Kevin Johnson vs. Paul Pierce Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Pierce 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.

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, 7 less than Paul Pierce, who played 19. Kevin Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, while Paul Pierce had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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 Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1987-88	1998-99
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
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 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:	+32	+10.0	+7.3	+1.9	+2.1	+4.0	+3.1	+0.4	+0.7	-0.6	-1.0	+2.5	+6.0	+.022	+1.7	+4.0	+.204	+0.7	+1.5	+.126
Paul Pierce	48	34.0	16.5	2.4	4.0	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.9	5.9	13.5	.439	1.8	4.3	.412	2.9	4.1	.713
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Johnson nor Paul Pierce played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1988-89	1999-00
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 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		%
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:	+8	+3.8	+0.9	+0.5	+0.7	+1.2	+9.2	+0.4	+0.5	-1.6	-0.4	+0.3	+1.2	+.063	+1.3	+3.5	+.252	+1.4	+0.9	+.084
Paul Pierce	73	35.4	19.5	1.1	4.3	5.4	3.0	2.1	0.8	2.4	3.2	6.7	15.1	.442	1.3	3.8	.343	4.9	6.2	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1989-90	2000-01
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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 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	+0.4	+2.8	+0.5	+2.1	+2.8	+8.3	+0.4	+0.6	-0.4	-1.2	+0.6	+2.8	+.045	+1.7	+4.1	+.188	+0.1	+0.9	+.093
Paul Pierce	82	38.0	25.3	1.1	5.2	6.4	3.1	1.7	0.8	3.2	3.1	8.4	18.5	.454	1.8	4.7	.383	6.7	9.0	.745
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1990-91	2001-02
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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 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:	+5	+4.3	+3.9	+0.3	+3.1	+3.4	+6.9	+0.2	+0.9	-0.6	-0.6	+0.9	+4.6	+.074	+2.5	+5.7	+.199	+0.4	+0.2	+.034
Paul Pierce	82	40.3	26.1	1.0	5.9	6.9	3.2	1.9	1.0	2.9	2.9	8.6	19.5	.442	2.6	6.3	.404	6.3	7.8	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+12	+5.5	+11.8	+1.2	+4.1	+5.3	+5.7	+1.2	+1.0	-0.8	-1.0	+3.6	+5.6	+.101	+1.6	+4.7	+.145	+3.0	+2.3	+.164
Paul Pierce	16	42.0	24.6	1.7	6.9	8.6	4.1	1.7	1.3	3.8	3.3	7.6	18.9	.403	1.9	6.5	.288	7.5	9.8	.764

Season 5
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1991-92	2002-03
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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 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:	+1	+2.0	+6.2	+0.5	+3.0	+3.6	+6.3	+0.3	+0.5	-0.1	-0.6	+1.5	+5.8	+.063	+1.4	+4.3	+.085	+1.9	+2.4	+.005
Paul Pierce	79	39.2	25.9	1.3	6.0	7.3	4.4	1.8	0.8	3.6	2.9	8.4	20.2	.416	1.5	4.9	.302	7.6	9.5	.802
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+2	+2.6	+3.5	+0.1	+4.8	+4.9	+4.9	+0.6	+0.5	-1.3	-0.8	+0.1	+3.3	+.085	+1.2	+3.7	+.144	+2.3	+2.7	+.002
Paul Pierce	10	44.5	27.1	1.1	7.9	9.0	6.7	2.1	0.8	4.4	3.8	7.7	19.3	.399	1.6	4.5	.356	10.1	11.7	.863

Season 6
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1992-93	2003-04
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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 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:	+31	+5.2	+6.9	+0.3	+4.2	+4.4	+2.7	+0.1	+0.3	-0.7	-0.9	+1.7	+7.2	+.097	+1.4	+4.6	+.174	+1.9	+2.3
Paul Pierce	80	38.7	23.0	0.9	5.7	6.5	5.1	1.6	0.7	3.8	2.9	7.5	18.7	.402	1.4	4.8	.299	6.5	7.9	.819
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+19	+1.1	+3.0	+1.1	+5.0	+6.1	+5.4	+0.2	+0.4	-2.6	-0.5	+0.3	+6.0	+.138	+1.3	+4.2	+.294	+1.1	+1.0	+.044
Paul Pierce	4	40.8	20.8	1.5	7.3	8.8	2.5	1.3	1.0	6.3	3.0	6.5	19.0	.342	1.3	4.3	.294	6.5	7.8	.839

Season 7
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1993-94	2004-05
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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 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:	+15	+0.5	+1.6	+0.2	+3.9	+4.1	+5.3	+0.3	+0.4	-0.7	-1.2	+0.3	+0.3	+.032	+1.2	+3.2	+.148	+1.0	+1.2	+.003
Paul Pierce	82	36.1	21.6	1.0	5.6	6.6	4.2	1.6	0.5	2.8	3.1	6.8	14.9	.455	1.3	3.6	.370	6.7	8.1	.822
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+3	+3.0	+3.7		+4.2	+4.2	+5.0	+0.9	+1.3	-0.7	-0.3	+3.0	+7.9	+.047	+0.7	+2.9	+.041	+1.5	+1.6	+.016
Paul Pierce	7	39.7	22.9	1.0	6.7	7.7	4.6	1.9	1.4	2.7	2.6	6.7	13.3	.505	1.0	3.9	.259	8.4	9.7	.868

Season 8
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1994-95	2005-06
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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 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:	+32	+10.2	+11.3	+0.3	+3.9	+4.3	+3.0	+0.4		-1.3	-0.9	+3.5	+7.4	+.001	+1.3	+3.4	+.200	+2.9	+4.2	+.038
Paul Pierce	79	39.0	26.8	1.0	5.7	6.7	4.7	1.4	0.4	3.5	2.8	8.7	18.5	.471	1.4	4.0	.354	7.9	10.3	.772
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1996-97	2007-08
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Kevin Johnson	70	38.0	20.1	0.8	2.8	3.6	9.3	1.5	0.2	3.1	2.0	6.3	12.7	.496	1.3	2.9	.441	6.3	7.4	.852
difference:	+10	+2.1	+0.5	+0.1	+1.7	+1.5	+4.8	+0.2	+0.3	-0.3	-0.5	+0.1	+1.0	+.032	+0.5	+1.7	+.049	+1.2	+1.3	+.009
Paul Pierce	80	35.9	19.6	0.7	4.5	5.1	4.5	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.5	6.4	13.7	.464	1.8	4.6	.392	5.1	6.1	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	5	41.6	16.8	1.6	2.8	4.4	6.0	2.6	0.0	3.6	3.0	5.2	17.6	.295	0.6	4.4	.136	5.8	6.6	.879
difference:	+21	+3.5	+2.9	+0.8	+1.4	+0.6	+1.4	+1.5	+0.3	-0.4	-0.5	+1.1	+3.4	+.146	+1.1	+0.2	+.225	+0.3	+0.2	+.077
Paul Pierce	26	38.1	19.7	0.8	4.2	5.0	4.6	1.1	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.3	14.2	.441	1.7	4.6	.361	5.5	6.8	.802

Season 11
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1997-98	2008-09
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	50	25.8	9.5	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.9	0.5	0.2	2.0	1.1	3.1	6.9	.447	0.1	0.5	.154	3.2	3.7	.871
difference:	+31	+11.7	+11.0		+2.4	+2.3	+1.3	+0.5	+0.1	-0.8	-1.6	+3.6	+7.7	+.010	+1.4	+3.3	+.237	+2.5	+3.1	+.041
Paul Pierce	81	37.5	20.5	0.7	5.0	5.6	3.6	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.7	6.7	14.6	.457	1.5	3.8	.391	5.7	6.8	.830
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	4	30.5	13.8	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.8	0.5	0.3	1.5	1.5	5.8	10.5	.548	0.3	1.0	.250	2.0	3.0	.667
difference:	+10	+9.2	+7.2	+0.2	+3.7	+3.5	+1.7	+0.6	+0.1	-0.9	-1.6	+1.0	+5.3	+.118	+1.1	+3.1	+.083	+4.1	+4.2	+.175
Paul Pierce	14	39.7	21.0	0.3	5.5	5.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	2.4	3.1	6.8	15.8	.430	1.4	4.1	.333	6.1	7.2	.842

Note: Kevin Johnson didn't play in 1998-99.

Season 12
	Kevin Johnson	Paul Pierce
Season	1999-00	2009-10
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	6	18.8	6.7	0.0	2.7	2.7	4.0	0.3	0.0	1.2	1.0	2.7	4.7	.571	0.2	0.2	1.000	1.2	1.2	1.000
difference:	+65	+15.2	+11.6	+0.5	+1.1	+1.7	+0.9	+0.9	+0.4	-1.1	-1.8	+3.1	+7.5	+.099	+1.3	+3.5	+.586	+4.0	+4.9	+.148
Paul Pierce	71	34.0	18.3	0.5	3.8	4.4	3.1	1.2	0.4	2.3	2.8	5.8	12.2	.472	1.5	3.7	.414	5.2	6.1	.852
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	9	14.3	3.2	0.0	1.4	1.4	2.6	0.3	0.1	1.4	1.1	1.3	4.1	.324	0.0	0.3	.000	0.6	0.7	.833
difference:	+15	+24.5	+15.6	+0.8	+3.7	+4.6	+0.8	+0.7	+0.5	-1.3	-2.2	+4.8	+9.9	+.114	+1.7	+4.0	+.392	+4.3	+5.2	+.009
Paul Pierce	24	38.8	18.8	0.8	5.1	6.0	3.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	3.3	6.1	14.0	.438	1.7	4.3	.392	4.9	5.9	.824

Additional Years
* Paul Pierce played 7 seasons more than Kevin Johnson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 2011 to 2017—Paul Pierce played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Kevin Johnson, Paul Pierce got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game