Kevin Johnson vs. Russell Westbrook Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Russell Westbrook 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, 6 less than Russell Westbrook, who played 18. Kevin Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, while Russell Westbrook had his rookie season in 2008-09. 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	Russell Westbrook
Season	1987-88	2008-09
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
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:	+2	+8.5	+6.1	+1.7	+0.8	+2.5	+0.2		+0.1	-1.5	-0.4	+1.9	+5.9	+.063	+0.3	+1.3	+.063	+2.1	+2.6	+.024
Russell Westbrook	82	32.5	15.3	2.2	2.7	4.9	5.3	1.3	0.2	3.3	2.3	5.3	13.4	.398	0.4	1.6	.271	4.3	5.2	.815
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Johnson nor Russell Westbrook played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1988-89	2009-10
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Thunder 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 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:	+1	+4.9	+4.3	+1.1	+0.5	+0.7	+4.2	+0.4	+0.1	-0.7	-0.3	+1.1	+0.2	+.087	+0.3	+1.0	+.130	+2.3	+2.0	+.102
Russell Westbrook	82	34.3	16.1	1.7	3.1	4.9	8.0	1.3	0.4	3.3	2.5	5.9	14.1	.418	0.3	1.3	.221	4.0	5.1	.780
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
difference:	+6	+5.9	+3.3	+0.7	+1.0	+1.7	+6.3	+0.1	+0.2	-2.3	-0.1	+0.3		+.022	+0.5	+1.2	+.117	+3.2	+2.9	+.085
Russell Westbrook	6	35.3	20.5	1.7	4.3	6.0	6.0	1.7	0.2	2.3	2.2	7.2	15.2	.473	0.8	2.0	.417	5.3	6.3	.842

Season 3
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1989-90	2010-11
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	Thunder Lost West Conf 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		%
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	+2.9	+0.6	+0.9		+1.0	+3.2	+0.6	+0.2	-0.3	-0.6	+0.3	+1.3	+.057	+0.3	+0.7	+.135	+0.3	+0.4	+.004
Russell Westbrook	82	34.7	21.9	1.5	3.1	4.6	8.2	1.9	0.4	3.9	2.5	7.5	17.0	.442	0.4	1.3	.330	6.5	7.7	.842
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
difference:	+1	+1.1	+2.5	+1.5	+0.4	+2.1	+4.2	+0.2	+0.4	-0.7	-1.5	+0.2	+4.1	+.085	+0.7	+2.1	+.110	+1.3	+1.4	+.031
Russell Westbrook	17	37.5	23.8	2.1	3.2	5.4	6.4	1.4	0.4	4.6	3.3	7.9	20.2	.394	0.8	2.8	.292	7.1	8.4	.852

Season 4
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1990-91	2011-12
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost NBA 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:	+11	+0.7	+1.4	+0.8	+0.3	+1.1	+4.6	+0.4	+0.2	-0.1	-0.1	+1.1	+4.3	+.059	+0.8	+2.4	+.111	+1.5	+1.7	+.020
Russell Westbrook	66	35.3	23.6	1.5	3.1	4.6	5.5	1.7	0.3	3.6	2.2	8.8	19.2	.457	0.9	3.0	.316	5.2	6.3	.823
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:	+16	+1.9	+10.3	+0.6	+1.6	+2.2	+3.9	+1.1	+0.1	-0.7	-0.2	+4.9	+7.1	+.133	+0.6	+1.5	+.134		+1.9	+.202
Russell Westbrook	20	38.4	23.1	1.1	4.4	5.5	5.9	1.6	0.4	2.3	2.5	8.9	20.4	.435	0.9	3.3	.277	4.5	5.6	.802

Season 5
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1991-92	2012-13
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Thunder Lost West 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:	+4	+2.3	+3.5	+0.6	+0.9	+1.5	+3.3	+0.3		-0.2		+1.3	+4.3	+.041	+1.1	+3.1	+.106	+0.1	+0.1	+.007
Russell Westbrook	82	34.9	23.2	1.4	3.9	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.3	3.3	2.3	8.2	18.7	.438	1.2	3.7	.323	5.6	7.0	.800
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:	+6	+7.9	+0.4	+0.5	+2.9	+2.4	+4.6	+1.5	+0.3	-0.9	-0.5	+0.7	+4.5	+.069	+0.6	+3.7	+.278	+1.8	+2.0	+.004
Russell Westbrook	2	34.0	24.0	0.5	6.0	6.5	7.0	3.0	0.0	4.0	2.5	8.5	20.5	.415	1.0	4.5	.222	6.0	7.0	.857

Season 7
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1993-94	2014-15
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:		+2.2	+8.1	+1.1	+3.7	+4.8	+0.9	+0.2	+0.1	-0.9	-0.8	+2.3	+7.4	+.061	+1.2	+3.9	+.077	+2.4	+2.9	+.016
Russell Westbrook	67	34.4	28.1	1.9	5.4	7.3	8.6	2.1	0.2	4.4	2.7	9.4	22.0	.426	1.3	4.3	.299	8.1	9.8	.835
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
Russell Westbrook	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1994-95	2015-16
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Thunder Lost West Conf 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		%
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:	+33	+5.6	+8.0	+1.1	+4.2	+5.4	+2.7	+1.0	+0.1	-2.1	-0.6	+3.0	+7.0	+.016	+1.2	+3.7	+.142	+0.8	+1.1	+.002
Russell Westbrook	80	34.4	23.5	1.8	6.0	7.8	10.4	2.0	0.3	4.3	2.5	8.2	18.1	.454	1.3	4.3	.296	5.8	7.2	.812
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
difference:	+8	+0.3	+1.2	+1.6	+1.2	+2.8	+1.7	+1.7	+0.3	-0.9	-0.1	+0.2	+6.8	+.168	+1.4	+4.8	+.176	+0.7	+0.6	+.016
Russell Westbrook	18	37.4	26.0	2.3	4.6	6.9	11.0	2.6	0.1	4.3	2.4	8.8	21.8	.405	1.9	5.8	.324	6.4	7.8	.829

Season 9
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1995-96	2016-17
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Kevin Johnson	56	35.8	18.7	0.8	3.2	3.9	9.2	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.6	6.1	12.0	.507	0.4	1.0	.368	6.1	7.1	.859
difference:	+25	+1.2	+12.9	+0.9	+5.8	+6.8	+1.2	+0.1	+0.2	-2.4	-0.3	+4.1	+12.0	+.082	+2.1	+6.2	+.025	+2.7	+3.3	+.014
Russell Westbrook	81	34.6	31.6	1.7	9.0	10.7	10.4	1.6	0.4	5.4	2.3	10.2	24.0	.425	2.5	7.2	.343	8.8	10.4	.845
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Johnson	4	37.8	17.3	0.5	3.8	4.3	10.8	0.5	0.5	2.8	2.0	6.8	14.3	.474	0.3	1.0	.250	3.5	4.3	.824
difference:	+1	+1.0	+20.1	+1.3	+6.0	+7.3		+1.9	+0.1	-3.2	-1.2	+5.0	+16.1	+.086	+2.3	+8.8	+.015	+7.7	+9.7	+.024
Russell Westbrook	5	38.8	37.4	1.8	9.8	11.6	10.8	2.4	0.4	6.0	3.2	11.8	30.4	.388	2.6	9.8	.265	11.2	14.0	.800

Season 10
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1996-97	2017-18
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+1.6	+5.3	+1.1	+5.4	+6.5	+1.0	+0.3	+0.1	-1.7	-0.5	+3.2	+8.4	+.047	+0.1	+1.2	+.143	+1.1	+0.3	+.115
Russell Westbrook	80	36.4	25.4	1.9	8.2	10.1	10.3	1.8	0.3	4.8	2.5	9.5	21.1	.449	1.2	4.1	.298	5.2	7.1	.737
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:	+1	+2.4	+12.5	+0.2	+7.4	+7.6	+1.5	+1.1		-1.6	-0.5	+5.5	+9.2	+.103	+1.9	+2.6	+.221	+0.3	+0.1	+.054
Russell Westbrook	6	39.2	29.3	1.8	10.2	12.0	7.5	1.5	0.0	5.2	3.5	10.7	26.8	.398	2.5	7.0	.357	5.5	6.7	.825

Season 11
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1997-98	2018-19
Team	Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+23	+10.2	+13.4	+0.8	+7.0	+7.8	+5.8	+1.4	+0.3	-2.5	-2.3	+5.5	+13.3	+.019	+1.5	+5.1	+.136	+0.9	+2.5	+.215
Russell Westbrook	73	36.0	22.9	1.5	9.6	11.1	10.7	1.9	0.5	4.5	3.4	8.6	20.2	.428	1.6	5.6	.290	4.1	6.2	.656
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:	+1	+8.9	+9.0	+0.9	+5.8	+6.7	+5.8	+0.5	+0.3	-3.1	-2.3	+2.2	+11.7	+.188	+1.9	+5.8	+.074	+2.6	+2.2	+.218
Russell Westbrook	5	39.4	22.8	1.4	7.6	9.0	10.6	1.0	0.6	4.6	3.8	8.0	22.2	.360	2.2	6.8	.324	4.6	5.2	.885

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

Season 12
	Kevin Johnson	Russell Westbrook
Season	1999-00	2019-20
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+51	+17.1	+20.5	+1.8	+3.5	+5.2	+3.0	+1.3	+0.4	-3.3	-2.5	+7.9	+17.8	+.099	+0.8	+3.5	+.742	+3.9	+5.5	+.237
Russell Westbrook	57	35.9	27.2	1.8	6.2	7.9	7.0	1.6	0.4	4.5	3.5	10.6	22.5	.472	1.0	3.7	.258	5.1	6.7	.763
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:	+1	+18.5	+14.7	+1.4	+4.2	+5.6	+2.0	+1.2	+0.2	-2.4	-1.8	+6.1	+13.4	+.097	+1.0	+3.8	+.242	+1.5	+3.3	+.302
Russell Westbrook	8	32.8	17.9	1.4	5.6	7.0	4.6	1.5	0.3	3.8	2.9	7.4	17.5	.421	1.0	4.1	.242	2.1	4.0	.531

Additional Years
* Russell Westbrook played 6 seasons more than Kevin Johnson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2021 to 2026—Russell Westbrook played in 4 Playoffs. In those 6 extra years over Kevin Johnson, Russell Westbrook got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Assists Leader