Kevin Johnson vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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, 4 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Kevin Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1987-88, 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 Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1987-88	2002-03
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First 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 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	+5.0	+4.3	+1.9	+3.9	+5.8	+3.8	+0.9	+1.5	-0.3	-0.9	+1.5	+2.3	+.037	+0.1	+0.3		+1.5	+1.9	+.028
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 Johnson nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kevin Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1988-89	2003-04
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Most Improved Player	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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 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	+6.4	+2.9	+1.8	+3.0	+4.8	+10.7	+1.4	+1.6	-1.5	-0.5	+0.5	+1.4	+.017		+0.3		+1.9	+1.7	+.073
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 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:	+7	+3.6	+8.8	+1.2	+1.9	+3.1	+10.5	+1.2	+1.0	-2.0	-1.7	+1.3	+1.6	+.039	+0.3	+0.8		+5.9	+5.8	+.162
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 Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1989-90	2004-05
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Finals	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 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:	+6	+7.0	+4.2	+2.0	+2.7	+4.8	+10.6	+0.9	+1.8	-1.1	-1.8	+1.1	+3.5	+.053	+0.1	+0.6		+1.9	+1.9	+.055
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 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:	+9	+4.5	+0.1	+2.7	+1.6	+4.4	+9.9	+1.3	+2.7	-1.2	-2.6	+0.2	+4.1	+.176	+0.1	+0.7		+0.1	+0.9	+.094
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 Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1990-91	2005-06
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns 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 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:	+20	+1.8	+0.1	+1.9	+4.8	+6.7	+8.6	+1.6	+1.5	-0.9	-1.1	+0.5	+0.9	+.003	+0.1	+0.6		+0.8	+1.1	+.010
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 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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Kevin Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1991-92	2006-07
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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 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:	+30	+3.4	+5.3	+1.3	+4.3	+5.7	+8.7	+1.1	+1.7		-1.0	+1.9	+2.7	+.037	+0.1	+0.6		+1.7	+1.5	+.055
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 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:	+1	+4.8	+1.5	+2.3	+3.9	+6.2	+10.7	+1.4	+0.4	-1.6	-0.9	+0.1	+1.9	+.044	+0.4	+0.8		+1.6	+1.7	+.019
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 Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1992-93	2007-08
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	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 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:	+6	+3.7	+5.9	+2.5	+6.2	+8.7	+5.5	+1.2	+1.6	-0.2	-1.1	+2.1	+4.0	+.008		+0.2		+1.7	+1.8	+.031
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 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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Kevin Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1993-94	2008-09
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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 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:	+10	+3.0	+0.3	+1.8	+5.5	+7.4	+7.7	+1.5	+1.8	-0.5	-1.4	+0.3	+1.2	+.061	+0.1	+0.4		+0.8	+1.2	+.047
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 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:	+1	+6.8	+9.5	+1.1	+6.3	+7.4	+8.6	+0.6	+1.1	-1.5	-0.7	+3.7	+10.2	+.087	+0.3	+1.0		+1.8	+2.4	+.050
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 Johnson	Yao Ming
Season	1994-95	2010-11
Team	Phoenix Suns	Houston Rockets
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:	+42	+10.6	+5.3	+0.7	+2.2	+3.0	+6.9	+1.0	+1.2	-0.8	-0.7	+1.6	+3.7	+.016	+0.1	+0.6		+2.0	+2.9	+.128
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 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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-