Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Dave DeBusschere Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dave DeBusschere 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

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, 8 more than Dave DeBusschere, who played 12. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Dave DeBusschere had his rookie season in 1962-63. 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
Dave DeBusschere 12 8 1962-63 to 1973-74

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1969-701962-63
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div FinalsPistons Lost West Div Semis
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:+2+13.7+16.1+5.8+1.5-0.4+6.3+10.3+.088+3.3+5.5+.065
Dave DeBusschere 80 29.4 12.7 - - 8.7 2.6 - - - 3.1 5.1 11.8 .430 - - - 2.6 3.6 .718
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
difference:+6+3.7+15.2+1.0+2.6-1.0+7.6+9.7+.143+0.1+0.9+.051
Dave DeBusschere 4 39.8 20.0 - - 15.8 1.5 - - - 3.5 6.3 14.8 .424 - - - 7.5 11.0 .682

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1970-711963-64
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
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:+67+19.8+23.1+9.0+1.8-1.1+9.5+13.6+.186+4.0+5.4+.109
Dave DeBusschere 15 20.3 8.6 - - 7.0 1.5 - - - 2.1 3.5 8.9 .391 - - - 1.7 2.9 .581
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
Dave DeBusschere DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1971-721964-65
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
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:+2+9.1+18.1+5.5+1.4-0.2+7.9+9.8+.149+2.3+3.5+.011
Dave DeBusschere 79 35.1 16.7 - - 11.1 3.2 - - - 3.1 6.4 15.1 .425 - - - 3.9 5.5 .700
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
Dave DeBusschere DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1972-731965-66
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
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:+3+8.7+13.8+4.5+2.4-0.5+6.3+7.0+.146+1.1+1.3+.054
Dave DeBusschere 79 34.1 16.4 - - 11.6 2.6 - - - 3.2 6.6 16.3 .408 - - - 3.2 4.8 .659
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
Dave DeBusschere DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1973-741966-67
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
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:+3+6.7+8.8+2.7+2.0-0.9+4.9+5.3+.124+1.0+1.4+.003
Dave DeBusschere 78 37.1 18.2 - - 11.8 2.8 - - - 3.8 6.8 16.4 .415 - - - 4.6 6.6 .705
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
Dave DeBusschere DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1974-751967-68
Team Milwaukee BucksDetroit Pistons
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayPistons Lost East Div Semis
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:+15+3.2+12.1+0.5+1.8-0.6+5.3+8.2+.071+1.4+1.2+.099
Dave DeBusschere 80 39.1 17.9 - - 13.5 2.3 - - - 3.8 7.2 16.2 .442 - - - 3.6 5.4 .664
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Dave DeBusschere 6 43.8 19.3 - - 16.2 2.2 - - - 3.8 7.5 17.7 .425 - - - 4.3 7.5 .578

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1975-761968-69
Team Los Angeles LakersDetroit Pistons, New York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost East Div Finals
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:+6+2.5+11.4+5.2+2.5-0.2+4.4+6.1+.085+2.5+3.5+.005
Dave DeBusschere 76 38.7 16.3 - - 11.7 2.5 - - - 3.8 6.7 15.0 .444 - - - 3.0 4.3 .698
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Dave DeBusschere 10 41.9 16.3 - - 14.8 3.3 - - - 4.3 6.1 17.4 .351 - - - 4.1 5.0 .820

Season 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1976-771969-70
Team Los Angeles LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement 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:+3+3.5+11.6+3.3+1.4-0.1+4.6+5.0+.128+2.4+3.3+.013
Dave DeBusschere 79 33.3 14.6 - - 10.0 2.5 - - - 3.1 6.2 13.7 .451 - - - 2.2 3.2 .688
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:+8+5.6+18.5+6.1+1.7-0.5+6.6+5.7+.186+5.5+7.3+.063
Dave DeBusschere 19 36.9 16.1 - - 11.6 2.4 - - - 3.3 6.8 16.3 .421 - - - 2.4 3.6 .662

Season 9
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1977-781970-71
Team Los Angeles LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdKnicks Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
9th 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 62 36.5 25.8 3.0 9.9 12.9 4.3 1.7 3.0 3.4 2.9 10.7 19.4 .550 - - - 4.4 5.6 .783
difference:+19+0.8+10.2+1.8+1.6+4.2+4.1+.129+1.7+1.7+.087
Dave DeBusschere 81 35.7 15.6 - - 11.1 2.7 - - - 2.9 6.5 15.3 .421 - - - 2.7 3.9 .696
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 27.0 4.7 9.0 13.7 3.7 0.7 4.0 4.7 4.7 12.7 24.3 .521 - - - 1.7 3.0 .556
difference:+9+4.0+10.6+0.7+1.9-1.4+5.7+7.5+.105+0.7+0.7+.103
Dave DeBusschere 12 40.7 16.4 - - 13.0 1.8 - - - 3.3 7.0 16.8 .416 - - - 2.4 3.7 .659

Season 10
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1978-791971-72
Team Los Angeles LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
10th 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 80 39.5 23.8 2.6 10.2 12.8 5.4 1.0 4.0 3.5 2.9 9.7 16.8 .577 - - - 4.4 5.9 .736
difference:+1.1+8.4+1.5+1.8-0.2+3.2+1.6+.150+2.0+2.6+.008
Dave DeBusschere 80 38.4 15.4 - - 11.3 3.6 - - - 2.7 6.5 15.2 .427 - - - 2.4 3.3 .728
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 8 45.9 28.5 2.3 10.4 12.6 4.8 1.0 4.1 3.6 3.3 11.0 19.0 .579 - - - 6.5 7.8 .839
difference:+8+7.4+11.9+0.5+2.5-0.1+4.2+3.9+.129+3.5+3.8+.089
Dave DeBusschere 16 38.5 16.6 - - 12.1 2.3 - - - 3.2 6.8 15.1 .450 - - - 3.0 4.0 .750

Season 11
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1979-801972-73
Team Los Angeles LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
11th 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 38.3 24.8 2.3 8.5 10.8 4.5 1.0 3.4 3.6 2.6 10.2 16.9 .604 0.0 0.0 - 4.4 5.8 .765
difference:+5+1.6+8.5+0.6+1.1-0.2+3.3+1.0+.169+1.9+2.4+.019
Dave DeBusschere 77 36.7 16.3 - - 10.2 3.4 - - - 2.8 6.9 15.9 .435 - - - 2.5 3.4 .746
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 15 41.2 31.9 3.4 8.7 12.1 3.1 1.1 3.9 3.7 3.4 13.2 23.1 .572 0.0 0.0 - 5.5 7.0 .790
difference:+2+4.0+16.3+1.6+0.3+6.3+7.5+.130+3.7+4.6+.015
Dave DeBusschere 17 37.2 15.6 - - 10.5 3.4 - - - 3.4 6.9 15.6 .442 - - - 1.8 2.4 .775

Season 12
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Dave DeBusschere
Season 1980-811973-74
Team Los Angeles LakersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdKnicks Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
12th 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 80 37.2 26.2 2.5 7.8 10.3 3.4 0.7 2.9 3.1 3.1 10.5 18.2 .574 0.0 0.0 - 5.3 6.9 .766
difference:+9+0.8+8.1+0.6+1.0+0.4+0.2+0.2+2.4+2.6+1.1+.113+3.0+3.8+.010
Dave DeBusschere 71 38.0 18.1 1.9 8.8 10.7 3.6 0.9 0.5 - 3.1 7.9 17.1 .461 - - - 2.3 3.1 .756
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3 44.7 26.7 4.3 12.3 16.7 4.0 1.0 2.7 3.7 4.7 10.0 21.7 .462 0.0 0.0 - 6.7 9.3 .714
difference:+9+11.0+14.7+2.2+6.1+8.4+0.8+0.4+2.4-1.7+4.7+7.9+.082+5.2+6.9+.093
Dave DeBusschere 12 33.7 12.0 2.1 6.2 8.3 3.2 0.6 0.3 - 3.0 5.3 13.8 .380 - - - 1.5 2.4 .621

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 8 seasons more than Dave DeBusschere in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 20, from 1982 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 8 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships.

In those 8 extra years over Dave DeBusschere, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 8 All-Star Game
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