Kawhi Leonard vs. Trae Young Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Trae Young 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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 14 years in the NBA, 6 more than Trae Young, who played 8. Kawhi Leonard had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Trae Young 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
Kawhi Leonard	14	12	2011-12 to 2025-26
Trae Young	8	3	2018-19 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2011-12	2018-19
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+17	+6.9	+11.2	+0.8	+0.6	+1.4	+7.0	+0.4	+0.2	-3.1	-0.3	+3.4	+9.2	+.075	+1.3	+4.3	+.052	+3.1	+3.7	+.056
Trae Young	81	30.9	19.1	0.8	2.9	3.7	8.1	0.9	0.2	3.8	1.7	6.5	15.5	.418	1.9	6.0	.324	4.2	5.1	.829

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
Trae Young	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2012-13	2019-20
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+2	+4.1	+17.7	+0.6	+1.2	+1.7	+7.7	+0.6	+0.5	-3.7		+4.6	+11.7	+.057	+2.3	+6.5	+.013	+6.2	+7.1	+.035
Trae Young	60	35.3	29.6	0.5	3.7	4.3	9.3	1.1	0.1	4.8	1.7	9.1	20.8	.437	3.4	9.5	.361	8.0	9.3	.860

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
Trae Young	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2013-14	2020-21
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+3	+4.6	+12.5	+0.6	+1.8	+2.3	+7.4	+0.9	+0.6	-2.9	-0.1	+2.6	+7.9	+.084	+1.2	+3.5	+.036	+6.2	+6.8	+.084
Trae Young	63	33.7	25.3	0.6	3.3	3.9	9.4	0.8	0.2	4.1	1.8	7.7	17.7	.438	2.2	6.3	.343	7.7	8.7	.886

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
difference:	+7	+5.7	+14.5	+0.9	+3.0	+3.9	+7.8	+0.4	+0.6	-2.7	-0.7	+4.1	+12.0	+.092	+1.5	+5.8	+.106	+5.0	+5.3	+.130
Trae Young	16	37.7	28.8	0.4	2.4	2.8	9.5	1.3	0.0	4.0	2.2	9.4	22.4	.418	2.8	9.0	.313	7.3	8.4	.866


Season 4
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2014-15	2021-22
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Steals Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+12	+3.1	+11.9	+0.6	+2.8	+3.5	+7.2	+1.4	+0.7	-2.5	-0.3	+3.2	+7.5	+.019	+2.1	+5.0	+.033	+3.4	+3.4	+.102
Trae Young	76	34.9	28.4	0.7	3.1	3.7	9.7	0.9	0.1	4.0	1.7	9.4	20.3	.460	3.1	8.0	.382	6.6	7.3	.904

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
difference:	+2	+1.5	+4.9	+0.9	+1.6	+2.4	+3.4	+0.5	+0.6	-4.1		+3.0	+1.8	+.158	+0.2	+3.9	+.239	+1.3	+1.6	+.017
Trae Young	5	37.2	15.4	1.0	4.0	5.0	6.0	0.6	0.0	6.2	2.6	4.4	13.8	.319	1.4	7.6	.184	5.2	6.6	.788


Season 5
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2015-16	2022-23
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+1	+1.7	+5.0	+0.5	+3.3	+3.8	+7.6	+0.7	+0.9	-2.6	-0.4	+0.5	+3.9	+.077	+0.3	+2.3	+.108	+3.7	+4.2	+.012
Trae Young	73	34.8	26.2	0.8	2.2	3.0	10.2	1.1	0.1	4.1	1.4	8.2	19.0	.429	2.1	6.3	.335	7.8	8.8	.886

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
difference:	+4	+4.4	+6.7	+0.6	+2.1	+2.6	+7.4	+0.9	+0.7	-2.4	-0.3	+1.7	+8.2	+.097	+1.3	+5.1	+.103	+2.0	+2.1	+.036
Trae Young	6	38.3	29.2	0.8	2.8	3.7	10.2	1.7	0.7	4.0	1.8	10.0	24.8	.403	3.0	9.0	.333	6.2	7.2	.860


Season 6
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2016-17	2023-24
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+20	+2.6	+0.2	+0.7	+2.4	+3.0	+7.3	+0.5	+0.5	-2.3	-0.4	+0.6	+1.0	+.055	+1.2	+3.5	+.007	+0.1	+0.3	+.025
Trae Young	54	36.0	25.7	0.4	2.3	2.8	10.8	1.3	0.2	4.4	2.0	8.0	18.7	.430	3.2	8.7	.373	6.4	7.5	.855

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
Trae Young	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2017-18	2024-25
Team	San Antonio Spurs	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
	-	Cup All-Tournament Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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7th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+67	+12.7	+8.0	+0.2	+1.4	+1.6	+9.3	+0.8	+0.8	-2.9	-0.9	+1.6	+5.8	+.057	+1.7	+4.5	+.026	+3.1	+3.2	+.059
Trae Young	76	36.0	24.2	0.5	2.6	3.1	11.6	1.2	0.2	4.7	1.9	7.4	18.1	.411	2.9	8.4	.340	6.5	7.4	.875

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kawhi Leonard nor Trae Young played in the postseason in their season 7


Season 8
	Kawhi Leonard	Trae Young
Season	2018-19	2025-26
Team	Toronto Raptors	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+55	+6.2	+8.8	+1.3	+4.0	+5.3	+4.5	+1.0	+0.2		-0.3	+4.1	+4.8	+.125	+0.9	+0.2	+.179	+0.3	+0.7	+.033
Trae Young	5	27.8	17.8	0.0	2.0	2.0	7.8	0.8	0.2	2.0	1.8	5.2	14.0	.371	1.0	5.2	.192	6.4	7.8	.821

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
Trae Young	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Kawhi Leonard played 6 seasons more than Trae Young in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 14, from 2020 to 2026—Kawhi Leonard played in 5 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Trae Young, Kawhi Leonard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 3 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Kawhi Leonard vs. Trae Young Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Trae Young 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years