Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. George Mikan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Mikan 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, 13 more than George Mikan, who played 7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while George Mikan had his rookie season in 1948-49. 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
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

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

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1969-701948-49
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+22+0.5+0.5-0.8+1.7+1.3+.102+3.0+2.4+.119
George Mikan 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
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:+4.9+2.0-1.9+3.6+1.8+.113+2.3+2.0+.069
George Mikan 10 - 30.3 - - - 2.1 - - - 4.4 10.3 22.7 .454 - - - 9.7 12.1 .802

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1970-711949-50
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Scoring LeaderAchievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+14+4.3+0.4-1.2+3.5+1.0+.170+2.6+2.4+.089
George Mikan 68 - 27.4 - - - 2.9 - - - 4.4 9.5 23.5 .407 - - - 8.3 10.7 .779
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
difference:+2+4.7+0.5-0.7+0.8+5.2+.132+6.3+7.0+.115
George Mikan 12 - 31.3 - - - 3.0 - - - 3.9 10.1 26.3 .383 - - - 11.2 14.2 .788

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1971-721950-51
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement Scoring LeaderAchievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf FinalsLakers Lost West Div Finals
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:+13+6.4+2.5+1.5-1.6+4.3+1.6+.146+2.3+1.5+.114
George Mikan 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
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:+4+4.7+7.6+3.8-0.4+3.7+7.2+.029+2.8+3.0+.096
George Mikan 7 - 24.0 - - 10.6 1.3 - - - 3.6 8.9 21.7 .408 - - - 6.3 7.9 .800

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1972-731951-52
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+12+2.6+6.4+2.6+2.0-1.8+4.4+1.2+.169+2.5+2.6+.067
George Mikan 64 40.2 23.8 - - 13.5 3.0 - - - 4.5 8.5 22.1 .385 - - - 6.8 8.7 .780
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:+7+3.5+0.8+0.3-0.5+2.2+2.9+.049+5.2+4.8+.247
George Mikan 13 42.5 23.6 - - 15.9 2.8 - - - 4.8 7.6 20.1 .379 - - - 8.4 10.6 .790

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1973-741952-53
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+11+5.9+6.4+0.1+1.9-1.2+4.6+3.8+.140+2.7+2.9+.078
George Mikan 70 37.9 20.6 - - 14.4 2.9 - - - 4.1 7.1 17.9 .399 - - - 6.3 8.1 .780
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:+4+8.8+12.4+0.4+3.0-2.1+7.5+7.3+.191+2.6+3.6+.004
George Mikan 12 38.6 19.8 - - 15.4 1.9 - - - 4.7 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 6.8 9.3 .732

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1974-751953-54
Team Milwaukee BucksMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+7+9.5+11.9+0.3+1.7-0.5+6.4+8.3+.133+0.9+1.0+.014
George Mikan 72 32.8 18.1 - - 14.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 6.1 16.1 .380 - - - 5.9 7.6 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
George Mikan 13 32.6 19.4 - - 13.2 1.9 - - - 4.3 6.7 14.6 .458 - - - 6.0 7.4 .813

Note: George Mikan didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar George Mikan
Season 1975-761955-56
Team Los Angeles LakersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayLakers Lost West Div 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%
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:+45+20.5+17.2+8.6+3.6-0.5+7.1+11.0+.134+3.0+4.5+.067
George Mikan 37 20.7 10.5 - - 8.3 1.4 - - - 4.1 4.0 10.1 .395 - - - 2.5 3.3 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
George Mikan 3 20.0 12.0 - - 9.3 1.7 - - - 4.7 4.3 11.7 .371 - - - 3.3 4.3 .769

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 13 seasons more than George Mikan in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 8 to 20, from 1977 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 13 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships.

In those 13 extra years over George Mikan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 Season MVP
Achievement 5 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 4 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 3 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 3 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 2 Blocks Leader
Achievement 12 All-Star Game
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