Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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, 13 more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played 7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his rookie season in 2018-19. 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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7 4 2018-19 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

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

Rookie Season
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1969-702018-19
Team Milwaukee BucksLos Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bucks Lost East Div FinalsClippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+16.6+18.0+11.7+0.8-1.4+7.2+13.4+.042+4.0+6.7+.147
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 82 26.5 10.8 0.7 2.1 2.8 3.3 1.2 0.5 1.7 2.1 4.2 8.7 .476 0.6 1.7 .367 1.9 2.4 .800
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+14.7+21.5+14.1+0.9-0.3+9.2+14.5+.100+4.6+6.8+.117
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6 28.8 13.7 0.7 2.0 2.7 3.2 1.0 0.8 0.8 2.8 4.7 10.0 .467 1.5 3.0 .500 2.8 3.3 .850

Season 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1970-712019-20
Team Milwaukee BucksOklahoma City Thunder
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 ChampionThunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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+5.4+12.7+10.1-1.5+6.2+8.0+.106+1.6+3.2+.117
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 70 34.7 19.0 0.7 5.2 5.9 3.3 1.1 0.7 1.9 1.7 6.8 14.5 .471 1.2 3.6 .347 4.1 5.1 .807
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:+7+1.3+10.3+11.7+1.6-0.8+5.3+8.2+.082+1.8+3.9+.284
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7 39.9 16.3 0.4 4.9 5.3 4.1 1.0 0.4 2.1 2.4 5.6 12.9 .433 2.0 5.0 .400 3.1 3.3 .957

Season 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1971-722020-21
Team Milwaukee BucksOklahoma City Thunder
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:+46+10.5+11.1+11.9+1.3-0.9+6.1+8.8+.066+0.9+2.5+.119
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 35 33.7 23.7 0.5 4.2 4.7 5.9 0.8 0.7 3.0 2.0 8.2 16.1 .508 2.0 4.9 .418 5.3 6.5 .808
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1972-732021-22
Team Milwaukee BucksOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement 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:+20+8.1+5.7+11.1+0.9-0.2+4.4+4.5+.101+1.6+1.1+.097
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 56 34.7 24.5 0.7 4.3 5.0 5.9 1.3 0.8 2.8 2.5 8.5 18.8 .453 1.6 5.3 .300 5.9 7.2 .810
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1973-742022-23
Team Milwaukee BucksOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement 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:+13+8.3+4.4+2.6+7.0+9.7+0.7+0.2+2.5-0.1+1.3+1.4+.029+6.2+5.7+.203
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 68 35.5 31.4 0.9 4.0 4.8 5.5 1.6 1.0 2.8 2.8 10.4 20.3 .510 0.9 2.5 .345 9.8 10.9 .905
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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1974-752023-24
Team Milwaukee BucksOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement Steals Leader
Achievement Blocks Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost West 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:+10+8.3+0.1+2.1+6.3+8.5+2.1+1.0+2.4-0.7+1.9+4.6+.022+2.6+2.1+.111
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 75 34.0 30.1 0.9 4.7 5.5 6.2 2.0 0.9 2.2 2.5 10.6 19.8 .535 1.3 3.6 .353 7.6 8.7 .874
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 10 39.9 30.2 0.8 6.4 7.2 6.4 1.3 1.7 2.2 3.1 11.1 22.4 .496 1.6 3.7 .432 6.4 8.1 .790

Season 7
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 1975-762024-25
Team Los Angeles LakersOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
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 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
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+7.0+5.0+2.4+9.4+11.9+1.4+0.2+3.1-1.4+0.2+0.7+.010+2.4+1.0+.195
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 76 34.2 32.7 0.9 4.1 5.0 6.4 1.7 1.0 2.4 2.2 11.3 21.8 .519 2.1 5.7 .375 7.9 8.8 .898
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar DNP------ --- ----------
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 23 37.0 29.9 1.0 4.3 5.3 6.5 1.7 0.9 2.6 2.8 10.1 21.9 .462 1.4 4.9 .283 8.3 9.4 .876

Additional Years

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 13 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 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 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 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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