Kawhi Leonard vs. Joe Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Smith and Kawhi Leonard, 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

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.

Kawhi Leonard played 12 years in the NBA, 4 less than Joe Smith, who played 16. Kawhi Leonard had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Joe Smith had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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 achivements, 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
Kawhi Leonard	12	11	2011-12 to 2023-24
Joe Smith	16	10	1995-96 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2011-12	1995-96
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	64	24.0	7.9	1.6	3.5	5.1	1.1	1.3	0.4	0.7	1.4	3.1	6.3	.493	0.6	1.7	.376	1.1	1.4	.773
Joe Smith	82	34.4	15.3	3.7	5.1	8.7	1.0	1.0	1.6	1.7	2.7	5.7	12.5	.458	0.1	0.3	.357	3.7	4.8	.773

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	14	27.1	8.6	1.3	4.6	5.9	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.9	1.6	3.2	6.4	.500	1.3	2.9	.450	0.9	1.1	.813
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2012-13	1996-97
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Spurs Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	58	31.2	11.9	1.1	4.9	6.0	1.6	1.7	0.6	1.1	1.7	4.5	9.1	.494	1.1	3.0	.374	1.8	2.2	.825
Joe Smith	80	38.6	18.7	3.3	5.2	8.5	1.6	0.9	1.1	2.4	3.1	7.3	16.2	.454	0.2	0.6	.261	3.8	4.7	.814

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	21	36.9	13.5	2.4	6.7	9.0	1.0	1.8	0.5	1.1	1.9	5.5	10.0	.545	1.1	2.8	.390	1.5	2.3	.633
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2013-14	1997-98
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	66	29.1	12.8	1.2	5.1	6.2	2.0	1.7	0.8	1.2	1.9	5.1	9.8	.522	1.0	2.8	.379	1.5	1.9	.802
Joe Smith	79	29.7	14.6	2.5	3.4	6.0	1.2	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.3	5.9	13.5	.434	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	3.7	.775

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	23	32.0	14.3	1.3	5.4	6.7	1.7	1.7	0.6	1.3	2.9	5.3	10.4	.510	1.3	3.2	.419	2.3	3.1	.736
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2014-15	1998-99
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	64	31.8	16.5	1.3	5.9	7.2	2.5	2.3	0.8	1.5	2.0	6.2	12.8	.479	1.0	3.0	.349	3.2	3.9	.802
Joe Smith	43	33.0	13.7	3.6	4.7	8.2	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.4	5.2	12.1	.427	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.4	.755

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	7	35.7	20.3	1.9	5.6	7.4	2.6	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.6	7.4	15.6	.477	1.6	3.7	.423	3.9	5.0	.771
Joe Smith	4	30.0	7.5	2.5	4.0	6.5	1.3	0.5	2.0	1.3	3.8	2.8	9.3	.297	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.727


Season 5
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2015-16	1999-00
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	72	33.1	21.2	1.3	5.5	6.8	2.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	1.8	7.7	15.1	.506	1.8	4.0	.443	4.1	4.6	.874
Joe Smith	78	25.3	9.9	2.4	3.8	6.2	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	3.9	3.7	8.0	.464	0.0	0.0	1.000	2.5	3.3	.756

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	10	33.9	22.5	1.4	4.9	6.3	2.8	2.6	1.4	1.6	2.1	8.3	16.6	.500	1.7	3.9	.436	4.2	5.1	.824
Joe Smith	4	19.8	4.5	1.8	1.3	3.0	0.3	0.8	0.3	1.0	3.8	2.0	4.3	.471	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	0.5	1.000


Season 6
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2016-17	2000-01
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	74	33.4	25.5	1.1	4.7	5.8	3.5	1.8	0.7	2.1	1.6	8.6	17.7	.485	2.0	5.2	.380	6.3	7.2	.880
Joe Smith	69	28.1	12.3	2.3	4.8	7.1	1.1	0.7	0.7	1.3	3.7	4.5	11.1	.403	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	4.2	.805

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	12	35.8	27.7	1.6	6.2	7.8	4.6	1.7	0.5	2.2	1.8	8.8	16.8	.525	2.1	4.6	.455	7.9	8.5	.931
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2017-18	2001-02
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	9	23.3	16.2	0.7	4.0	4.7	2.3	2.0	1.0	1.8	1.0	5.8	12.3	.468	1.2	3.9	.314	3.4	4.2	.816
Joe Smith	72	26.7	10.7	2.1	4.2	6.3	1.1	0.5	0.8	1.2	3.5	4.1	8.1	.511	0.0	0.0	.667	2.4	2.9	.830

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	3	14.3	4.3	1.3	2.3	3.7	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	2.7	1.0	2.3	.429	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 8
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2018-19	2002-03
Team	Toronto Raptors	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	60	34.0	26.6	1.3	6.0	7.3	3.3	1.8	0.4	2.0	1.5	9.3	18.8	.496	1.9	5.0	.371	6.1	7.1	.854
Joe Smith	54	20.7	7.5	2.1	2.9	5.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	0.8	3.2	2.8	6.1	.460	0.0	0.0	.000	1.9	2.4	.779

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	24	39.1	30.5	2.3	6.8	9.1	3.9	1.7	0.7	3.1	2.3	10.1	20.7	.490	2.3	6.0	.379	8.0	9.0	.884
Joe Smith	5	8.0	2.8	0.0	1.2	1.2	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	2.8	0.8	1.2	.667	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.2	1.000


Season 9
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2019-20	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	57	32.4	27.1	0.9	6.1	7.1	4.9	1.8	0.6	2.6	2.0	9.3	19.9	.470	2.2	5.7	.378	6.2	7.1	.886
Joe Smith	76	29.7	10.9	3.0	5.4	8.5	1.0	0.6	1.2	1.1	2.8	4.1	9.3	.439	0.0	0.1	.200	2.7	3.2	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	13	39.3	28.2	1.8	7.5	9.3	5.5	2.3	0.8	2.5	2.2	10.1	20.6	.489	1.8	5.6	.329	6.2	7.2	.862
Joe Smith	5	35.4	13.2	4.6	5.4	10.0	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.2	3.0	5.4	11.0	.491	0.0	0.2	.000	2.4	2.6	.923


Season 10
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2020-21	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	52	34.1	24.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	5.2	1.6	0.4	2.0	1.6	8.9	17.5	.512	1.9	4.9	.398	5.0	5.7	.885
Joe Smith	74	30.6	11.0	2.4	4.9	7.3	0.9	0.6	0.5	1.1	3.0	4.3	8.4	.514	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.1	.768

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	11	39.3	30.4	2.0	5.7	7.7	4.4	2.1	0.8	2.2	2.6	11.1	19.4	.573	2.2	5.5	.393	6.0	6.8	.880
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Kawhi Leonard didn't play in 2021-22.


Season 11
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2022-23	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	52	33.6	23.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	3.9	1.4	0.5	1.7	1.6	8.6	16.8	.512	2.0	4.8	.416	4.7	5.4	.871
Joe Smith	44	20.2	8.6	1.9	3.3	5.2	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.9	2.7	3.3	6.9	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.774

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	2	40.0	34.5	1.5	5.0	6.5	6.0	2.0	0.5	3.0	2.5	12.0	22.0	.545	3.0	5.0	.600	7.5	8.5	.882
Joe Smith	5	21.2	7.6	1.2	4.2	5.4	0.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	3.2	3.2	6.6	.485	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	1.8	.667


Season 12
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	2023-24	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	68	34.3	23.7	1.2	4.9	6.1	3.6	1.6	0.9	1.8	1.4	9.0	17.1	.525	2.1	4.9	.417	3.7	4.2	.885
Joe Smith	65	23.1	8.5	1.8	4.3	6.2	0.8	0.6	0.4	1.2	2.3	3.3	7.3	.449	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.3	.845

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	2	29.5	12.0	1.5	6.5	8.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	2.0	1.5	5.5	12.0	.458	0.0	2.5	.000	1.0	1.5	.667
Joe Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	-	2007-08
Team	-	Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	77	22.4	10.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	0.9	0.4	0.6	0.9	2.4	4.1	8.5	.478	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.6	.755

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	13	20.2	6.6	1.5	3.1	4.6	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5	3.2	2.8	5.7	.486	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.7	.636


Season 14
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	-	2008-09
Team	-	Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	57	19.3	6.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	2.1	2.7	5.8	.468	0.1	0.1	.429	1.0	1.4	.720

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	13	16.8	5.5	0.8	2.9	3.7	0.2	0.5	0.5	0.5	1.9	1.8	3.8	.460	0.2	0.4	.600	1.8	2.2	.793


Season 15
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	-	2009-10
Team	-	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	64	9.3	3.0	1.0	1.4	2.5	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.3	1.5	1.2	3.0	.399	0.0	0.1	.143	0.6	0.8	.813

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	5	4.8	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.6	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 16
	Kawhi Leonard	Joe Smith
Season	-	2010-11
Team	-	New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	16	4.3	0.5	0.2	1.1	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.8	0.2	1.0	.188	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.1	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Smith	5	2.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.4	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Kawhi Leonard vs. Joe Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Smith and Kawhi Leonard, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16