Kevin McHale vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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

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, 3 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Kevin McHale had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1980-81	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

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
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1981-82	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

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
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1982-83	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West 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	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
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

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
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1983-84	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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	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
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

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
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1984-85	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

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
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1985-86	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

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
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1986-87	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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	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
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

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
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1987-88	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Knicks 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	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
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

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
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1988-89	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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	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
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

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
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1989-90	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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	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
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

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
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1990-91	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers 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	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
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.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
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1991-92	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
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	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
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

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
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	1992-93	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Cavaliers 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	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
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

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
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Cavaliers 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2018-19
Team	-	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

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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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	Kevin McHale	J.R. Smith
Season	-	2019-20
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kevin McHale	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-

Kevin McHale vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16