Kevin Love vs. John Starks Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Starks and Kevin Love, 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 Love played 17 years in the NBA, 4 more than John Starks, who played 13. Kevin Love had the first of his seasons in 2008-09, while John Starks had his rookie season in 1988-89. 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 Love	17	6	2008-09 to 2024-25
John Starks	13	9	1988-89 to 2001-02

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2008-09	1988-89
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second 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 Love	81	25.3	11.1	3.4	5.7	9.1	1.0	0.4	0.6	1.5	2.5	3.9	8.5	.459	0.0	0.2	.105	3.3	4.1	.789
difference:	+45	+16.5	+7.0	+3.0	+5.0	+8.0	+0.2	+0.2	+0.5	-0.4	-1.5	+2.5	+5.0	+.051	+0.3	+0.5	+.280	+2.4	+2.7	+.135
John Starks	36	8.8	4.1	0.4	0.7	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.1	1.1	1.0	1.4	3.5	.408	0.3	0.7	.385	0.9	1.4	.654

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor John Starks played in the postseason in their season 1

Note: John Starks didn't play in 1989-90.


Season 2
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2009-10	1990-91
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East 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 Love	60	28.6	14.0	3.8	7.2	11.0	2.3	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.3	4.9	10.8	.450	0.6	1.8	.330	3.8	4.6	.815
difference:	+1	+9.4	+6.4	+3.3	+5.5	+8.9	+1.0	+0.3	+0.1	-0.8	-0.1	+1.9	+4.1	+.011	+0.2	+0.3	+.040	+2.5	+2.9	+.063
John Starks	61	19.2	7.6	0.5	1.7	2.1	3.3	1.0	0.3	1.2	2.2	3.0	6.7	.439	0.4	1.5	.290	1.3	1.7	.752

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	3	9.3	2.0	0.3	0.7	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	1.3	0.7	1.7	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 3
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2010-11	1991-92
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Most Improved Player	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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 Love	73	35.8	20.2	4.5	10.7	15.2	2.5	0.6	0.4	2.1	2.0	6.6	14.1	.470	1.2	2.9	.417	5.8	6.8	.850
difference:	+9	+10.0	+6.3	+4.0	+8.9	+12.9	+0.9	+0.7	+0.2	-0.3	-0.8	+1.7	+3.1	+.021	+0.1	+0.4	+.069	+2.9	+3.1	+.072
John Starks	82	25.8	13.9	0.5	1.8	2.3	3.4	1.3	0.2	1.8	2.8	4.9	11.0	.449	1.1	3.3	.348	2.9	3.7	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	12	24.6	12.1	0.6	1.9	2.5	3.2	1.4	0.0	1.8	3.8	3.8	10.3	.374	0.9	3.8	.239	3.5	4.3	.808


Season 4
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2011-12	1992-93
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks 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 Love	55	39.0	26.0	4.1	9.2	13.3	2.0	0.9	0.5	2.3	2.8	8.6	19.3	.448	1.9	5.1	.372	6.9	8.4	.824
difference:	+25	+8.0	+8.5	+3.4	+7.3	+10.7	+3.1	+0.2	+0.3	-0.1	-0.1	+2.2	+4.3	+.020	+0.5	+0.9	+.051	+3.6	+4.3	+.029
John Starks	80	31.0	17.5	0.7	1.9	2.6	5.1	1.1	0.2	2.2	2.9	6.4	15.0	.428	1.4	4.2	.321	3.3	4.1	.795

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	15	38.3	16.5	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.4	1.0	0.2	3.7	3.8	5.9	13.3	.440	1.9	5.0	.373	2.9	4.0	.717


Season 5
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2012-13	1993-94
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost NBA Finals

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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 Love	18	34.3	18.3	3.6	10.4	14.0	2.3	0.7	0.5	2.2	1.9	5.8	16.6	.352	1.1	5.1	.217	5.6	7.9	.704
difference:	+41	+0.6	+0.7	+3.0	+7.9	+10.9	+3.6	+0.9	+0.4	-0.9	-1.3	+1.1		+.068	+0.8	+0.6	+.118	+2.4	+3.7	+.050
John Starks	59	34.9	19.0	0.6	2.5	3.1	5.9	1.6	0.1	3.1	3.2	6.9	16.6	.420	1.9	5.7	.335	3.2	4.2	.754

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	25	33.6	14.6	0.4	2.0	2.3	4.6	1.4	0.1	2.3	3.4	4.4	11.6	.381	1.9	5.3	.356	3.9	5.0	.770


Season 6
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2013-14	1994-95
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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 Love	77	36.3	26.1	2.9	9.6	12.5	4.4	0.8	0.5	2.5	1.8	8.4	18.5	.457	2.5	6.6	.376	6.8	8.2	.821
difference:	+3	+2.2	+10.8	+2.5	+7.3	+9.8	+0.7	+0.4	+0.4	-0.5	-1.4	+3.2	+5.2	+.062	+0.2	+1.0	+.021	+4.7	+5.3	+.084
John Starks	80	34.1	15.3	0.4	2.3	2.7	5.1	1.2	0.1	2.0	3.2	5.2	13.3	.395	2.7	7.6	.355	2.1	2.9	.737

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	11	34.5	15.6	0.2	2.1	2.3	5.2	1.2	0.1	2.4	3.6	5.3	11.7	.450	2.7	6.6	.411	2.4	3.8	.619


Season 7
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2014-15	1995-96
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East 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 Love	75	33.8	16.4	1.9	7.9	9.7	2.2	0.7	0.5	1.6	1.9	5.5	12.7	.434	1.9	5.2	.367	3.4	4.3	.804
difference:	+6	+3.0	+3.8	+1.5	+5.4	+6.8	+1.7	+0.6	+0.4	-0.3	-0.9	+0.9	+2.3	+.009	+0.1	+0.3	+.006	+1.8	+2.2	+.051
John Starks	81	30.8	12.6	0.4	2.5	2.9	3.9	1.3	0.1	1.9	2.8	4.6	10.4	.443	1.8	4.9	.361	1.6	2.1	.753

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	4	26.8	14.3	1.5	5.5	7.0	2.5	0.3	0.5	1.5	3.0	4.3	10.3	.415	2.3	5.3	.429	3.5	4.8	.737
difference:	+4	+12.5	+1.7	+1.1	+2.2	+3.4	+1.6	+1.3	+0.4	-1.6	-0.3	+0.6	+0.6	+.033	+0.3	+0.3	+.038	+0.1	+0.1	+.007
John Starks	8	39.3	16.0	0.4	3.3	3.6	4.1	1.6	0.1	3.1	3.3	4.9	10.9	.448	2.6	5.6	.467	3.6	4.9	.744


Season 8
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2015-16	1996-97
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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 Love	77	31.5	16.0	1.9	8.0	9.9	2.4	0.8	0.5	1.8	2.1	5.3	12.7	.419	2.1	5.7	.360	3.4	4.1	.822
difference:		+5.0	+2.2	+1.4	+5.8	+7.2	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	-0.3	-0.4	+0.5	+1.6	+.012	+0.2	+0.4	+.009	+1.2	+1.2	+.053
John Starks	77	26.5	13.8	0.5	2.2	2.7	2.8	1.2	0.1	2.1	2.5	4.8	11.1	.431	1.9	5.3	.369	2.2	2.9	.769

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	20	30.7	14.7	1.7	7.1	8.8	2.1	0.5	0.4	1.4	1.7	4.6	12.0	.385	2.3	5.6	.414	3.2	3.8	.840
difference:	+11	+2.4	+0.7	+0.9	+4.4	+5.4	+0.7	+0.6	+0.4	-0.8	-1.1	+0.3	+1.0	+.059	+0.9	+1.0	+.097	+0.4	+0.4	+.034
John Starks	9	28.3	14.0	0.8	2.7	3.4	2.8	1.1	0.0	2.2	2.8	4.9	11.0	.444	1.4	4.6	.317	2.8	3.4	.806


Season 9
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2016-17	1997-98
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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 Love	60	31.4	19.0	2.5	8.6	11.1	1.9	0.9	0.4	2.0	2.1	6.2	14.5	.427	2.4	6.5	.373	4.3	4.9	.871
difference:	+22	+4.7	+6.1	+1.9	+6.4	+8.3	+0.8	+0.1	+0.3	-0.3	-0.4	+1.7	+3.0	+.034	+0.8	+1.6	+.046	+2.0	+2.0	+.084
John Starks	82	26.7	12.9	0.6	2.2	2.8	2.7	1.0	0.1	1.7	2.5	4.5	11.5	.393	1.6	4.9	.327	2.3	2.9	.787

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	18	32.1	16.8	2.0	8.6	10.6	1.7	1.2	0.9	1.7	2.6	5.3	12.1	.436	2.8	6.2	.450	3.5	4.2	.840
difference:	+8	+0.7	+0.4	+1.6	+5.0	+6.6	+0.6	+0.4	+0.8	-0.6	-0.9	+0.6	+0.4	+.036	+0.3	+0.3	+.026	+1.4	+1.8	+.035
John Starks	10	31.4	16.4	0.4	3.6	4.0	2.3	1.6	0.1	1.1	3.5	5.9	12.5	.472	2.5	5.9	.424	2.1	2.4	.875


Season 10
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2017-18	1998-99
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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 Love	59	28.0	17.6	1.7	7.5	9.3	1.7	0.7	0.4	1.5	2.0	5.7	12.4	.458	2.3	5.6	.415	4.0	4.5	.880
difference:	+9	+5.7	+3.8	+1.0	+4.9	+6.0	+3.0	+0.7	+0.3	-0.2	-0.7	+0.3	+2.2	+.088	+0.7	+0.2	+.125	+2.5	+2.5	+.140
John Starks	50	33.7	13.8	0.7	2.6	3.3	4.7	1.4	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.4	14.6	.370	1.6	5.4	.290	1.5	2.0	.740

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	21	31.4	14.9	2.3	7.9	10.2	1.6	0.7	0.4	2.0	2.8	5.2	13.2	.392	1.7	5.0	.340	2.8	3.0	.922
John Starks	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2018-19	1999-00
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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 Love	22	27.2	17.0	1.5	9.4	10.9	2.2	0.3	0.2	1.9	2.5	5.0	12.9	.385	2.4	6.7	.361	4.7	5.2	.904
difference:	+15	+5.0	+3.1	+1.2	+6.9	+8.2	+2.7	+0.8	+0.1	-0.1	-0.3	+0.5	+1.7	+.010	+0.8	+2.1	+.016	+3.3	+3.6	+.057
John Starks	37	32.2	13.9	0.3	2.5	2.7	4.9	1.1	0.1	1.8	2.8	5.5	14.6	.375	1.6	4.6	.345	1.4	1.6	.847

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor John Starks played in the postseason in their season 11


Season 12
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2019-20	2000-01
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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 Love	56	31.8	17.6	1.0	8.8	9.8	3.2	0.6	0.3	2.5	1.6	5.8	13.0	.450	2.6	7.0	.374	3.3	3.9	.854
difference:	+19	+3.5	+8.3	+0.6	+7.1	+7.7	+0.8	+0.4	+0.2	-1.2	-1.3	+2.2	+3.9	+.052	+1.7	+4.6	+.022	+2.1	+2.4	+.052
John Starks	75	28.3	9.3	0.4	1.7	2.1	2.4	1.0	0.1	1.3	2.9	3.6	9.1	.398	0.9	2.4	.352	1.2	1.5	.802

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Starks	3	12.0	3.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.7	1.3	4.0	.333	0.3	1.3	.250	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 13
	Kevin Love	John Starks
Season	2020-21	2001-02
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	25	24.9	12.2	0.7	6.8	7.4	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.5	1.0	4.1	10.1	.409	2.3	6.2	.365	1.7	2.0	.824
difference:	+41	+10.8	+7.8	+0.5	+6.0	+6.4	+1.4	+0.1	+0.1	-0.7	-0.9	+2.4	+5.4	+.041	+1.9	+4.8	+.060	+1.2	+1.4	+.019
John Starks	66	14.1	4.4	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.1	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.9	1.7	4.7	.368	0.4	1.4	.305	0.5	0.6	.805

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor John Starks played in the postseason in their season 13

Additional Years

* Kevin Love played 4 seasons more than John Starks in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 14 to 17, from 2022 to 2025—Kevin Love played in two Playoffs.

Kevin Love vs. John Starks Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Starks and Kevin Love, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years