Kevin Garnett vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Kevin Garnett, 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 Garnett played 21 years in the NBA, 13 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Kevin Garnett had the first of his seasons in 1995-96, 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 Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	1995-96	2002-03
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kevin Garnett	80	28.7	10.4	2.2	4.1	6.3	1.8	1.1	1.6	1.4	2.4	4.5	9.2	.491	0.1	0.4	.286	1.3	1.9	.705
difference:	+2	+0.3	+3.1	+0.2	+1.7	+1.9	+0.1	+0.7	+0.2	-0.7	-0.4	+0.4	+0.6	+.007	+0.1	+0.4		+2.4	+2.6	+.106
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 Garnett nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	1996-97	2003-04
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Kevin Garnett	77	38.9	17.0	2.5	5.6	8.0	3.1	1.4	2.1	2.3	2.6	7.1	14.3	.499	0.1	0.3	.286	2.7	3.5	.754
difference:	+5	+6.1	+0.5	+0.1	+1.0	+1.0	+1.6	+1.1	+0.2	-0.2	-0.7	+0.6	+1.8	+.023	+0.1	+0.3		+1.7	+1.9	+.055
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 Garnett	3	41.7	17.3	4.7	4.7	9.3	3.7	1.3	1.0	1.3	2.0	8.0	17.0	.471	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+2	+4.1	+2.3	+2.5	+0.5	+1.9	+1.9	+0.9	+0.4	-1.3	-2.0	+1.8	+3.4	+.015	+0.3	+0.3		+1.6	+2.4	+.235
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 Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	1997-98	2004-05
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	39.3	18.5	2.7	6.9	9.6	4.2	1.7	1.8	2.3	2.7	7.7	15.8	.491	0.0	0.2	.188	3.0	4.0	.738
difference:	+2	+8.7	+0.2	+0.1	+1.1	+1.2	+3.4	+1.3	+0.2	-0.2	-1.0	+1.0	+3.6	+.061		+0.2		+1.9	+2.2	+.045
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 Garnett	5	38.6	15.8	3.4	6.2	9.6	4.0	0.8	2.4	4.4	3.4	7.2	15.0	.480	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.8	.778
difference:	+2	+6.7	+5.6	+0.1	+1.8	+1.9	+3.3	+0.5	+0.3	-1.7	-1.0	+0.7	+3.0	+.175				+4.3	+6.1	+.051
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 Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	1998-99	2005-06
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Kevin Garnett	47	37.9	20.8	3.5	6.9	10.4	4.3	1.7	1.8	2.9	3.2	8.8	19.1	.460	0.1	0.3	.286	3.1	4.4	.704
difference:	+10	+3.7	+1.5	+0.9	+0.7	+0.2	+2.8	+1.2	+0.2	-0.3	-0.2	+0.6	+3.3	+.059	+0.1	+0.3		+2.8	+2.5	+.149
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 Garnett	4	42.5	21.8	4.0	8.0	12.0	3.8	1.8	2.0	3.3	2.5	8.8	19.8	.443	0.0	0.5	.000	4.3	5.8	.739
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Kevin Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	1999-00	2006-07
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	40.0	22.9	2.8	9.0	11.8	5.0	1.5	1.6	3.3	2.5	9.4	18.8	.497	0.4	1.0	.370	3.8	5.0	.765
difference:	+33	+6.2	+2.1	+0.7	+1.7	+2.4	+3.0	+1.1	+0.4	-0.2	-0.8	+0.6	+1.7	+.019	+0.4	+1.0		+3.6	+3.6	+.097
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 Garnett	4	42.5	18.8	3.3	7.5	10.8	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.8	3.0	7.5	19.5	.385	0.5	0.8	.667	3.3	4.0	.813
difference:	+3	+5.4	+6.3		+0.5	+0.5	+7.9	+1.2	+0.1	-1.9	-0.9	+0.4	+1.6	+.055	+0.5	+0.8		+6.1	+6.7	+.067
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 Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	2000-01	2007-08
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	39.5	22.0	2.7	8.7	11.4	5.0	1.4	1.8	2.8	2.5	8.7	18.2	.477	0.2	0.8	.288	4.4	5.8	.764
difference:	+26	+2.3		+0.4	+1.0	+0.6	+2.7	+0.9	+0.2	-0.5	-0.6	+0.8	+2.7	+.030	+0.2	+0.8		+1.9	+1.6	+.086
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 Garnett	4	41.3	21.0	2.5	9.5	12.0	4.3	1.0	1.5	1.5	3.3	6.8	14.5	.466	0.0	0.8	.000	7.5	9.0	.833
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Kevin Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	2001-02	2008-09
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 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		%
Kevin Garnett	81	39.2	21.2	3.0	9.1	12.1	5.2	1.2	1.6	2.8	2.3	8.1	17.3	.470	0.5	1.4	.319	4.4	5.5	.801
difference:	+4	+5.6	+1.5	+0.4	+1.9	+2.2	+3.4	+0.8	+0.3	-0.2	-1.0	+0.7	+3.9	+.078	+0.5	+1.4		+0.5	+0.2	+.065
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 Garnett	3	43.3	24.0	5.3	13.3	18.7	5.0	1.7	1.7	4.0	3.7	8.0	18.7	.429	0.3	0.7	.500	7.7	10.7	.719
difference:	+6	+7.4	+6.9	+3.2	+4.5	+7.8	+4.0	+1.3	+0.5	-2.1	-0.7	+2.0	+7.7	+.116	+0.3	+0.7		+2.6	+5.0	+.183
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 Garnett	Yao Ming
Season	2002-03	2010-11
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kevin Garnett	82	40.5	23.0	3.0	10.5	13.4	6.0	1.4	1.6	2.8	2.4	9.1	18.1	.502	0.2	0.9	.282	4.6	6.1	.751
difference:	+77	+22.3	+12.8	+1.6	+6.5	+8.0	+5.2	+1.4		-1.4	-0.2	+5.5	+10.7	+.016	+0.2	+0.9		+1.6	+2.9	+.187
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Garnett	6	44.0	27.0	1.8	13.8	15.7	5.2	1.7	1.7	3.0	3.8	11.8	23.0	.514	0.5	1.5	.333	2.8	4.7	.607
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Kevin Garnett played 13 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 21, from 2004 to 2016—Kevin Garnett played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 13 extra years over Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 5 All-Defensive First Team 3 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 4 Rebounds Leader 9 All-Star Game