Julius Erving vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan 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 / 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.

Julius Erving played 11 years in the NBA, 4 less than Michael Jordan, who played 15. Julius Erving had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Michael Jordan had his rookie season in 1984-85. 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
Michael Jordan	15	13	1984-85 to 2002-03

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


Rookie Season
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1976-77	1984-85
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East 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:		+2.4	+6.6	+0.3	+1.6	+2.0	+2.2	+0.5	+0.6		-0.4	+1.8	+3.1	+.016				+2.8	+2.8	+.068
Michael Jordan	82	38.3	28.2	2.0	4.5	6.5	5.9	2.4	0.8	3.5	3.5	10.2	19.8	.515	0.1	0.6	.173	7.7	9.1	.845

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:	+15	+2.9	+2.0	+0.4	+0.3	+0.6	+4.0	+0.6	+0.2		-1.4	+2.2	+1.0	+.087				+6.2	+7.4	+.007
Michael Jordan	4	42.8	29.3	1.8	4.0	5.8	8.5	2.8	1.0	3.8	3.8	8.5	19.5	.436	0.3	2.0	.125	12.0	14.5	.828


Season 2
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1977-78	1985-86
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls 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:	+56	+7.7	+2.1	+1.1	+1.8	+2.9	+0.9	+0.3	+0.1	-0.7	-0.2		+1.8	+.045				+1.7	+2.0	+.005
Michael Jordan	18	25.1	22.7	1.3	2.3	3.6	2.9	2.1	1.2	2.5	2.6	8.3	18.2	.457	0.2	1.0	.167	5.8	6.9	.840

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:	+7	+9.2	+21.9	+2.3	+1.0	+3.4	+1.7	+0.8	+0.5	-1.2	-1.3	+7.2	+13.7	+.016				+7.1	+7.4	+.122
Michael Jordan	3	45.0	43.7	1.7	4.7	6.3	5.7	2.3	1.3	4.7	4.3	16.0	31.7	.505	0.3	0.3	1.000	11.3	13.0	.872


Season 3
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1978-79	1986-87
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls 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	+4.1	+14.0	+0.5	+1.5	+2.0		+1.2	+0.2	-0.7	-0.2	+4.2	+9.1	+.009				+5.4	+5.5	+.112
Michael Jordan	82	40.0	37.1	2.0	3.2	5.2	4.6	2.9	1.5	3.3	2.9	13.4	27.8	.482	0.1	0.8	.182	10.2	11.9	.857

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:	+6	+1.4	+10.3	+0.9	+0.1	+0.8	+0.1		+0.4	-1.5	-1.3	+1.8	+8.9	+.100				+6.0	+5.6	+.136
Michael Jordan	3	42.7	35.7	2.3	4.7	7.0	6.0	2.0	2.3	2.7	3.7	11.7	28.0	.417	0.7	1.7	.400	11.7	13.0	.897


Season 4
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1979-80	1987-88
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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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	+4.3	+8.1	+1.1	+0.8	+1.9	+1.3	+1.0	+0.2	-0.5	-0.6	+2.3	+3.7	+.016		+0.3	+.068	+3.4	+3.7	+.054
Michael Jordan	82	40.4	35.0	1.7	3.8	5.5	5.9	3.2	1.6	3.1	3.3	13.0	24.4	.535	0.1	0.6	.132	8.8	10.5	.841

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:	+8	+4.1	+11.9	+0.6	+1.0	+0.5	+0.3	+0.4	+1.0	-0.8	-0.7	+4.6	+7.2	+.043		+0.2	+.111	+2.6	+2.3	+.075
Michael Jordan	10	42.7	36.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	4.7	2.4	1.1	3.9	3.8	13.8	26.0	.531	0.1	0.3	.333	8.6	9.9	.869


Season 5
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1980-81	1988-89
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls Lost East 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	+5.2	+7.9	+1.2	+1.2		+3.6	+0.8	+1.0	-0.4	-0.2	+2.2	+3.6	+.017	+0.3	+1.0	+.054	+3.2	+3.3	+.063
Michael Jordan	81	40.2	32.5	1.8	6.2	8.0	8.0	2.9	0.8	3.6	3.0	11.9	22.2	.538	0.3	1.2	.276	8.3	9.8	.850

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:	+1	+5.2	+11.9	+1.8	+1.6	+0.1	+4.2	+1.1	+1.8	-0.6	-0.4	+2.8	+4.1	+.035	+0.6	+2.0	+.286	+5.7	+6.8	+.042
Michael Jordan	17	42.2	34.8	1.5	5.5	7.0	7.6	2.5	0.8	4.0	3.8	11.7	22.9	.510	0.6	2.1	.286	10.8	13.5	.799


Season 6
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1981-82	1989-90
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+1	+4.6	+9.2	+1.0	+0.9		+2.4	+0.8	+1.0	-0.4	-0.1	+3.0	+6.4	+.020	+1.1	+2.9	+.103	+2.1	+1.8	+.085
Michael Jordan	82	39.0	33.6	1.7	5.1	6.9	6.3	2.8	0.7	3.0	2.9	12.6	24.0	.526	1.1	3.0	.376	7.2	8.5	.848

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:	+5	+5.0	+14.7	+1.2	+1.0	+0.2	+2.1	+1.0	+0.9	-0.3	-0.8	+5.7	+11.2	+.005	+1.0	+2.8	+.153	+2.4	+2.0	+.084
Michael Jordan	16	42.1	36.7	1.5	5.7	7.2	6.8	2.8	0.9	3.5	3.4	13.7	26.6	.514	1.0	3.1	.320	8.3	9.9	.836


Season 7
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1982-83	1990-91
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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:	+10	+3.4	+10.1	+1.0	+0.2	+0.8	+1.8	+1.1	+0.8	-0.2		+3.7	+6.1	+.022	+0.4	+1.0	+.026	+2.4	+2.2	+.092
Michael Jordan	82	37.0	31.5	1.4	4.6	6.0	5.5	2.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	12.1	22.4	.539	0.4	1.1	.312	7.0	8.2	.851

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:	+4	+2.6	+12.7	+1.4	+0.1	+1.2	+5.0	+1.2	+0.7	-0.5	-0.1	+4.3	+5.9	+.074	+0.6	+1.4	+.385	+3.6	+3.5	+.124
Michael Jordan	17	40.5	31.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	8.4	2.4	1.4	2.5	3.1	11.6	22.1	.524	0.6	1.5	.385	7.4	8.7	.845


Season 8
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1983-84	1991-92
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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:	+3	+4.0	+7.7	+1.4	+0.9	+0.5	+2.1	+0.5	+0.9	-0.5	-0.3	+3.0	+5.5	+.007	+0.2	+1.0	+.063	+1.4	+1.1	+.078
Michael Jordan	80	38.8	30.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	6.1	2.3	0.9	2.5	2.5	11.8	22.7	.519	0.3	1.3	.270	6.1	7.4	.832

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:	+17	+3.0	+16.3	+0.1	+0.1	+0.2	+0.8	+0.4	+0.5	-0.5		+6.0	+11.2	+.025	+0.8	+1.8	+.386	+3.6	+4.2	+.007
Michael Jordan	22	41.8	34.5	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.8	2.0	0.7	3.7	2.8	13.2	26.4	.499	0.8	2.0	.386	7.4	8.6	.857


Season 9
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1984-85	1992-93
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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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:		+6.8	+12.6	+0.5	+1.9	+1.4	+2.5	+1.1	+0.6		-0.2	+4.9	+9.9	+.001	+1.0	+2.7	+.138	+1.8	+1.6	+.072
Michael Jordan	78	39.3	32.6	1.7	5.0	6.7	5.5	2.8	0.8	2.7	2.4	12.7	25.7	.495	1.0	2.9	.352	6.1	7.3	.837

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:	+6	+7.8	+18.0	+0.5	+1.7	+1.1	+2.3	+0.2	+0.1	-0.4	-0.5	+6.7	+13.4	+.026	+1.5	+3.7	+.389	+3.0	+4.1	+.052
Michael Jordan	19	41.2	35.1	1.7	5.1	6.7	6.0	2.1	0.9	2.4	3.1	13.2	27.8	.475	1.5	3.8	.389	7.2	8.9	.805

Note: Michael Jordan didn't play in 1993-94.


Season 10
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1985-86	1994-95
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+57	+5.9	+8.8	+0.8	+2.7	+1.9	+1.9	+0.3	+0.3	-0.8	-0.2	+2.8	+9.1	+.069	+0.8	+1.5	+.219	+2.5	+3.0	+.016
Michael Jordan	17	39.3	26.9	1.5	5.4	6.9	5.3	1.8	0.8	2.1	2.8	9.8	23.8	.411	0.9	1.9	.500	6.4	8.0	.801

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
difference:	+2	+5.9	+13.8	+0.2	+0.8	+0.7	+0.3	+1.4	+0.1	-0.8	-0.3	+5.2	+9.8	+.034	+0.9	+2.1	+.185	+2.4	+2.5	+.072
Michael Jordan	10	42.0	31.5	2.0	4.5	6.5	4.5	2.3	1.4	4.1	3.0	12.0	24.8	.484	1.1	3.0	.367	6.4	7.9	.810


Season 11
	Julius Erving	Michael Jordan
Season	1986-87	1995-96
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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:	+22	+5.7	+13.6	+0.1	+2.3	+2.2	+1.1	+0.9	+1.1	-0.2	-0.1	+4.5	+8.4	+.024	+1.2	+2.3	+.163	+3.5	+4.1	+.021
Michael Jordan	82	37.7	30.4	1.8	4.8	6.6	4.3	2.2	0.5	2.4	2.4	11.2	22.6	.495	1.4	3.2	.427	6.7	8.0	.834

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	+4.7	+12.5	+1.1	+1.0	+0.1	+0.7	+0.4	+0.9	-0.5	-1.1	+3.6	+6.2	+.044	+1.0	+2.2	+.070	+4.3	+5.4	+.022
Michael Jordan	18	40.7	30.7	1.7	3.2	4.9	4.1	1.8	0.3	2.3	2.7	10.4	22.6	.459	1.4	3.4	.403	8.5	10.4	.818


Additional Years
* Michael Jordan played 4 seasons more than Julius Erving in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 15, from 1997 to 2003—Michael Jordan played in two Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 4 extra years over Julius Erving, Michael Jordan got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 2 Scoring Leader 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Julius Erving vs. Michael Jordan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Jordan 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