Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Victor Wembanyama Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Victor Wembanyama 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.
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, 17 more than Victor Wembanyama, who played 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the first of his seasons in 1969-70, while Victor Wembanyama had his rookie season in 2023-24. 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | 3 | 0 | 2023-24 to 2025-26 |
Rookie Season |
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| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Victor Wembanyama | |
| Season | 1969-70 | 2023-24 |
| Team | Milwaukee Bucks | San Antonio Spurs |
| Honors & Awards | All-NBA Second Team | - |
| - | All-Defensive First Team | |
All-Defensive Second Team | - | |
Rookie of the Year | Rookie of the Year | |
All-Rookie First Team | All-Rookie First Team | |
| - | Blocks Leader | |
All-Star Game | - | |
| Playoffs | Bucks Lost East Div Finals | Did Not Play |
Rookie Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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: | +11 | +13.4 | +7.4 | +3.9 | +0.2 | -1.3 | +3.6 | +5.4 | +.053 | +1.8 | +3.9 | +.143 | ||||||||
| Victor Wembanyama | 71 | 29.7 | 21.4 | 2.3 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 7.8 | 16.7 | .465 | 1.8 | 5.5 | .325 | 4.1 | 5.2 | .796 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Season 2 |
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| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Victor Wembanyama | |
| Season | 1970-71 | 2024-25 |
| Team | Milwaukee Bucks | San Antonio Spurs |
| Honors & Awards | Finals MVP | - |
Season MVP | - | |
All-NBA First Team | - | |
All-Defensive Second Team | - | |
Scoring Leader | - | |
| - | Blocks Leader | |
All-Star Game | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | NBA Champion | Did Not Play |
2nd Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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: | +36 | +6.9 | +7.4 | +5.0 | +0.4 | -0.9 | +4.1 | +3.9 | +.101 | +2.3 | +4.2 | +.146 | ||||||||
| Victor Wembanyama | 46 | 33.2 | 24.3 | 1.8 | 9.2 | 11.0 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 8.9 | 18.6 | .476 | 3.1 | 8.8 | .352 | 3.4 | 4.1 | .836 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Season 3 |
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| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Victor Wembanyama | |
| Season | 1971-72 | 2025-26 |
| Team | Milwaukee Bucks | San Antonio Spurs |
| Honors & Awards | Season MVP | - |
All-NBA First Team | - | |
Scoring Leader | - | |
All-Star Game | - | |
| Playoffs | Bucks Lost West Conf Finals | Did Not Play |
3rd Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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: | +77 | +11.9 | +3.8 | +2.8 | +1.8 | -0.6 | +3.3 | +6.6 | +.029 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +.111 | ||||||||
| Victor Wembanyama | 4 | 32.3 | 31.0 | 1.8 | 12.0 | 13.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 18.3 | .603 | 1.0 | 2.8 | .364 | 8.0 | 10.0 | .800 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Additional Years |
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* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 17 seasons more than Victor Wembanyama in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 4 to 20, from 1973 to 1989—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 15 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships. In those 17 extra years over Victor Wembanyama, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 1 Finals MVP 4 Season MVP 8 All-NBA First Team 4 All-NBA Second Team 5 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Rebounds Leader 4 Blocks Leader 16 All-Star Game |
All-NBA Second Team