Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Alex Caruso Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Alex Caruso and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 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 / Scoring / 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.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20 years in the NBA, 12 more than Alex Caruso, who played 8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Alex Caruso had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 20 18 1969-70 to 1988-89
Alex Caruso 8 4 2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1969-702017-18
Team Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div 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%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 43.1 28.8 - - 14.5 4.1 - - - 3.5 11.4 22.1 .518 - - - 5.9 9.1 .653
difference:+45+27.9+25.2+12.7+2.1-2.1+10.0+19.0+.087+5.3+8.3+.047
Alex Caruso 37 15.2 3.6 0.4 1.4 1.8 2.0 0.6 0.3 1.1 1.4 1.4 3.1 .431 0.4 1.2 .302 0.6 0.8 .700
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 10 43.5 35.2 - - 16.8 4.1 - - - 2.5 13.9 24.5 .567 - - - 7.4 10.1 .733
Alex Caruso DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1970-712018-19
Team Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid 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%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 40.1 31.7 - - 16.0 3.3 - - - 3.2 13.0 22.5 .577 - - - 5.7 8.3 .690
difference:+57+18.9+22.5+13.3+0.2-1.0+9.9+15.6+.132+3.7+5.7+.107
Alex Caruso 25 21.2 9.2 0.8 1.9 2.7 3.1 1.0 0.4 1.7 2.2 3.1 6.9 .445 1.0 2.0 .480 2.0 2.6 .797
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 14 41.2 26.6 - - 17.0 2.5 - - - 3.2 10.9 21.1 .515 - - - 4.9 7.2 .673
Alex Caruso DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1971-722019-20
Team Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 44.2 34.8 - - 16.6 4.6 - - - 2.9 14.3 24.9 .574 - - - 6.2 9.0 .689
difference:+17+25.8+29.3+14.7+2.7-1.4+12.4+20.4+.162+5.1+7.5+.045
Alex Caruso 64 18.4 5.5 0.3 1.7 1.9 1.9 1.1 0.3 0.8 1.5 1.9 4.5 .412 0.6 1.9 .333 1.1 1.5 .734
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 46.4 28.7 - - 18.2 5.1 - - - 3.2 12.6 28.9 .437 - - - 3.5 4.9 .704
difference:+10+22.1+22.2+15.9+2.3-0.6+10.3+23.5+.012+2.4+3.5+.096
Alex Caruso 21 24.3 6.5 0.7 1.6 2.3 2.8 1.1 0.6 1.5 2.6 2.3 5.4 .425 0.8 2.9 .279 1.1 1.4 .800

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1972-732020-21
Team Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf SemisLakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 76 42.8 30.2 - - 16.1 5.0 - - - 2.7 12.9 23.3 .554 - - - 4.3 6.1 .713
difference:+18+21.8+23.8+13.2+2.2-0.8+10.6+18.0+.118+3.5+4.8+.068
Alex Caruso 58 21.0 6.4 0.5 2.4 2.9 2.8 1.1 0.3 1.3 1.9 2.3 5.3 .436 0.9 2.4 .401 0.8 1.3 .645
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6 46.0 22.8 - - 16.2 2.8 - - - 4.3 9.8 23.0 .428 - - - 3.2 5.8 .543
difference:+25.8+17.0+14.9+2.3-2.3+7.5+16.7+.060+2.9+5.5+.457
Alex Caruso 6 20.2 5.8 0.3 1.0 1.3 0.5 0.2 0.7 1.2 2.0 2.3 6.3 .368 0.8 2.8 .294 0.3 0.3 1.000

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1973-742021-22
Team Milwaukee BucksChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA FinalsBulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 81 43.8 27.0 3.5 11.0 14.5 4.8 1.4 3.5 - 2.9 11.7 21.7 .539 - - - 3.6 5.2 .702
difference:+40+15.8+19.6+2.7+8.2+10.9+0.8+0.3+3.1-0.3+9.2+15.5+.141+2.2+3.4+.093
Alex Caruso 41 28.0 7.4 0.8 2.8 3.6 4.0 1.7 0.4 1.4 2.6 2.5 6.2 .398 1.0 3.1 .333 1.4 1.8 .795
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 16 47.4 32.2 4.2 11.6 15.8 4.9 1.3 2.4 - 2.6 14.0 25.1 .557 - - - 4.2 5.7 .736
difference:+12+19.1+25.9+3.7+9.3+13.0+0.6+1.4-0.2+11.7+19.3+.166+4.2+5.7
Alex Caruso 4 28.3 6.3 0.5 2.3 2.8 4.3 1.3 1.0 0.3 2.8 2.3 5.8 .391 1.8 4.5 .389 0.0 0.0 -

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1974-752022-23
Team Milwaukee BucksChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 65 42.3 30.0 3.0 11.0 14.0 4.1 1.0 3.3 - 3.2 12.5 24.4 .513 - - - 5.0 6.6 .763
difference:+2+18.8+24.4+2.4+8.7+11.1+1.2+0.5+2.6-0.8+10.6+20.1+.058+4.1+5.5+.045
Alex Caruso 67 23.5 5.6 0.6 2.3 2.9 2.9 1.5 0.7 1.1 2.4 1.9 4.3 .455 0.8 2.3 .364 0.9 1.1 .808
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nor Alex Caruso played in the postseason in their season 6

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1975-762023-24
Team Los Angeles LakersChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second TeamAchievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 41.2 27.7 3.3 13.5 16.9 5.0 1.5 4.1 - 3.6 11.1 21.1 .529 - - - 5.5 7.8 .703
difference:+11+12.5+17.6+2.4+10.5+13.1+1.5+0.2+3.1-1.1+7.5+13.5+.061+4.5+6.4+.057
Alex Caruso 71 28.7 10.1 0.9 3.0 3.8 3.5 1.7 1.0 1.4 2.5 3.6 7.6 .468 1.9 4.7 .408 1.0 1.4 .760
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nor Alex Caruso played in the postseason in their season 7

Season 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Alex Caruso
Season 1976-772024-25
Team Los Angeles LakersOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 82 36.8 26.2 3.2 10.0 13.3 3.9 1.2 3.2 - 3.2 10.8 18.7 .579 - - - 4.6 6.5 .701
difference:+28+17.5+19.1+2.5+7.8+10.4+1.4+0.4+2.6-1.3+8.2+12.9+.133+3.8+5.6+.123
Alex Caruso 54 19.3 7.1 0.7 2.2 2.9 2.5 1.6 0.6 0.7 1.9 2.6 5.8 .446 1.1 3.1 .353 0.8 0.9 .824
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 11 42.5 34.6 4.6 13.1 17.7 4.1 1.7 3.5 - 3.8 13.4 22.0 .607 - - - 7.9 10.9 .725
difference:+12+18.1+25.4+3.9+11.1+15.0+1.9+0.3+2.9-1.1+10.3+15.0+.157+6.6+9.2+.070
Alex Caruso 23 24.4 9.2 0.7 2.0 2.7 2.2 2.0 0.6 0.8 2.7 3.1 7.0 .450 1.6 3.9 .411 1.3 1.7 .795

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 12 seasons more than Alex Caruso in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 20, from 1978 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 12 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships.

In those 12 extra years over Alex Caruso, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 4 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 4 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 3 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 2 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 2 Blocks Leader
Achievement 11 All-Star Game
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