Kevin Durant vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Kevin Durant, 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.

Kevin Durant played 18 years in the NBA, 10 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Kevin Durant had the first of his seasons in 2007-08, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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.

Rookie Season
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2007-08	2002-03
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	80	34.6	20.3	0.9	3.5	4.4	2.4	1.0	0.9	2.9	1.5	7.3	17.1	.430	0.7	2.6	.288	4.9	5.6	.873
difference:	+2	+5.6	+6.8	+1.5	+2.3	+3.8	+0.7	+0.6	+0.9	-0.8	-1.3	+2.4	+7.3	+.068	+0.7	+2.6		+1.2	+1.1	+.062
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Durant nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2008-09	2003-04
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	74	39.0	25.3	1.0	5.5	6.5	2.8	1.3	0.7	3.0	1.8	8.9	18.8	.476	1.3	3.1	.422	6.1	7.1	.863
difference:	+8	+6.2	+7.8	+1.4	+1.1	+2.5	+1.3	+1.0	+1.2	-0.5	-1.5	+2.4	+6.3	+.046	+1.3	+3.1		+1.7	+1.7	+.054
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2009-10	2004-05
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	82	39.5	30.1	1.3	6.3	7.6	2.8	1.4	1.0	3.3	2.1	9.7	20.3	.476	1.6	4.3	.365	9.2	10.2	.900
difference:	+2	+8.9	+11.8	+1.3	+0.5	+0.8	+2.0	+1.0	+1.0	-0.8	-1.6	+3.0	+8.1	+.076	+1.6	+4.3		+4.3	+4.0	+.117
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	6	38.5	25.0	1.3	6.3	7.7	2.3	0.5	1.3	3.7	2.8	7.2	20.5	.350	1.7	5.8	.286	9.0	10.3	.871
difference:	+1	+6.6	+3.6	+2.0	+1.9		+1.6	+0.2	+1.4	-1.0	-1.6	+0.7	+8.5	+.305	+1.7	+5.8		+3.3	+2.4	+.144
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2010-11	2005-06
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	78	38.9	27.7	0.7	6.1	6.8	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.8	2.0	9.1	19.7	.462	1.9	5.3	.350	7.6	8.7	.880
difference:	+21	+4.7	+5.4	+1.9	+1.5	+3.4	+1.2	+0.6	+0.6	-0.2	-1.4	+0.9	+3.9	+.057	+1.9	+5.3		+1.7	+1.8	+.027
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	17	42.5	28.6	1.1	7.1	8.2	2.8	0.9	1.1	2.5	3.1	9.1	20.3	.449	2.2	6.4	.339	8.2	9.8	.838
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2011-12	2006-07
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	66	38.6	28.0	0.6	7.4	8.0	3.5	1.3	1.2	3.8	2.0	9.7	19.7	.496	2.0	5.2	.387	6.5	7.6	.860
difference:	+18	+4.8	+3.0	+1.5	+0.1	+1.4	+1.5	+0.9	+0.8	-0.3	-1.3	+0.9	+2.6	+.020	+2.0	+5.2		+0.9	+1.0	+.002
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	20	41.9	28.5	0.7	6.8	7.4	3.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.6	9.9	19.2	.517	2.1	5.5	.373	6.7	7.7	.864
difference:	+13	+4.8	+3.4	+2.6	+0.2	+2.9	+2.8	+1.4	+0.5	-1.5	-1.3	+2.0	+1.3	+.077	+2.1	+5.5		+2.7	+3.0	+.016
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2012-13	2007-08
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	28.1	0.6	7.3	7.9	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.5	1.8	9.0	17.7	.510	1.7	4.1	.416	8.4	9.3	.905
difference:	+26	+1.3	+6.1	+2.5	+0.4	+2.9	+2.3	+0.9	+0.7	-0.2	-1.3	+1.1	+2.2	+.003	+1.7	+4.1		+2.1	+1.9	+.055
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	11	44.1	30.8	0.6	8.4	9.0	6.3	1.3	1.1	3.9	2.4	10.2	22.4	.455	2.0	6.4	.314	8.5	10.2	.830
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2008-09
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	81	38.5	32.0	0.7	6.7	7.4	5.5	1.3	0.7	3.5	2.1	10.5	20.8	.503	2.4	6.1	.391	8.7	9.9	.873
difference:	+4	+4.9	+12.3	+1.9	+0.5	+2.5	+3.7	+0.9	+1.2	-0.5	-1.2	+3.1	+7.4	+.045	+2.4	+6.1		+3.8	+4.2	+.007
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	19	42.9	29.6	1.3	7.6	8.9	3.9	1.0	1.3	3.8	2.2	10.2	22.2	.460	2.3	6.6	.344	6.9	8.6	.810
difference:	+10	+7.0	+12.5	+0.8	+1.2	+2.0	+2.9	+0.6	+0.1	-1.9	-0.8	+4.2	+11.2	+.085	+2.3	+6.6		+1.8	+2.9	+.092
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	Kevin Durant	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2010-11
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Durant	27	33.8	25.4	0.6	6.0	6.6	4.1	0.9	0.9	2.7	1.5	8.8	17.3	.510	2.4	5.9	.403	5.4	6.3	.854
difference:	+22	+15.6	+15.2	+0.8	+2.0	+1.2	+3.3	+0.9	+0.7	-1.3	-1.1	+5.2	+9.9	+.024	+2.4	+5.9		+2.4	+3.1	+.084
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Durant nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years
* Kevin Durant played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2016 to 2026—Kevin Durant played in 8 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Kevin Durant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 5 All-NBA Second Team 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 9 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP