Julius Erving vs. LeBron James Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of LeBron James 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, 12 less than LeBron James, who played 23. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, 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
Julius Erving 11 11 1976-77 to 1986-87
LeBron James 23 18 2003-04 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

Rookie Season
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1976-772003-04
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsDid 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%
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:+3+3.6+0.7+1.0+1.9+3.0+2.2+0.3+0.7-1.2+0.5+2.2+.082+0.5+0.5+.023
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
LeBron James DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1977-782004-05
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsDid 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%
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:+6+9.6+6.6+1.0+1.9+0.9+3.4+0.4+0.6-0.1-1.0+1.6+4.7+.030+1.9+3.1+.095
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
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
LeBron James DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1978-792005-06
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs 76ers Lost East 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%
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:+1+6.6+8.3+1.6+1.4+0.2+2.0+0.1+0.5-0.7-0.4+1.9+4.4+.011+2.8+3.9+.007
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%
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:+4+5.2+5.4+1.5+1.8+0.3+0.1+0.6+1.2-0.8-1.0+1.3+4.5+.041+1.0+1.7+.024
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
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1979-802006-07
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsCavaliers 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%
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:+4.8+0.4+1.7+1.1+0.7+1.4+0.6+1.1-0.4-0.5+0.8+0.1+.043+1.2+3.7+.119+0.9+2.2+.089
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%
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:+2+6.1+0.7+0.4+1.0+0.5+3.6+0.3+1.6-0.2-1.1+0.9+1.2+.072+1.0+3.3+.058+1.4+2.2+.039
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

Season 5
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1980-812007-08
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsCavaliers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+7+5.4+5.4+1.2+1.1+0.1+2.8+0.3+0.7-0.2-0.6+0.9+3.3+.037+1.5+4.6+.093+2.2+3.8+.075
LeBron James 75 40.4 30.0 1.8 6.1 7.9 7.2 1.8 1.1 3.4 2.2 10.6 21.9 .484 1.5 4.8 .315 7.3 10.3 .712
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3+5.5+5.3+2.1+2.7+0.7+4.2+0.4+1.3-0.8-0.9+0.2+2.4+.064+1.4+5.3+.257+4.3+6.1+.026
LeBron James 13 42.5 28.2 1.2 6.6 7.8 7.6 1.8 1.3 4.2 2.5 8.7 21.2 .411 1.4 5.4 .257 9.4 12.8 .731

Season 6
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1981-822008-09
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost NBA FinalsCavaliers Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3.3+4.0+1.4+2.1+0.7+3.3+0.3+0.6-0.4-1.1+0.1+2.3+.057+1.6+4.6+.071+2.2+2.7+.017
LeBron James 81 37.7 28.4 1.3 6.3 7.6 7.2 1.7 1.1 3.0 1.7 9.7 19.9 .489 1.6 4.7 .344 7.3 9.4 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+7+4.3+13.3+1.3+3.1+1.7+2.6+0.2+0.9-0.5-0.5+3.4+6.9+.009+1.9+5.5+.166+4.7+6.3+.003
LeBron James 14 41.4 35.3 1.4 7.8 9.1 7.3 1.6 0.9 2.7 2.1 11.4 22.3 .510 1.9 5.8 .333 10.6 14.2 .749

Season 7
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1982-832009-10
Team Philadelphia 76ersCleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCavaliers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+4+5.4+8.3+1.5+2.0+0.5+4.9+0.8-0.7-1.2+1.7+3.8+.014+1.7+5.0+.047+3.2+4.2+.008
LeBron James 76 39.0 29.7 0.9 6.4 7.3 8.6 1.6 1.0 3.4 1.6 10.1 20.1 .503 1.7 5.1 .333 7.8 10.2 .767
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+3.9+10.7+1.1+2.7+1.7+4.2+0.5+0.3-0.8-1.1+2.3+3.0+.052+1.8+4.4+.400+4.2+5.7+.012
LeBron James 11 41.8 29.1 1.4 7.9 9.3 7.6 1.7 1.8 3.8 2.1 9.6 19.2 .502 1.8 4.5 .400 8.0 10.9 .733

Season 8
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1983-842010-11
Team Philadelphia 76ersMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf 1st RdHeat Lost NBA Finals
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+4.0+4.3+1.5+2.1+0.6+3.0+0.2+1.2-0.6-0.7+0.8+1.6+.002+1.1+3.2+.003+1.7+2.1+.005
LeBron James 79 38.8 26.7 1.0 6.5 7.5 7.0 1.6 0.6 3.6 2.1 9.6 18.8 .510 1.2 3.5 .330 6.4 8.4 .759
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+16+5.1+5.5+0.2+2.2+2.0+0.9+0.1-1.1-0.1+1.1+2.6+.008+1.4+3.8+.353+1.9+3.0+.101
LeBron James 21 43.9 23.7 1.6 6.8 8.4 5.9 1.7 1.2 3.1 2.7 8.3 17.8 .466 1.4 4.0 .353 5.7 7.4 .763

Season 9
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1984-852011-12
Team Philadelphia 76ersMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
-Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+16+5.0+7.1+0.7+3.3+2.6+3.2+0.2+0.6-0.7-1.1+2.2+3.1+.037+0.9+2.2+.148+1.9+2.4+.006
LeBron James 62 37.5 27.1 1.5 6.4 7.9 6.2 1.9 0.8 3.4 1.5 10.0 18.9 .531 0.9 2.4 .362 6.2 8.1 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+10+9.3+13.2+0.1+4.0+4.1+1.9+0.1-0.7-0.6+4.4+7.4+.051+1.0+3.6+.259+3.3+5.4+.118
LeBron James 23 42.7 30.3 2.3 7.4 9.7 5.6 1.9 0.7 3.5 2.0 10.9 21.8 .500 1.0 3.7 .259 7.5 10.2 .739

Season 10
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1985-862012-13
Team Philadelphia 76ersMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
-Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+4.5+8.7+1.0+4.1+3.0+3.9+0.2+0.2-0.1-1.2+3.1+3.1+.085+1.3+2.9+.125+1.4+2.0+.032
LeBron James 76 37.9 26.8 1.3 6.8 8.0 7.3 1.7 0.9 3.0 1.4 10.1 17.8 .565 1.4 3.3 .406 5.3 7.0 .753
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+5.6+8.2+0.6+3.1+2.6+2.4+0.9+0.5-0.3-0.8+2.4+3.8+.041+1.4+3.3+.193+1.9+2.2+.039
LeBron James 23 41.7 25.9 1.6 6.8 8.4 6.6 1.8 0.8 3.0 1.9 9.2 18.8 .491 1.6 4.2 .375 5.9 7.6 .777

Season 11
Julius Erving LeBron James
Season 1986-872013-14
Team Philadelphia 76ersMiami Heat
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs 76ers Lost East Conf 1st RdHeat Lost NBA Finals
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+17+5.7+10.3+0.8+3.4+2.5+3.1+0.3+1.3-0.9-0.7+3.3+3.4+.096+1.3+3.1+.115+2.5+3.7+.063
LeBron James 77 37.7 27.1 1.1 5.9 6.9 6.3 1.6 0.3 3.5 1.6 10.0 17.6 .567 1.5 4.0 .379 5.7 7.6 .750
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+15+2.2+9.2+2.1+4.2+2.1+1.4+0.4+0.6-1.3-1.5+2.8+0.6+.150+1.4+3.1+.074+2.3+3.0+.034
LeBron James 20 38.2 27.4 0.7 6.4 7.1 4.8 1.8 0.6 3.1 2.3 9.6 17.0 .565 1.8 4.3 .407 6.5 8.0 .806

Additional Years

* LeBron James played 12 seasons more than Julius Erving in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 12 to 23, from 2015 to 2026—LeBron James played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships and one NBA Cup.

In those 12 extra years over Julius Erving, LeBron James got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 2 Finals MVP
Achievement 5 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 4 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 1 Assists Leader
Achievement 1 Cup MVP
Achievement 1 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement 11 All-Star Game
Achievement 1 All-Star Game MVP
Share: