Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Kyle Kuzma Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma, who played 8. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Kyle Kuzma 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
Kyle Kuzma 8 3 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 Kyle Kuzma
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 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:+5+11.9+12.7+8.2+2.3-1.4+5.3+8.6+.068+4.0+6.4+.054
Kyle Kuzma 77 31.2 16.1 1.1 5.1 6.3 1.8 0.6 0.4 1.8 2.1 6.1 13.5 .450 2.1 5.6 .366 1.9 2.7 .707
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
Kyle Kuzma DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
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:+12+7.0+13.0+10.5+0.8-0.8+5.9+7.0+.121+3.0+4.7+.062
Kyle Kuzma 70 33.1 18.7 0.9 4.6 5.5 2.5 0.6 0.4 1.9 2.4 7.1 15.5 .456 1.8 6.0 .303 2.7 3.6 .752
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
Kyle Kuzma DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
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:+20+19.2+22.0+12.1+3.3-0.8+9.5+13.9+.138+4.3+6.5+.046
Kyle Kuzma 61 25.0 12.8 0.9 3.6 4.5 1.3 0.5 0.4 1.5 2.1 4.8 11.0 .436 1.4 4.5 .316 1.9 2.5 .735
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+23.4+18.7+15.1+4.3-0.8+8.9+20.4+.007+2.1+3.1+.080
Kyle Kuzma 21 23.0 10.0 0.9 2.2 3.1 0.8 0.3 0.3 1.0 2.4 3.7 8.5 .430 1.2 4.0 .313 1.4 1.8 .784

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
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:+8+14.1+17.3+10.0+3.1-0.9+8.0+12.2+.111+3.3+4.7+.022
Kyle Kuzma 68 28.7 12.9 1.6 4.5 6.1 1.9 0.5 0.6 1.7 1.8 4.9 11.1 .443 2.0 5.6 .361 1.0 1.4 .691
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:+24.5+16.5+12.4+1.6-3.0+7.5+15.0+.136+2.2+4.3+.124
Kyle Kuzma 6 21.5 6.3 0.7 3.2 3.8 1.2 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.3 2.3 8.0 .292 0.7 3.8 .174 1.0 1.5 .667

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
Season 1973-742021-22
Team Milwaukee BucksWashington Wizards
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement 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:+15+10.4+9.9+2.4+3.6+6.0+1.3+0.8+2.6-1.0+5.3+7.5+.087+1.2+1.9+.010
Kyle Kuzma 66 33.4 17.1 1.1 7.4 8.5 3.5 0.6 0.9 2.6 1.9 6.4 14.2 .452 1.9 5.7 .341 2.4 3.3 .712
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
Kyle Kuzma DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
Season 1974-752022-23
Team Milwaukee BucksWashington Wizards
Honors & Awards Achievement 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:+1+7.3+8.8+2.1+4.6+6.8+0.4+0.4+2.8-0.9+4.5+6.6+.065+2.3+2.9+.033
Kyle Kuzma 64 35.0 21.2 0.9 6.4 7.2 3.7 0.6 0.5 3.0 2.3 8.0 17.8 .448 2.5 7.5 .333 2.7 3.7 .730
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nor Kyle Kuzma played in the postseason in their season 6

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
Season 1975-762023-24
Team Los Angeles LakersWashington Wizards
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 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:+12+8.6+5.5+2.4+7.8+10.3+0.8+1.0+3.4-1.4+2.4+2.3+.066+2.8+4.4+.072
Kyle Kuzma 70 32.6 22.2 0.9 5.7 6.6 4.2 0.5 0.7 2.7 2.2 8.7 18.8 .463 2.2 6.4 .336 2.7 3.4 .775
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nor Kyle Kuzma played in the postseason in their season 7

Season 8
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kyle Kuzma
Season 1976-772024-25
Team Los Angeles LakersWashington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf FinalsBucks 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:+17+7.0+11.4+2.4+5.1+7.6+1.6+0.6+2.9-1.4+5.1+5.7+.143+2.6+3.4+.067
Kyle Kuzma 65 29.8 14.8 0.8 4.9 5.7 2.3 0.6 0.3 2.2 1.8 5.7 13.0 .436 1.5 4.8 .307 2.0 3.1 .634
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:+6+22.1+28.8+4.0+11.5+15.5+3.3+1.7+3.3-1.4+11.0+15.0+.264+7.3+9.7+.225
Kyle Kuzma 5 20.4 5.8 0.6 1.6 2.2 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.6 2.4 2.4 7.0 .343 0.4 2.0 .200 0.6 1.2 .500

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 12 seasons more than Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma, 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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