.4 7.4 .189 4.0 5.2 .769

Additional Years

* J.R. Smith played 12 seasons more than Franz Wagner in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 5 to 16, from 2009 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 10 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

In those 12 extra years over Franz Wagner, J.R. Smith got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Sixth Man of the Year
Share: