Kevin Love vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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 / Games against each other

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 18 years in the NBA, 6 more than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. Kevin Love had the first of his seasons in 2008-09, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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	18	6	2008-09 to 2025-26
Ricky Rubio	12	3	2011-12 to 2022-23

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


Rookie Season
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2008-09	2011-12
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
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:	+40	+8.9	+0.5	+2.9	+2.0	+4.9	+7.2	+1.8	+0.4	-1.7	-0.1	+0.5	+1.0	+.102	+0.8	+2.1	+.235	+0.2	+0.3	+.014
Ricky Rubio	41	34.2	10.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	8.2	2.2	0.2	3.2	2.4	3.4	9.5	.357	0.8	2.3	.340	3.1	3.8	.803

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2009-10	2012-13
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 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:	+3	+1.1	+3.3	+3.0	+4.0	+7.0	+5.0	+1.7	+0.3	-1.0	-0.2	+1.7	+1.8	+.090	+0.1	+0.2	+.037	+0.1		+.016
Ricky Rubio	57	29.7	10.7	0.8	3.2	4.0	7.3	2.4	0.1	3.0	2.5	3.2	9.0	.360	0.5	1.6	.293	3.7	4.6	.799

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2010-11	2013-14
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Most Improved Player	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 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	+3.6	+10.7	+3.8	+7.3	+11.0	+6.1	+1.7	+0.3	-0.6	-0.7	+3.5	+5.9	+.089	+0.7	+1.3	+.086	+3.0	+3.3	+.048
Ricky Rubio	82	32.2	9.5	0.7	3.4	4.2	8.6	2.3	0.1	2.7	2.7	3.1	8.2	.381	0.5	1.6	.331	2.8	3.5	.802

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 3


Season 4
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2011-12	2014-15
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 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:	+33	+7.5	+15.7	+3.2	+4.4	+7.6	+6.8	+0.8	+0.5	-0.6	-0.1	+5.1	+9.3	+.092	+1.3	+2.8	+.117	+4.3	+5.2	+.021
Ricky Rubio	22	31.5	10.3	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.8	1.7	0.0	2.9	2.7	3.5	10.0	.356	0.6	2.3	.255	2.6	3.2	.803

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 4


Season 5
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2012-13	2015-16
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+58	+3.7	+8.2	+3.1	+6.6	+9.7	+6.4	+1.4	+0.4	-0.3	-0.7	+2.9	+8.9	+.022	+0.3	+2.6	+.109	+2.1	+3.8	+.143
Ricky Rubio	76	30.6	10.1	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.7	2.1	0.1	2.5	2.6	2.9	7.7	.374	0.8	2.5	.326	3.5	4.1	.847

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 5


Season 6
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2013-14	2016-17
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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 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:	+2	+3.4	+15.0	+2.0	+6.4	+8.4	+4.7	+0.9	+0.4	-0.1	-0.9	+4.9	+9.8	+.055	+1.7	+4.0	+.070	+3.4	+4.4	+.070
Ricky Rubio	75	32.9	11.1	0.9	3.2	4.1	9.1	1.7	0.1	2.6	2.7	3.5	8.7	.402	0.8	2.6	.306	3.4	3.8	.891

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 6


Season 7
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2014-15	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Jazz 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 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:	+2	+4.5	+3.3	+1.3	+3.9	+5.1	+3.1	+0.9	+0.4	-1.1	-0.8	+1.0	+2.0	+.016	+0.7	+1.7	+.015	+0.5	+1.0	+.062
Ricky Rubio	77	29.3	13.1	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.7	2.7	4.5	10.7	.418	1.2	3.5	.352	2.9	3.3	.866

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:	+2	+3.4	+0.3	+0.7	+1.0	+0.3	+4.5	+1.0		-1.5	-0.8	+0.4	+2.9	+.061	+0.6		+.116	+0.5	+1.0	+.046
Ricky Rubio	6	30.2	14.0	0.8	6.5	7.3	7.0	1.3	0.5	3.0	2.2	4.7	13.2	.354	1.7	5.3	.313	3.0	3.8	.783


Season 8
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2015-16	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+9	+3.6	+3.3	+1.4	+4.9	+6.3	+3.7	+0.5	+0.4	-0.8	-0.5	+1.0	+2.0	+.015	+0.9	+2.0	+.049	+0.5	+0.7	+.033
Ricky Rubio	68	27.9	12.7	0.5	3.1	3.6	6.1	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.6	4.3	10.7	.404	1.2	3.7	.311	2.9	3.4	.855

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:	+15	+2.9	+0.7	+1.1	+4.5	+5.6	+6.5	+1.9	+0.2	-1.6	-1.1	+1.0	+1.2	+.039	+1.5	+1.6	+.214	+0.2	+0.2	+.010
Ricky Rubio	5	33.6	15.4	0.6	2.6	3.2	8.6	2.4	0.2	3.0	2.8	5.6	13.2	.424	0.8	4.0	.200	3.4	4.0	.850


Season 9
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2016-17	2019-20
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+5	+0.4	+6.0	+1.8	+4.6	+6.4	+6.9	+0.5	+0.2	-0.7	-0.5	+1.8	+3.9	+.012	+1.2	+3.2	+.012	+1.3	+1.4	+.008
Ricky Rubio	65	31.0	13.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	8.8	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	4.4	10.6	.415	1.2	3.3	.361	3.0	3.5	.863

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2017-18	2020-21
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Minnesota Timberwolves
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	+1.9	+9.0	+1.3	+4.6	+6.0	+4.7	+0.7	+0.3	-0.1		+2.9	+5.1	+.070	+1.3	+2.5	+.107	+2.1	+2.3	+.013
Ricky Rubio	68	26.1	8.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	6.4	1.4	0.1	1.6	2.0	2.8	7.3	.388	1.0	3.1	.308	1.9	2.2	.867

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2018-19	2021-22
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
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:	+12	+1.3	+3.9	+1.1	+5.7	+6.8	+4.4	+1.1		-0.7	-0.3	+0.6	+0.8	+.022	+0.7	+1.6	+.022	+2.1	+2.2	+.050
Ricky Rubio	34	28.5	13.1	0.4	3.7	4.1	6.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	2.2	4.4	12.1	.363	1.7	5.1	.339	2.6	3.0	.854

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kevin Love nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 11


Season 12
	Kevin Love	Ricky Rubio
Season	2019-20	2022-23
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Cavaliers Lost East 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:	+23	+14.6	+12.4	+0.7	+7.0	+7.7	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	-1.6	-0.1	+4.0	+7.6	+.107	+2.0	+4.5	+.118	+2.5	+2.8	+.054
Ricky Rubio	33	17.2	5.2	0.3	1.8	2.1	3.5	0.8	0.2	0.9	1.5	1.8	5.4	.343	0.6	2.5	.256	0.8	1.1	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin Love	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ricky Rubio	3	5.7	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	1.7	1.7	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years

* Kevin Love played 6 seasons more than Ricky Rubio in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2021 to 2026—Kevin Love played in two Playoffs.

Kevin Love vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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

Additional Years