Kevin Johnson vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum and Kevin Johnson, 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 / Stats Rankings

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 Johnson played 12 years in the NBA, 4 more than Jayson Tatum, who played 8. Kevin Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, while Jayson Tatum had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Kevin Johnson 12 11 1987-88 to 1999-00
Jayson Tatum 8 8 2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1987-882017-18
Team Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs Did not playCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 80 24.0 9.2 0.5 1.9 2.4 5.5 1.3 0.3 1.8 1.9 3.4 7.5 .461 0.1 0.3 .208 2.2 2.6 .839
difference:+6.5+4.7+0.1+2.5+2.6+3.9+0.3+0.4-0.4-0.2+1.6+2.9+.014+1.2+2.7+.226+0.5+0.6+.013
Jayson Tatum 80 30.5 13.9 0.6 4.4 5.0 1.6 1.0 0.7 1.4 2.1 5.0 10.4 .475 1.3 3.0 .434 2.7 3.2 .826
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson DNP------ --- ----------
Jayson Tatum 19 35.9 18.5 0.5 3.8 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.5 2.2 2.6 6.5 13.7 .471 1.2 3.7 .324 4.3 5.1 .845

Season 2

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1988-892018-19
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Most Improved Player-
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf FinalsCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 81 39.2 20.4 0.6 3.6 4.2 12.2 1.7 0.3 4.0 2.8 7.0 13.9 .505 0.0 0.3 .091 6.3 7.1 .882
difference:+2+8.1+4.7+0.3+1.6+1.8+10.1+0.6+0.4-2.5-0.7+1.1+0.8+.055+1.5+3.6+.282+3.8+4.2+.027
Jayson Tatum 79 31.1 15.7 0.9 5.2 6.0 2.1 1.1 0.7 1.5 2.1 5.9 13.1 .450 1.5 3.9 .373 2.5 2.9 .855
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 12 41.2 23.8 1.0 3.3 4.3 12.3 1.6 0.4 4.6 2.3 7.5 15.2 .495 0.3 0.8 .300 8.5 9.2 .927
difference:+3+8.4+8.6+0.2+2.6+2.4+10.4+0.5+0.4-2.6+2.1+2.8+.057+0.8+2.6+.023+5.3+4.9+.183
Jayson Tatum 9 32.8 15.2 0.8 5.9 6.7 1.9 1.1 0.8 2.0 2.3 5.4 12.4 .438 1.1 3.4 .323 3.2 4.3 .744

Season 3

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1989-902019-20
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf FinalsCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 74 37.6 22.5 0.6 3.1 3.6 11.4 1.3 0.2 3.6 1.9 7.8 15.7 .499 0.1 0.6 .195 6.8 8.1 .838
difference:+8+3.3+0.9+0.4+2.9+3.4+8.4+0.1+0.7-1.3-0.2+0.6+2.9+.049+2.8+6.5+.208+3.0+3.4+.026
Jayson Tatum 66 34.3 23.4 1.0 6.0 7.0 3.0 1.4 0.9 2.3 2.1 8.4 18.6 .450 2.9 7.1 .403 3.8 4.7 .812
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 16 36.4 21.3 0.6 2.8 3.3 10.6 1.6 0.0 3.9 1.8 7.7 16.1 .479 0.1 0.7 .182 5.8 7.0 .821
difference:+1+4.2+4.4+0.7+5.9+6.7+5.6+0.6+1.2-1.1-0.6+0.8+3.5+.045+2.7+6.7+.191+0.1+0.2+.008
Jayson Tatum 17 40.6 25.7 1.3 8.7 10.0 5.0 1.0 1.2 2.8 2.4 8.5 19.6 .434 2.8 7.4 .373 5.9 7.2 .813

Season 4

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1990-912020-21
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf 1st RdCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 77 36.0 22.2 0.7 2.8 3.5 10.1 2.1 0.1 3.5 2.3 7.7 14.9 .516 0.1 0.6 .205 6.7 8.0 .843
difference:+13+0.2+4.2+0.1+3.8+3.9+5.8+0.9+0.4-0.8-0.4+1.8+5.7+.057+2.8+7.0+.181+2.1+2.7+.025
Jayson Tatum 64 35.8 26.4 0.8 6.6 7.4 4.3 1.2 0.5 2.7 1.9 9.5 20.6 .459 2.9 7.6 .386 4.6 5.3 .868
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 4 36.5 12.8 0.5 2.8 3.3 9.8 0.5 0.3 3.0 2.3 4.0 13.3 .302 0.3 1.8 .143 4.5 7.5 .600
difference:+1+0.5+17.8+0.1+2.4+2.5+5.2+0.7+1.3-0.4-0.7+5.4+8.9+.121+2.5+5.4+.246+4.5+2.3+.318
Jayson Tatum 5 37.0 30.6 0.6 5.2 5.8 4.6 1.2 1.6 2.6 3.0 9.4 22.2 .423 2.8 7.2 .389 9.0 9.8 .918

Season 5

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1991-922021-22
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisCeltics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 78 37.2 19.7 0.8 3.0 3.7 10.7 1.5 0.3 3.5 2.3 6.9 14.4 .479 0.1 0.6 .217 5.7 7.1 .807
difference:+2+1.3+7.2+0.3+3.9+4.3+6.3+0.5+0.3-0.6+2.4+6.2+.026+2.9+8.0+.136+0.4+0.9+.046
Jayson Tatum 76 35.9 26.9 1.1 6.9 8.0 4.4 1.0 0.6 2.9 2.3 9.3 20.6 .453 3.0 8.6 .353 5.3 6.2 .853
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 8 41.9 23.6 1.0 3.1 4.1 11.6 1.5 0.3 3.1 3.0 7.8 16.0 .484 0.4 0.8 .500 7.8 9.0 .861
difference:+16+0.9+2.0+2.6+2.6+5.4+0.3+0.6-1.1+0.6+3.7+.058+2.8+7.4+.107+2.1+1.9+.061
Jayson Tatum 24 41.0 25.6 1.0 5.7 6.7 6.2 1.2 0.9 4.2 3.0 8.4 19.7 .426 3.2 8.2 .393 5.7 7.1 .800

Season 6

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1992-932022-23
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Suns Lost NBA FinalsCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 49 33.5 16.1 0.6 1.5 2.1 7.8 1.7 0.4 3.1 2.0 5.8 11.5 .499 0.0 0.2 .125 4.6 5.6 .819
difference:+25+3.4+14.0+0.5+6.2+6.7+3.2+0.6+0.3-0.2-0.2+4.0+9.6+.033+3.2+9.1+.225+2.6+2.8+.035
Jayson Tatum 74 36.9 30.1 1.1 7.7 8.8 4.6 1.1 0.7 2.9 2.2 9.8 21.1 .466 3.2 9.3 .350 7.2 8.4 .854
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 23 39.7 17.8 0.4 2.3 2.7 7.9 1.5 0.6 3.7 2.5 6.2 13.0 .480 0.0 0.1 .000 5.4 6.8 .795
difference:+3+0.3+9.4+0.9+6.9+7.8+2.6+0.4+0.5-0.9-0.3+3.1+7.2+.022+2.7+8.1+.323+0.6+0.1+.081
Jayson Tatum 20 40.0 27.2 1.3 9.2 10.5 5.3 1.1 1.1 2.8 2.2 9.3 20.2 .458 2.7 8.2 .323 6.0 6.9 .876

Season 7

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1993-942023-24
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 67 36.6 20.0 0.8 1.7 2.5 9.5 1.9 0.1 3.5 1.9 7.1 14.6 .487 0.1 0.4 .222 5.7 6.9 .819
difference:+7+0.9+6.9+0.1+5.5+5.6+4.6+0.9+0.5-1.0-0.1+2.0+4.7+.016+3.0+7.8+.154+0.1+0.2+.014
Jayson Tatum 74 35.7 26.9 0.9 7.2 8.1 4.9 1.0 0.6 2.5 2.0 9.1 19.3 .471 3.1 8.2 .376 5.6 6.7 .833
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 10 42.7 26.6 1.0 2.5 3.5 9.6 1.0 0.1 3.4 2.3 9.7 21.2 .458 0.3 1.0 .300 6.9 8.1 .852
difference:+9+2.3+1.6+0.1+6.3+6.2+3.3+0.1+0.6-0.8-0.5+1.3+1.6+.031+1.8+6.3+.017+0.7+0.9+.009
Jayson Tatum 19 40.4 25.0 0.9 8.8 9.7 6.3 1.1 0.7 2.6 2.8 8.4 19.6 .427 2.1 7.3 .283 6.2 7.2 .861

Season 8

Kevin Johnson Jayson Tatum
Season 1994-952024-25
Team Phoenix SunsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Suns Lost West Conf SemisCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 47 28.8 15.5 0.7 1.8 2.4 7.7 1.0 0.4 2.2 1.9 5.2 11.1 .470 0.1 0.6 .154 5.0 6.1 .810
difference:+25+7.6+11.3+6.2+6.3+1.7+0.1+0.1-0.7-0.3+4.0+9.2+.018+3.4+9.5+.189+.004
Jayson Tatum 72 36.4 26.8 0.7 8.0 8.7 6.0 1.1 0.5 2.9 2.2 9.2 20.3 .452 3.5 10.1 .343 5.0 6.1 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Kevin Johnson 10 37.1 24.8 0.7 3.4 4.1 9.3 0.9 0.4 3.4 2.5 8.6 15.0 .573 0.5 1.0 .500 7.1 8.4 .845
difference:+2+3.2+3.3+0.4+7.0+7.4+3.9+1.2+0.4-0.1-0.1+0.7+6.9+.150+3.1+8.8+.128+1.1+1.6+.044
Jayson Tatum 8 40.3 28.1 1.1 10.4 11.5 5.4 2.1 0.8 3.3 2.6 9.3 21.9 .423 3.6 9.8 .372 6.0 6.8 .889

Additional Years

* Kevin Johnson played 4 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 12, from 1996 to 2000—Kevin Johnson played in 4 Playoffs.