Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Joel Embiid Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joel Embiid 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, 11 more than Joel Embiid, who played 9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Joel Embiid had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Joel Embiid 9 7 2016-17 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1969-702016-17
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
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 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:+51+17.7+8.6+6.7+2.0-0.1+4.9+8.3+.052+0.3+1.2+.130
Joel Embiid 31 25.4 20.2 2.0 5.9 7.8 2.1 0.9 2.5 3.8 3.6 6.5 13.8 .466 1.2 3.2 .367 6.2 7.9 .783
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
Joel Embiid DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1970-712017-18
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second TeamAchievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA Champion76ers Lost East Conf Semis
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:+19+9.8+8.8+5.0+0.1-0.1+4.9+5.7+.094+0.9+.079
Joel Embiid 63 30.3 22.9 2.3 8.7 11.0 3.2 0.6 1.8 3.7 3.3 8.1 16.8 .483 1.0 3.4 .308 5.7 7.4 .769
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:+6+6.4+5.2+4.4+0.5-0.7+3.4+3.8+.080+0.5+0.4+.032
Joel Embiid 8 34.8 21.4 2.9 9.8 12.6 3.0 0.9 1.8 3.6 3.9 7.5 17.3 .435 1.0 3.6 .276 5.4 7.6 .705

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1971-722018-19
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
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+10.5+7.3+3.0+0.9-0.4+5.2+6.2+.090+2.0+1.1+.115
Joel Embiid 64 33.7 27.5 2.5 11.1 13.6 3.7 0.7 1.9 3.5 3.3 9.1 18.7 .484 1.2 4.1 .300 8.2 10.1 .804
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:+16.0+8.5+7.7+1.7-0.1+6.4+14.4+.009+3.2+3.3+.118
Joel Embiid 11 30.4 20.2 1.9 8.5 10.5 3.4 0.7 2.3 3.6 3.1 6.2 14.5 .428 1.1 3.5 .308 6.7 8.2 .822

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1972-732019-20
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf Semis76ers Lost East 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:+25+13.3+7.2+4.5+2.0-0.7+5.4+7.6+.077+2.6+2.4+.094
Joel Embiid 51 29.5 23.0 2.8 8.9 11.6 3.0 0.9 1.3 3.1 3.4 7.5 15.7 .477 1.1 3.4 .331 6.9 8.5 .807
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:+2+9.7+7.2+3.9+1.5-0.2+1.3+4.5+.031+8.8+9.0+.271
Joel Embiid 4 36.3 30.0 2.8 9.5 12.3 1.3 1.5 1.3 3.8 4.5 8.5 18.5 .459 1.0 4.0 .250 12.0 14.8 .814

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1973-742020-21
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
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 All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA Finals76ers Lost East Conf Semis
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:+30+12.7+1.5+1.3+2.6+3.9+2.0+0.4+2.1-0.5+2.7+4.1+.026+5.6+5.5+.157
Joel Embiid 51 31.1 28.5 2.2 8.4 10.6 2.8 1.0 1.4 3.1 2.4 9.0 17.6 .513 1.1 3.0 .377 9.2 10.7 .859
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:+5+14.9+4.1+2.7+2.5+5.3+1.5+0.3+0.9-0.4+4.8+7.2+.044+4.1+4.2+.099
Joel Embiid 11 32.5 28.1 1.5 9.1 10.5 3.4 1.0 1.5 3.8 3.0 9.2 17.9 .513 1.5 3.7 .390 8.3 9.9 .835

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1974-752021-22
Team Milwaukee BucksPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers Lost East Conf 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:+3+8.5+0.6+0.9+1.4+2.3+0.1+0.1+1.8-0.5+2.7+4.8+.014+4.6+5.2+.051
Joel Embiid 68 33.8 30.6 2.1 9.6 11.7 4.2 1.1 1.5 3.1 2.7 9.8 19.6 .499 1.4 3.7 .371 9.6 11.8 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Joel Embiid 10 38.5 23.6 2.1 8.6 10.7 2.1 0.4 0.8 3.2 3.4 7.8 16.1 .484 0.7 3.3 .212 7.3 8.9 .820

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1975-762022-23
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVPAchievement Season MVP
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not Play76ers Lost East Conf 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:+16+6.6+5.4+1.6+5.1+6.7+0.8+0.5+2.4-0.5+0.1+1.0+.019+4.5+3.9+.154
Joel Embiid 66 34.6 33.1 1.7 8.4 10.2 4.2 1.0 1.7 3.4 3.1 11.0 20.1 .548 1.0 3.0 .330 10.0 11.7 .857
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Joel Embiid 9 37.3 23.7 1.8 8.0 9.8 2.7 0.7 2.8 3.9 3.0 7.3 17.0 .431 0.6 3.1 .179 8.4 9.3 .905

Season 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1976-772023-24
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf Finals76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd
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:+43+3.2+8.5+0.8+1.4+2.3+1.7+1.5-0.3+0.7+3.1+.050+5.6+5.1+.182
Joel Embiid 39 33.6 34.7 2.4 8.6 11.0 5.6 1.2 1.7 3.8 2.9 11.5 21.8 .529 1.4 3.6 .388 10.2 11.6 .883
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:+5+1.2+1.6+1.4+5.4+6.9+1.6+0.5+2.0-0.5+3.6+0.2+.163+3.3+2.1+.134
Joel Embiid 6 41.3 33.0 3.2 7.7 10.8 5.7 1.2 1.5 4.2 3.3 9.8 22.2 .444 2.2 6.5 .333 11.2 13.0 .859

Season 9
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Season 1977-782024-25
Team Los Angeles LakersPhiladelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdDid Not Play
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:+43+6.3+2.0+1.1+3.6+4.7+0.2+1.0+2.1-0.1-0.7+3.3+2.8+.106+3.4+3.3+.099
Joel Embiid 19 30.2 23.8 1.9 6.3 8.2 4.5 0.7 0.9 3.3 2.2 7.4 16.6 .444 1.2 4.1 .299 7.8 8.9 .882
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
Joel Embiid DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 11 seasons more than Joel Embiid in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 10 to 20, from 1979 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 11 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships.

In those 11 extra years over Joel Embiid, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements:

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