Jusuf Nurkic vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Jusuf Nurkic, 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 / 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.

Jusuf Nurkic played 12 years in the NBA, 4 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Jusuf Nurkic had the first of his seasons in 2014-15, 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
Jusuf Nurkic	12	5	2014-15 to 2025-26
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2014-15	2004-05
Team	Denver Nuggets	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	62	17.8	6.9	2.0	4.1	6.2	0.8	0.8	1.1	1.4	3.3	2.8	6.2	.446	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.1	.636
difference:	+14	+6.7	+3.4	+1.5	+2.6	+4.2	+1.1	+0.1	+1.0		-1.5	+1.1	+3.6	+.052	+1.1	+3.7		+0.1		+.053
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
* Neiher Jusuf Nurkic nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2015-16	2005-06
Team	Denver Nuggets	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	32	17.1	8.2	2.0	3.4	5.5	1.3	0.8	1.4	1.7	2.8	3.2	7.6	.417	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	3.1	.616
difference:	+23	+0.9	+0.5	+1.7	+1.7	+3.5	+0.2	+0.1	+1.3	-0.7	-1.2	+0.6	+0.9	+.024	+0.9	+2.4	+.371	+0.4	+1.3	+.206
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
* Neiher Jusuf Nurkic nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2016-17	2006-07
Team	Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	65	21.4	10.2	2.4	4.8	7.2	1.9	0.8	1.1	2.2	2.5	4.2	8.2	.507	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.2	.571
difference:	+2	+1.9	+2.8	+1.9	+3.0	+4.9	+0.5		+1.0	-0.9	-0.2	+0.3	+2.0	+.066	+2.4	+6.1		+0.2	+1.2	+.239
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	1	17.0	2.0	0.0	11.0	11.0	4.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	.333	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+3	+5.2	+2.5	+0.3	+9.0	+8.7	+3.5	+1.0	+0.7	-2.2	-0.5	+0.5	+2.5	+.060		+2.0		+1.5	+1.5
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2017-18	2007-08
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	79	26.4	14.3	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.8	0.8	1.4	2.3	3.1	6.1	12.0	.505	0.0	0.1	.000	2.2	3.5	.630
difference:	+5	+7.2	+2.0	+1.8	+5.1	+6.9	+0.1		+1.2	-0.8	-1.2	+1.9	+2.9	+.044	+2.1	+5.2	+.403	+0.5	+1.1	+.089
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	4	23.5	11.8	3.0	5.0	8.0	1.0	1.5	1.3	0.8	3.5	4.8	9.8	.487	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.818
difference:		+3.5	+6.5	+2.7	+3.5	+6.2	+0.8	+0.5	+1.3	-0.5	-0.5	+1.0	+1.0	+.048	+1.8	+5.5		+2.7	+3.2	+.015
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2018-19	2008-09
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	72	27.4	15.6	3.4	7.0	10.4	3.2	1.0	1.4	2.3	3.5	5.8	11.5	.508	0.0	0.4	.103	3.9	5.1	.773
difference:	+9	+0.3	+0.4	+2.9	+3.9	+6.7	+0.4		+1.2	-0.4	-1.2	+0.6	+0.2	+.062	+2.2	+5.2	+.294	+1.4	+1.7	+.019
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2019-20	2009-10
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	8	31.6	17.6	2.9	7.4	10.3	4.0	1.4	2.0	2.4	4.9	6.8	13.6	.495	0.3	1.3	.200	3.9	4.4	.886
difference:	+67	+3.8	+2.2	+2.5	+4.7	+7.2	+1.6	+0.1	+1.7	-0.5	-2.6	+1.1	+0.2	+.081	+1.8	+4.9	+.138	+2.0	+1.7	+.180
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	5	32.2	14.2	2.8	7.6	10.4	3.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	4.2	5.0	11.4	.439	0.6	2.2	.273	3.6	4.6	.783
difference:	+1	+5.7	+3.0	+2.0	+4.6	+6.6	+1.9	+0.7	+0.1	-1.6	-1.4	+1.5	+1.9	+.071	+1.2	+3.0	+.082	+1.3	+1.9	+.092
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2020-21	2010-11
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	37	23.8	11.5	2.3	6.6	9.0	3.4	1.0	1.1	2.0	2.8	4.6	9.0	.514	0.3	0.8	.400	1.9	3.1	.619
difference:	+42	+1.1	+0.8	+1.7	+3.1	+4.9	+1.2	+0.2	+0.9	-0.7	-0.6	+0.3	+0.9	+.079	+1.3	+3.2	+.010	+0.2	+0.3	+.119
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	6	28.8	13.2	3.0	7.3	10.3	2.7	0.5	1.2	2.3	5.0	5.0	9.2	.545	0.2	0.8	.200	3.0	4.2	.720
difference:	+1	+13.6	+3.4	+2.8	+5.5	+8.3	+1.7	+0.1	+1.2	-0.7	-3.4	+1.8	+0.2	+.189	+1.6	+3.4	+.229	+1.4	+2.0	+.007
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2021-22	2011-12
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	56	28.2	15.0	3.0	8.1	11.1	2.8	1.1	0.6	2.6	3.4	5.7	10.7	.535	0.3	1.0	.268	3.3	4.8	.690
difference:	+21	+0.6	+2.5	+2.2	+5.0	+7.2	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	-1.3	-0.9	+1.0	+0.9	+.128	+1.6	+4.5	+.079	+2.2	+3.2	+.019
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2022-23	2012-13
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	52	26.8	13.3	2.2	6.9	9.1	2.9	0.8	0.8	2.3	3.6	5.0	9.7	.519	0.8	2.3	.361	2.4	3.7	.661
difference:	+28	+6.7	+4.8	+1.4	+2.4	+3.8	+0.2	+0.5	+0.5	-0.6	-0.8	+1.6	+5.9	+.097	+1.1	+3.2	+.005	+0.6	+0.2	+.101
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2023-24	2013-14
Team	Phoenix Suns	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	76	27.3	10.9	2.9	8.1	11.0	4.0	1.1	1.1	2.3	3.3	4.2	8.3	.510	0.3	1.2	.244	2.2	3.4	.640
difference:	+2	+5.4	+3.6	+2.4	+4.6	+7.0	+1.0	+0.2	+0.8	-0.8	-0.7	+1.2	+4.6	+.095	+2.3	+5.3	+.150	+1.0	+1.5	+.012
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	4	26.0	7.8	3.3	5.0	8.3	2.8	1.5	1.5	1.5	3.8	3.3	6.5	.500	0.0	0.5	.000	1.3	2.8	.455
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2024-25	2014-15
Team	Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	51	20.8	8.9	1.7	6.1	7.8	2.3	0.8	0.7	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.9	.477	0.6	2.1	.305	1.7	2.5	.664
difference:	+19	+8.9	+3.2	+1.3	+3.4	+4.7	+0.5	+0.4	+0.4	-0.5	-0.2	+1.2	+3.9	+.060	+1.7	+4.0	+.078	+0.9	+1.5	+.086
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		%
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 12
	Jusuf Nurkic	J.R. Smith
Season	2025-26	2015-16
Team	Utah Jazz	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jusuf Nurkic	16	24.7	7.5	2.4	7.3	9.6	3.6	1.8	0.4	2.8	2.9	2.9	7.0	.411	0.3	1.7	.185	1.4	2.5	.575
difference:	+61	+6.0	+4.9	+1.8	+5.0	+6.8	+1.9	+0.7	+0.1	-2.0	-0.3	+1.7	+4.0	+.004	+2.3	+4.9	+.215	+0.8	+1.6	+.059
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jusuf Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619

Additional Years

* J.R. Smith played 4 seasons more than Jusuf Nurkic in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 16, from 2017 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

Jusuf Nurkic vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Jusuf Nurkic, 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

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years