Julius Erving vs. Domantas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Domantas Sabonis and Julius Erving, 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.

Julius Erving played 11 years in the NBA, 2 more than Domantas Sabonis, who played 9. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Domantas Sabonis had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1976-77	2016-17
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Thunder Lost West 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		%
Julius Erving	82	35.9	21.6	2.3	6.1	8.5	3.7	1.9	1.4	-	3.1	8.4	16.7	.499	-	-	-	4.9	6.3	.777
difference:	+1	+15.8	+15.7	+1.7	+3.1	+4.9	+2.7	+1.4	+1.0		-0.6	+6.0	+10.8	+.100				+4.4	+5.5	+.120
Domantas Sabonis	81	20.1	5.9	0.6	3.0	3.6	1.0	0.5	0.4	1.0	2.5	2.4	5.9	.399	0.6	2.0	.321	0.5	0.8	.657
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	19	39.9	27.3	2.2	4.3	6.4	4.5	2.2	1.2	-	2.4	10.7	20.5	.523	-	-	-	5.8	7.1	.821
difference:	+17	+36.9	+25.3	+2.2	+3.3	+5.4	+4.5	+1.7	+0.7		-0.4	+10.7	+19.0	+.523				+3.8	+5.1	+.179
Domantas Sabonis	2	3.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	2.0	1.000

Season 2
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1977-78	2017-18
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Julius Erving	74	32.8	20.6	2.4	4.1	6.5	3.8	1.8	1.3	3.2	2.8	8.3	16.4	.502	-	-	-	4.1	4.9	.845
difference:		+8.3	+9.0	+0.2	+1.4	+1.2	+1.8	+1.3	+0.9	-1.3	-0.2	+3.7	+7.5	+.012				+1.8	+1.9	+.095
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.5	11.6	2.2	5.5	7.7	2.0	0.5	0.4	1.9	3.0	4.6	8.9	.514	0.2	0.5	.351	2.3	3.0	.750
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	10	35.8	21.8	4.0	5.7	9.7	4.0	1.5	1.8	3.5	3.0	8.8	18.0	.489	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	.750
difference:	+3	+12.1	+9.4	+2.0	+3.1	+5.1	+3.3	+1.4	+1.5	-2.5	-0.1	+3.7	+9.1	+.092				+2.2	+3.0	+.028
Domantas Sabonis	7	23.7	12.4	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.7	0.1	0.3	1.0	3.1	5.1	8.9	.581	0.1	1.0	.143	2.0	2.6	.778

Season 3
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1978-79	2018-19
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Julius Erving	78	35.9	23.1	2.5	4.7	7.2	4.6	1.7	1.3	4.0	2.7	9.2	18.7	.491	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.745
difference:	+4	+11.1	+9.0		+2.1	+2.1	+1.7	+1.1	+0.9	-1.8	-0.5	+3.6	+9.2	+.099				+2.0	+2.5	+.030
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.8	14.1	2.5	6.8	9.3	2.9	0.6	0.4	2.2	3.2	5.6	9.5	.590	0.1	0.2	.529	2.8	3.9	.715
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	9	41.3	25.4	3.2	4.6	7.8	5.9	2.0	1.9	4.2	2.4	9.9	19.1	.517	-	-	-	5.7	7.4	.761
difference:	+5	+17.3	+16.9	+1.4	+0.9	+0.5	+1.9	+1.2	+1.6	-2.9	-0.6	+6.9	+11.8	+.103				+3.4	+3.9	+.118
Domantas Sabonis	4	24.0	8.5	1.8	5.5	7.3	4.0	0.8	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	7.3	.414	0.3	1.0	.250	2.3	3.5	.643

Season 4
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1979-80	2019-20
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Julius Erving	78	36.1	26.9	2.8	4.6	7.4	4.6	2.2	1.8	3.6	2.7	10.7	20.7	.519	0.1	0.3	.200	5.4	6.8	.787
difference:	+16	+1.3	+8.4	+0.2	+4.8	+5.0	+0.4	+1.4	+1.3	-0.9	-0.4	+3.3	+7.0	+.021	+0.2	+0.8	+.054	+1.9	+2.0	+.064
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.8	18.5	3.0	9.4	12.4	5.0	0.8	0.5	2.7	3.1	7.4	13.7	.540	0.3	1.1	.254	3.5	4.8	.723
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	18	38.6	24.4	1.7	5.8	7.6	4.4	2.0	2.1	3.1	3.1	9.2	18.8	.488	0.1	0.5	.222	6.0	7.6	.794
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1980-81	2020-21
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Julius Erving	82	35.0	24.6	3.0	5.0	8.0	4.4	2.1	1.8	3.2	2.8	9.7	18.6	.521	0.0	0.2	.222	5.1	6.5	.787
difference:	+20	+1.0	+4.3	+0.6	+4.5	+4.0	+2.3	+0.9	+1.3	-0.2	-0.5	+1.9	+4.0	+.014	+0.8	+2.4	+.099	+1.2	+1.2	+.055
Domantas Sabonis	62	36.0	20.3	2.4	9.5	12.0	6.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	3.3	7.8	14.6	.535	0.8	2.6	.321	3.9	5.3	.732
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	16	37.0	22.9	3.3	3.9	7.1	3.4	1.4	2.6	3.4	3.4	8.9	18.8	.475	0.0	0.1	.000	5.1	6.7	.757
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1981-82	2021-22
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Julius Erving	81	34.4	24.4	2.7	4.2	6.9	3.9	2.0	1.7	2.6	2.8	9.6	17.6	.546	0.0	0.1	.273	5.1	6.7	.763
difference:	+19	+0.1	+5.5	+0.5	+4.7	+5.2	+1.3	+1.0	+1.3	-0.5	-0.5	+2.5	+5.1	+.027	+0.6	+1.9	+.039	+1.1	+1.3	+.022
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.5	18.9	3.2	8.9	12.1	5.2	1.0	0.4	3.1	3.3	7.1	12.5	.573	0.6	2.0	.312	4.0	5.4	.741
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	21	37.1	22.0	2.7	4.7	7.4	4.7	1.8	1.8	3.2	2.6	8.0	15.4	.519	0.0	0.3	.167	5.9	7.9	.752
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1982-83	2022-23
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Julius Erving	72	33.6	21.4	2.4	4.4	6.8	3.7	1.6	1.8	2.7	2.8	8.4	16.3	.517	0.0	0.1	.286	4.6	6.0	.759
difference:	+7	+1.0	+2.3	+0.8	+4.7	+5.5	+3.6	+0.8	+1.3	-0.2	-0.7	+1.1	+4.4	+.098	+0.4	+1.0	+.087	+0.5	+0.5	+.017
Domantas Sabonis	79	34.6	19.1	3.2	9.1	12.3	7.3	0.8	0.5	2.9	3.5	7.3	11.9	.615	0.4	1.1	.373	4.1	5.5	.742
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	13	37.9	18.4	2.5	5.2	7.6	3.4	1.2	2.1	3.0	3.2	7.3	16.2	.450	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	5.2	.721
difference:	+6	+3.2	+2.0	+1.9	+1.4	+3.4	+1.3	+0.2	+1.2	-0.7	-0.8	+0.3	+2.1	+.045	+0.1	+0.6	+.200	+1.5	+1.2	+.150
Domantas Sabonis	7	34.7	16.4	4.4	6.6	11.0	4.7	1.4	0.9	3.7	4.0	7.0	14.1	.495	0.1	0.7	.200	2.3	4.0	.571

Season 8
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1983-84	2023-24
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	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		%
Julius Erving	77	34.8	22.4	2.5	4.4	6.9	4.0	1.8	1.8	3.0	2.8	8.8	17.2	.512	0.1	0.3	.333	4.7	6.3	.754
difference:	+5	+0.9	+3.0	+1.1	+5.7	+6.8	+4.2	+0.9	+1.2	-0.3	-0.2	+1.1	+4.2	+.082	+0.3	+0.8	+.046	+1.1	+1.2	+.050
Domantas Sabonis	82	35.7	19.4	3.6	10.1	13.7	8.2	0.9	0.6	3.3	3.0	7.7	13.0	.594	0.4	1.1	.379	3.6	5.1	.704
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	5	38.8	18.2	1.8	4.6	6.4	5.0	1.6	1.2	4.2	2.8	7.2	15.2	.474	0.0	0.2	.000	3.8	4.4	.864
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Julius Erving	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1984-85	2024-25
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	78	32.5	20.0	2.2	3.1	5.3	3.0	1.7	1.4	2.7	2.6	7.8	15.8	.494	0.0	0.2	.214	4.3	5.7	.765
difference:	+8	+2.2	+0.9	+1.6	+7.0	+8.6	+3.0	+1.0	+1.0	-0.2	-0.7	+0.3	+3.0	+.096	+0.9	+2.0	+.203	+1.2	+1.6	+.011
Domantas Sabonis	70	34.7	19.1	3.8	10.1	13.9	6.0	0.7	0.4	2.9	3.3	7.5	12.8	.590	0.9	2.2	.417	3.1	4.1	.754
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	13	33.4	17.1	2.2	3.4	5.6	3.7	1.9	0.8	2.8	2.6	6.5	14.4	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	4.2	4.8	.857
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Julius Erving played 2 seasons more than Domantas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 11, from 1986 to 1987—Julius Erving played in two Playoffs. In those 2 extra years over Domantas Sabonis, Julius Erving got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game