Julius Erving vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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.

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.

Julius Erving played 11 years in the NBA, 5 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Julius Erving	11	11	1976-77 to 1986-87
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

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


Rookie Season
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1976-77	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+6	+11.4	+11.3	+1.8	+4.6	+6.5	+1.8	+1.2	+1.3		-1.3	+4.5	+6.9	+.105				+3.4	+4.2	+.088
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

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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1977-78	2005-06
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+19	+14.8	+12.9	+2.1	+2.4	+4.5	+2.7	+1.1	+1.2	-2.2	-1.2	+5.7	+9.7	+.109				+2.6	+3.1	+.023
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

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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1978-79	2006-07
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West 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:	+15	+12.6	+10.1	+2.0	+2.9	+4.9	+3.2	+0.9	+1.2	-2.7	-0.4	+4.7	+8.5	+.050				+3.2	+4.4	+.065
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

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	+29.5	+20.9	+2.9	+2.6	+5.5	+5.4	+1.0	+1.6	-3.4	-0.9	+8.4	+13.6	+.244				+4.2	+5.9	+.239
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


Season 4
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1979-80	2007-08
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+4	+16.9	+14.6	+2.2	+3.1	+5.3	+2.9	+1.4	+1.6	-2.1	-0.8	+6.5	+11.6	+.058	+2.0	+5.0	+.203	+3.7	+4.4	+.068
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

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
difference:	+14	+11.6	+6.1	+1.4	+4.3	+5.8	+2.6	+1.0	+2.1	-1.8	-0.1	+3.4	+8.0	+.047	+1.7	+5.0	+.096	+1.0	+1.6	+.039
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


Season 5
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1980-81	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+1	+7.3	+9.4	+2.5	+1.9	+4.3	+1.6	+1.1	+1.6	-1.3	-0.5	+4.5	+6.9	+.075	+2.2	+5.4	+.175	+2.6	+3.1	+.033
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

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
difference:		+9.8	+8.0	+2.6	+1.3	+3.8	+0.6	+0.3	+2.3	-1.8	-0.2	+3.4	+6.7	+.021	+2.4	+6.5	+.358	+3.5	+3.8	+.214
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1981-82	2009-10
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+6	+6.6	+9.0	+2.3	+1.5	+3.8	+1.5	+0.7	+1.4	-0.7	-0.5	+3.9	+3.8	+.132	+2.1	+6.1	+.065	+3.2	+4.0	+.057
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

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
difference:	+15	+10.6	+10.8	+1.9	+1.7	+3.6	+3.0	+1.1	+1.5	-2.2	-0.2	+4.5	+5.9	+.151	+1.8	+4.9	+.188	+3.6	+5.2	+.123
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1982-83	2010-11
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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	+8.7	+9.1	+1.8	+0.9	+2.7	+1.5	+0.4	+1.6	-1.4	-0.6	+4.1	+6.4	+.082	+1.6	+3.9	+.104	+2.5	+3.2	+.021
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

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:	+8	+22.7	+8.6	+2.3	+3.4	+5.6	+2.4	+0.8	+2.1	-1.4	-1.6	+4.1	+7.2	+.094	+1.8	+4.1	+.429	+2.2	+3.0	+.006
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1983-84	2011-12
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+42	+7.2	+9.9	+1.7	+1.3	+3.0	+1.6	+0.3	+1.6	-1.7	-0.3	+4.1	+5.6	+.105	+1.8	+5.2	+.014	+3.6	+4.7	+.045
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

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
difference:		+3.8	+6.0	+1.4	+2.4	+3.8	+2.8	+0.4	+1.0	-2.0	-1.0	+2.4		+.158	+1.0	+5.4	+.179	+2.2	+2.8	+.136
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1984-85	2012-13
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+1.0	+1.9	+1.4	+1.4		+0.3	+0.4	+1.1	-1.0	-0.2	+1.2	+0.2	+.072	+1.9	+5.3	+.142	+1.3	+1.8	+.003
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

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
difference:	+2	+1.5	+2.8	+1.7	+0.8	+0.9	+2.3	+0.9	+0.3	-1.0	-0.1	+1.6	+0.4	+.118	+1.6	+5.9	+.273	+1.4	+0.9	+.136
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1985-86	2013-14
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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10th 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	33.4	18.1	2.3	2.7	5.0	3.4	1.5	1.1	2.9	2.6	7.0	14.7	.480	0.1	0.4	.281	3.9	5.0	.785
difference:		+0.7	+3.6	+1.8	+0.8	+1.0	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	-1.4		+1.6	+1.8	+.065	+2.5	+6.1	+.113	+2.7	+3.1	+.133
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	12	36.1	17.7	2.2	3.7	5.8	4.2	0.9	1.3	3.3	2.7	6.8	15.0	.450	0.2	0.9	.182	4.0	5.4	.738
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Julius Erving	J.R. Smith
Season	1986-87	2014-15
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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11th 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	60	32.0	16.8	1.9	2.5	4.4	3.2	1.3	1.6	2.6	2.3	6.7	14.2	.471	0.2	0.9	.264	3.2	3.9	.813
difference:	+10	+2.3	+4.7	+1.5	+0.2	+1.3	+0.4	+0.1	+1.3	-1.2		+2.2	+3.4	+.054	+2.1	+5.2	+.119	+2.4	+2.9	+.063
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Julius Erving	5	36.0	18.2	2.8	2.2	5.0	3.4	1.4	1.2	1.8	3.8	6.8	16.4	.415	0.4	1.2	.333	4.2	5.0	.840
difference:	+13	+4.9	+5.4	+2.3	+2.0	+0.3	+2.2	+0.5	+0.6	-1.0	-0.8	+2.2	+5.0	+.012	+2.4	+6.7	+.026	+3.4	+3.9	+.140
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700

Additional Years

* J.R. Smith played 5 seasons more than Julius Erving in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 12 to 16, from 2016 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 4 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships.

Julius Erving vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years