Kevin McHale vs. John Salley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salley and Kevin McHale, 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 / 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 McHale played 13 years in the NBA, 2 more than John Salley, who played 11. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while John Salley had his rookie season in 1986-87. 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 achivements, 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 McHale	13	13	1980-81 to 1992-93
John Salley	11	9	1986-87 to 1999-00

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


Rookie Season
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1980-81	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	82	20.1	10.0	1.9	2.5	4.4	0.7	0.3	1.8	1.3	3.2	4.3	8.1	.533	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	1.9	.679
John Salley	82	17.8	5.3	1.3	2.3	3.6	0.7	0.5	1.5	0.9	3.1	2.0	3.5	.562	0.0	0.0	.000	1.3	2.1	.614

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	17	17.4	8.5	1.7	1.8	3.5	0.8	0.2	1.5	0.9	3.0	3.6	6.6	.540	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.1	.639
John Salley	15	20.7	6.2	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.2	1.1	0.9	4.0	2.2	4.4	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.8	.643


Season 2
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1981-82	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	82	28.4	13.6	2.3	4.5	6.8	1.1	0.4	2.3	1.7	3.2	5.7	10.7	.531	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.0	.754
John Salley	82	24.4	8.5	2.0	2.9	4.9	1.4	0.6	1.7	1.5	3.6	3.1	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.2	.709

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	12	28.7	16.2	3.4	3.7	7.1	0.9	0.4	2.3	1.3	3.7	6.4	11.2	.575	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.4	.755
John Salley	23	27.1	7.0	2.8	4.0	6.7	0.9	0.7	1.6	1.0	3.8	2.4	4.5	.538	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	3.0	.710


Season 3
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1982-83	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	82	28.6	14.1	2.6	4.1	6.7	1.3	0.4	2.3	1.9	2.9	5.9	10.9	.541	0.0	0.0	.000	2.4	3.3	.717
John Salley	67	21.8	7.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	1.1	0.6	1.1	1.5	2.9	2.5	5.0	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.692

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	7	25.3	11.1	2.1	3.9	6.0	0.7	0.4	1.0	1.4	2.3	4.9	8.9	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.4	2.6	.556
John Salley	17	23.1	8.9	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.5	0.5	1.5	0.7	3.4	3.4	5.8	.586	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.2	.667


Season 4
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1983-84	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	82	31.4	18.4	2.5	4.9	7.4	1.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	3.0	7.2	12.9	.556	0.0	0.0	.333	4.1	5.4	.765
John Salley	82	23.3	7.2	1.9	3.5	5.4	0.8	0.6	1.9	1.2	3.4	2.5	5.0	.512	0.0	0.0	.250	2.1	3.0	.713

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	23	30.5	14.8	2.7	3.5	6.2	1.2	0.1	1.5	1.7	3.3	5.3	10.6	.504	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.3	.777
John Salley	20	27.4	9.5	2.9	3.0	5.9	1.0	0.5	1.7	1.1	3.8	2.9	6.1	.475	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.9	.755


Season 5
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1984-85	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	79	33.6	19.8	2.9	6.1	9.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.0	3.0	7.7	13.4	.570	0.0	0.1	.000	4.5	5.9	.760
John Salley	74	22.3	7.4	1.9	2.6	4.4	0.9	0.7	1.5	1.2	3.2	2.4	5.1	.475	0.0	0.0	.000	2.5	3.5	.727

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	21	39.9	22.1	3.5	6.4	9.9	1.5	0.6	2.2	2.9	3.5	8.2	14.4	.568	0.0	0.0	-	5.8	7.1	.807
John Salley	15	20.5	7.5	1.3	2.8	4.1	0.7	0.4	1.3	0.9	3.9	2.5	4.7	.543	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	4.0	.600


Season 6
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1985-86	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	68	35.3	21.3	2.5	5.6	8.1	2.7	0.4	2.0	2.2	2.8	8.3	14.4	.574	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	6.2	.776
John Salley	72	24.6	9.5	1.5	2.6	4.1	1.6	0.7	1.5	1.4	3.1	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.6	.715

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	18	39.7	24.9	2.8	5.8	8.6	2.7	0.4	2.4	2.7	3.6	9.3	16.1	.579	0.0	0.1	.000	6.2	7.8	.794
John Salley	5	29.8	12.6	2.0	4.0	6.0	2.8	0.6	2.8	1.8	3.6	4.0	8.8	.455	0.0	0.2	.000	4.6	5.6	.821


Season 7
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1986-87	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	77	39.7	26.1	3.2	6.7	9.9	2.6	0.5	2.2	2.6	3.1	10.3	17.0	.604	0.0	0.1	.000	5.6	6.6	.836
John Salley	51	27.9	8.3	2.2	3.9	6.1	1.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.8	3.0	6.0	.502	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.8	.799

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	21	39.4	21.1	3.1	6.1	9.2	1.9	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.4	8.3	14.2	.584	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.0	.762
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1987-88	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	64	37.3	22.6	2.5	5.9	8.4	2.7	0.4	1.4	2.2	2.8	8.6	14.2	.604	0.0	0.0	-	5.4	6.8	.797
John Salley	76	25.1	7.7	1.7	3.6	5.4	1.8	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	2.7	5.7	.477	0.0	0.0	.667	2.2	3.0	.729

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	17	42.1	25.4	3.2	4.8	8.0	2.4	0.4	1.8	2.3	3.8	9.3	15.4	.603	0.1	0.1	1.000	6.8	8.1	.839
John Salley	5	40.2	11.0	3.2	4.8	8.0	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.2	4.2	4.4	11.4	.386	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	3.2	.688


Season 9
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1988-89	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	78	36.9	22.5	2.9	5.3	8.2	2.2	0.3	1.2	2.5	2.9	8.5	15.5	.546	0.0	0.1	.000	5.6	6.8	.818
John Salley	75	26.1	7.3	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.6	1.1	1.3	3.7	2.6	5.3	.499	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.8	.739

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	3	38.3	19.0	2.3	5.7	8.0	3.0	0.3	0.7	1.3	4.3	6.7	13.7	.488	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.7	.739
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1989-90	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	82	33.2	20.9	2.5	5.8	8.3	2.1	0.4	1.9	2.2	3.0	7.9	14.4	.549	0.3	0.8	.333	4.8	5.4	.893
John Salley	42	16.0	4.4	1.1	2.2	3.3	1.3	0.5	0.6	1.3	2.6	1.5	3.3	.450	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.0	.694

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	5	38.4	22.0	1.6	6.2	7.8	2.6	0.4	2.0	2.8	3.4	8.4	13.8	.609	0.2	0.6	.333	5.0	5.8	.862
John Salley	16	5.3	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	1.6	0.4	0.7	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.4	.286

Note: John Salley didn't play in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.


Season 11
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1990-91	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	68	30.4	18.4	2.1	4.9	7.1	1.9	0.4	2.1	2.1	2.9	7.4	13.4	.553	0.2	0.5	.405	3.4	4.0	.829
John Salley	45	6.7	1.6	0.4	1.0	1.4	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4	1.5	0.6	1.5	.362	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	11	34.2	20.7	1.6	4.9	6.5	1.8	0.5	1.3	1.3	3.8	7.1	13.5	.527	0.5	1.0	.545	6.0	7.3	.825
John Salley	18	4.2	0.9	0.5	0.7	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.9	0.3	0.7	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.6	.700


Season 12
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	56	25.0	13.9	2.1	3.8	5.9	1.5	0.2	1.1	1.5	2.0	5.8	11.3	.509	0.0	0.2	.000	2.4	2.9	.822
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	10	30.6	16.5	2.1	4.6	6.7	1.3	0.5	0.5	0.9	3.4	6.5	12.6	.516	0.0	0.1	.000	3.5	4.4	.795
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Kevin McHale	John Salley
Season	1992-93	-
Team	Boston Celtics	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	71	23.3	10.7	1.3	3.7	5.0	1.0	0.2	0.8	1.3	1.8	4.2	9.1	.459	0.0	0.3	.111	2.3	2.7	.841
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	4	28.3	19.0	2.3	5.0	7.3	0.8	0.5	1.8	1.3	1.5	8.0	13.8	.582	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.5	.857
John Salley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Kevin McHale vs. John Salley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salley and Kevin McHale, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13