Kenny Smith vs. Jerry West Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jerry West and Kenny Smith, 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.

Kenny Smith played 10 years in the NBA, 4 less than Jerry West, who played 14. Kenny Smith had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, while Jerry West had his rookie season in 1960-61. 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
Kenny Smith	10	5	1987-88 to 1996-97
Jerry West	14	13	1960-61 to 1973-74

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1987-88	1960-61
Team	Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Div Finals

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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		%
Kenny Smith	61	35.6	13.8	0.7	1.6	2.3	7.1	1.5	0.1	3.0	2.3	5.4	11.4	.477	0.2	0.6	.308	2.7	3.3	.819
difference:	+18	+0.2	+3.8			+5.4	+2.9				-0.4	+1.3	+4.6	+.058				+1.5	+3.0	+.153
Jerry West	79	35.4	17.6	-	-	7.7	4.2	-	-	-	2.7	6.7	16.0	.419	-	-	-	4.2	6.3	.666

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	12	38.4	22.9	-	-	8.7	5.3	-	-	-	3.3	8.3	16.8	.490	-	-	-	6.4	8.8	.726


Season 2
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1988-89	1961-62
Team	Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Kenny Smith	81	38.8	17.3	0.6	2.2	2.8	7.7	1.3	0.1	3.1	2.1	6.8	14.6	.462	0.6	1.6	.359	3.2	4.4	.737
difference:	+6	+2.4	+13.5			+5.1	+2.3				-0.2	+3.9	+9.3	+.017				+6.3	+7.9	+.032
Jerry West	75	41.2	30.8	-	-	7.9	5.4	-	-	-	2.3	10.7	23.9	.445	-	-	-	9.5	12.3	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	13	42.8	31.5	-	-	6.8	4.4	-	-	-	2.9	11.1	23.8	.465	-	-	-	9.3	11.5	.807


Season 3
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1989-90	1962-63
Team	Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Kenny Smith	79	30.6	11.9	0.2	1.8	2.0	5.6	1.0	0.1	2.1	1.8	4.8	10.3	.466	0.3	1.1	.313	2.0	2.5	.821
difference:	+24	+8.7	+15.2			+5.0					-0.9	+5.4	+11.8	+.005				+4.7	+6.2	+.043
Jerry West	55	39.3	27.1	-	-	7.0	5.6	-	-	-	2.7	10.2	22.1	.461	-	-	-	6.7	8.7	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	13	41.4	27.8	-	-	8.2	4.7	-	-	-	2.6	11.1	22.0	.503	-	-	-	5.7	7.7	.740


Season 4
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1990-91	1963-64
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

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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		%
Kenny Smith	78	34.6	17.7	0.5	1.6	2.1	7.1	1.4	0.1	3.0	1.7	6.7	12.9	.520	0.6	1.7	.363	3.7	4.4	.844
difference:	+6	+5.8	+11.0			+3.9	+1.5				-1.1	+3.6	+8.3	+.036				+4.4	+5.4	+.012
Jerry West	72	40.4	28.7	-	-	6.0	5.6	-	-	-	2.8	10.3	21.2	.484	-	-	-	8.1	9.8	.832

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	3	37.7	15.3	1.3	1.3	2.7	8.0	1.3	0.3	2.0	1.7	6.0	12.7	.474	0.7	1.3	.500	2.7	3.0	.889
difference:	+2	+3.5	+15.9			+4.5	+4.6				-2.3	+5.4	+10.3	+.022				+5.7	+7.6	+.097
Jerry West	5	41.2	31.2	-	-	7.2	3.4	-	-	-	4.0	11.4	23.0	.496	-	-	-	8.4	10.6	.792


Season 5
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1991-92	1964-65
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Kenny Smith	81	33.8	14.0	0.4	1.8	2.2	6.9	1.3	0.1	2.8	1.4	5.3	11.2	.475	0.7	1.7	.394	2.7	3.1	.866
difference:	+7	+7.6	+17.0			+3.8	+2.0				-1.6	+5.8	+11.2	+.022				+6.1	+7.6	+.045
Jerry West	74	41.4	31.0	-	-	6.0	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	11.1	22.4	.497	-	-	-	8.8	10.7	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	11	42.7	40.6	-	-	5.7	5.3	-	-	-	3.4	14.1	31.9	.442	-	-	-	12.5	14.0	.890


Season 6
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1992-93	1965-66
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Kenny Smith	82	29.5	13.0	0.3	1.6	2.0	5.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	1.3	4.7	9.1	.520	1.2	2.7	.438	2.4	2.7	.878
difference:	+3	+11.2	+18.3			+5.1	+0.7				-1.8	+5.7	+12.8	+.047				+8.2	+9.7	+.018
Jerry West	79	40.7	31.3	-	-	7.1	6.1	-	-	-	3.1	10.4	21.9	.473	-	-	-	10.6	12.4	.860

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	12	32.6	14.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	4.2	0.8	0.1	2.2	1.5	5.3	10.7	.492	1.9	3.8	.500	2.3	3.0	.778
difference:	+2	+11.6	+19.4			+4.3	+1.4				-1.4	+7.9	+14.8	+.026				+5.5	+5.9	+.094
Jerry West	14	44.2	34.2	-	-	6.3	5.6	-	-	-	2.9	13.2	25.5	.518	-	-	-	7.8	8.9	.872


Season 7
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1993-94	1966-67
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Div Semis

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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		%
Kenny Smith	78	28.3	11.6	0.3	1.5	1.8	4.2	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	4.4	9.1	.480	1.1	2.8	.405	1.7	2.0	.871
difference:	+12	+12.2	+17.1			+4.1	+2.6				-0.8	+5.4	+11.9	+.016				+7.4	+8.4	+.007
Jerry West	66	40.5	28.7	-	-	5.9	6.8	-	-	-	2.4	9.8	21.0	.464	-	-	-	9.1	10.4	.878

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	23	30.3	10.8	0.2	2.1	2.3	4.1	1.0	0.2	1.4	1.7	3.7	8.2	.455	1.5	3.3	.447	1.8	2.3	.808
difference:	+22	+29.3	+10.8			+1.3	+4.1				-1.7	+3.7	+8.2					+1.8	+2.3
Jerry West	1	1.0	0.0	-	-	1.0	0.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 8
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1994-95	1967-68
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Kenny Smith	81	25.1	10.4	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	0.9	0.1	1.5	1.3	3.5	7.3	.484	1.8	4.1	.429	1.6	1.8	.851
difference:	+30	+12.5	+15.9			+3.9	+2.1				-1.7	+5.8	+10.9	+.030				+6.1	+7.7	+.040
Jerry West	51	37.6	26.3	-	-	5.8	6.1	-	-	-	3.0	9.3	18.2	.514	-	-	-	7.7	9.5	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	22	29.6	10.8	0.3	1.9	2.2	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.1	3.5	8.1	.438	2.1	4.7	.442	1.6	1.8	.900
difference:	+7	+11.9	+20.0			+3.2	+1.0				-1.0	+7.5	+12.8	+.089				+7.2	+9.5	+.119
Jerry West	15	41.5	30.8	-	-	5.4	5.5	-	-	-	3.1	11.0	20.9	.527	-	-	-	8.8	11.3	.781


Season 9
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1995-96	1968-69
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	68	23.8	8.5	0.3	1.1	1.4	3.6	0.7	0.0	1.5	1.7	3.0	6.8	.433	1.3	3.5	.382	1.3	1.6	.821
difference:	+7	+15.4	+17.4			+2.9	+3.3				-0.9	+5.9	+12.2	+.038				+6.7	+8.2
Jerry West	61	39.2	25.9	-	-	4.3	6.9	-	-	-	2.6	8.9	19.0	.471	-	-	-	8.0	9.8	.821

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	8	23.9	8.9	0.5	1.0	1.5	4.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.8	2.9	6.6	.434	1.5	3.9	.387	1.6	1.6	1.000
difference:	+10	+18.2	+22.0			+2.4	+2.7				-1.1	+8.0	+16.9	+.029				+7.5	+9.7	+.196
Jerry West	18	42.1	30.9	-	-	3.9	7.5	-	-	-	2.9	10.9	23.5	.463	-	-	-	9.1	11.3	.804


Season 10
	Kenny Smith	Jerry West
Season	1996-97	1969-70
Team	Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	48	15.9	6.3	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.5	0.6	2.1	5.0	.423	1.2	2.8	.437	0.8	0.9	.867
difference:	+26	+26.1	+24.9			+3.7	+5.1				-1.6	+9.1	+17.6	+.074				+7.9	+9.7	+.043
Jerry West	74	42.0	31.2	-	-	4.6	7.5	-	-	-	2.2	11.2	22.6	.497	-	-	-	8.7	10.6	.824

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jerry West	18	46.1	31.2	-	-	3.7	8.4	-	-	-	3.1	10.9	23.2	.469	-	-	-	9.4	11.8	.802


Additional Years
* Jerry West played 4 seasons more than Kenny Smith in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 1971 to 1974—Jerry West played in 3 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 4 extra years over Kenny Smith, Jerry West got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 Assists Leader 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

Kenny Smith vs. Jerry West Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jerry West and Kenny Smith, 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

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years