Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Rudy Gobert Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rudy Gobert 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, 8 more than Rudy Gobert, who played 12. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Rudy Gobert had his rookie season in 2013-14. 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
Rudy Gobert 12 9 2013-14 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

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

Rookie Season

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1969-702013-14
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
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:+37+33.5+26.5+11.1+3.9-2.2+10.6+20.5+.032+5.2+7.7+.161
Rudy Gobert 45 9.6 2.3 1.1 2.3 3.4 0.2 0.2 0.9 0.7 1.3 0.8 1.6 .486 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.4 .492
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
Rudy Gobert DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1970-712014-15
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
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:+13.8+23.3+6.5+2.0-1.1+9.9+17.3+.027+3.6+5.0+.067
Rudy Gobert 82 26.3 8.4 3.2 6.2 9.5 1.3 0.8 2.3 1.4 2.1 3.1 5.2 .604 0.0 0.0 - 2.1 3.3 .623
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
Rudy Gobert DNP------ --- ----------

Season 3

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1971-722015-16
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
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:+20+12.5+25.7+5.6+3.1-0.2+11.1+19.1+.015+3.6+4.4+.120
Rudy Gobert 61 31.7 9.1 3.4 7.5 11.0 1.5 0.7 2.2 1.9 2.7 3.2 5.8 .559 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 4.6 .569
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
Rudy Gobert DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1972-732016-17
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Blocks Leader
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost West Conf SemisJazz Lost West Conf Semis
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:+5+8.9+16.2+3.3+3.8-0.3+7.8+15.6+.107+0.5+0.2+.060
Rudy Gobert 81 33.9 14.0 3.9 8.9 12.8 1.2 0.6 2.6 1.8 3.0 5.1 7.7 .661 0.0 0.0 - 3.8 5.9 .653
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:+3+18.7+11.2+6.3+1.6-1.0+5.4+16.0+.207+0.5+0.2+.063
Rudy Gobert 9 27.3 11.6 2.4 7.4 9.9 1.2 1.0 1.3 1.0 3.3 4.4 7.0 .635 0.0 0.0 - 2.7 5.6 .480

Season 5

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1973-742017-18
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost NBA FinalsJazz Lost West 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:+25+11.4+13.5+0.6+3.2+3.8+3.4+0.6+1.2-0.2+6.8+13.8+.083+0.1+.020
Rudy Gobert 56 32.4 13.5 2.9 7.8 10.7 1.4 0.8 2.3 1.9 2.7 4.9 7.9 .622 0.0 0.0 - 3.6 5.3 .682
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+12.6+19.0+0.3+4.8+5.1+3.9+0.4+0.1-0.5+9.0+17.5+.098+1.0+0.4+.133
Rudy Gobert 11 34.8 13.2 3.9 6.8 10.7 1.0 0.9 2.3 1.9 3.1 5.0 7.6 .655 0.0 0.0 - 3.2 5.3 .603

Season 6

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1974-752018-19
Team Milwaukee BucksUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayJazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+16+10.5+14.1+0.8+2.0+1.1+2.1+0.2+1.0-0.3+6.6+15.6+.156+0.9+0.2+.127
Rudy Gobert 81 31.8 15.9 3.8 9.0 12.9 2.0 0.8 2.3 1.6 2.9 5.9 8.8 .669 0.0 0.0 - 4.1 6.4 .636
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Rudy Gobert 5 30.4 11.2 4.6 5.6 10.2 1.4 0.6 2.6 1.8 3.2 3.8 6.4 .594 0.0 0.0 - 3.6 4.6 .783

Season 7

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1975-762019-20
Team Los Angeles LakersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rebounds Leader-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayJazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+14+6.9+12.6+0.1+3.4+3.4+3.5+0.7+2.1-0.4+5.4+12.9+.164+1.8+1.9+.073
Rudy Gobert 68 34.3 15.1 3.4 10.1 13.5 1.5 0.8 2.0 1.9 3.2 5.7 8.2 .693 0.0 0.0 - 3.7 5.9 .630
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Rudy Gobert 7 38.6 16.9 3.4 8.0 11.4 1.1 0.6 1.4 1.3 3.7 6.9 10.6 .649 0.0 0.0 - 3.1 6.0 .524

Season 8

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1976-772020-21
Team Los Angeles LakersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf FinalsJazz Lost West Conf Semis
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:+11+6.0+11.9+0.2+0.1+0.2+2.6+0.6+0.5-0.9+5.3+10.5+.096+1.3+1.2+.078
Rudy Gobert 71 30.8 14.3 3.4 10.1 13.5 1.3 0.6 2.7 1.7 2.3 5.5 8.2 .675 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 5.3 .623
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:+8.3+19.9+0.7+4.7+5.4+3.3+1.2+1.4-0.4+7.9+14.6+.134+4.1+4.9+.089
Rudy Gobert 11 34.2 14.7 3.9 8.4 12.3 0.8 0.5 2.1 1.5 4.2 5.5 7.4 .741 0.0 0.1 .000 3.8 6.0 .636

Season 9

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1977-782021-22
Team Los Angeles LakersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdJazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+4+4.4+10.2+0.7+1.1+1.8+3.2+1.0+0.9-1.6-0.2+5.2+11.7+.163+0.2+1.1+.093
Rudy Gobert 66 32.1 15.6 3.7 11.0 14.7 1.1 0.7 2.1 1.8 2.7 5.5 7.7 .713 0.0 0.1 .000 4.6 6.7 .690
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:+3+11.9+15.0+1.2+0.7+0.5+3.2+0.5+3.0-3.4-1.5+9.2+18.8+.115+3.3+4.3+.126
Rudy Gobert 6 32.8 12.0 3.5 9.7 13.2 0.5 0.2 1.0 1.3 3.2 3.5 5.5 .636 0.0 0.0 - 5.0 7.3 .682

Season 10

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1978-792022-23
Team Los Angeles LakersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+10+8.8+10.4+0.7+1.9+1.2+4.2+0.2+2.6-1.8-0.1+4.6+9.0+.082+1.3+1.0+.092
Rudy Gobert 70 30.7 13.4 3.3 8.3 11.6 1.2 0.8 1.4 1.7 3.0 5.1 7.8 .659 0.0 0.0 - 3.1 4.9 .644
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:+3+10.5+13.5+1.3+1.8+0.4+2.8+0.6+3.1-2.0-1.5+5.2+9.8+.051+3.1+2.4+.209
Rudy Gobert 5 35.4 15.0 3.6 8.6 12.2 2.0 0.4 1.0 1.6 4.8 5.8 9.2 .630 0.0 0.0 - 3.4 5.4 .630

Season 11

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1979-802023-24
Team Los Angeles LakersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First TeamAchievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionTimberwolves Lost West Conf Finals
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:+6+4.2+10.8+1.5+0.7+2.1+3.2+0.3+1.3-2.0-0.5+4.9+8.8+.057+1.1+0.7+.127
Rudy Gobert 76 34.1 14.0 3.8 9.2 12.9 1.3 0.7 2.1 1.6 3.1 5.3 8.1 .661 0.0 0.0 - 3.3 5.1 .638
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:+7.1+19.8+0.7+1.6+2.3+1.5+0.2+2.9-2.2-0.3+8.9+16.2+.043+2.0+1.7+.119
Rudy Gobert 15 34.1 12.1 2.7 7.1 9.8 1.6 0.9 1.0 1.5 3.7 4.3 6.9 .615 0.0 0.0 - 3.5 5.3 .671

Season 12

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Rudy Gobert
Season 1980-812024-25
Team Los Angeles LakersMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf 1st RdTimberwolves Lost West 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:+8+4.0+14.2+1.2+0.6+0.6+1.6+0.1+1.5-1.9-0.6+5.8+11.1+.095+2.7+3.1+.092
Rudy Gobert 72 33.2 12.0 3.7 7.2 10.9 1.8 0.8 1.4 1.2 2.5 4.7 7.1 .669 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 3.8 .674
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:+12+17.3+18.8+1.2+6.8+8.1+3.3+0.5+1.5-2.8-2.2+6.9+16.4+.120+5.0+6.0+.194
Rudy Gobert 15 27.4 7.9 3.1 5.5 8.6 0.7 0.5 1.2 0.9 2.5 3.1 5.3 .582 0.0 0.0 - 1.7 3.3 .520

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 8 seasons more than Rudy Gobert 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 Rudy Gobert, 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