Kobe Bryant vs. Jamal Murray Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jamal Murray and Kobe Bryant, 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.

Kobe Bryant played 20 years in the NBA, 11 more than Jamal Murray, who played 9. Kobe Bryant had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Jamal Murray had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	1996-97	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Kobe Bryant	71	15.5	7.6	0.7	1.2	1.9	1.3	0.7	0.3	1.6	1.4	2.5	5.9	.417	0.7	1.9	.375	1.9	2.3	.819
difference:	+11	+6.0	+2.3	+0.2	+0.9	+0.7	+0.8	+0.1		-0.2	-0.1	+1.1	+3.0	+.013	+0.7	+2.3	+.041	+0.6	+0.8	+.064
Jamal Murray	82	21.5	9.9	0.5	2.1	2.6	2.1	0.6	0.3	1.4	1.5	3.6	8.9	.404	1.4	4.2	.334	1.3	1.5	.883
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	9	14.8	8.2	0.1	1.1	1.2	1.2	0.3	0.2	1.6	2.6	2.3	6.1	.382	0.7	2.6	.261	2.9	3.3	.867
Jamal Murray	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	1997-98	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	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		%
Kobe Bryant	79	26.0	15.4	1.0	2.1	3.1	2.5	0.9	0.5	2.0	2.3	4.9	11.6	.428	0.9	2.8	.341	4.6	5.8	.794
difference:	+2	+5.7	+1.3		+0.6	+0.6	+0.9	+0.1	+0.2	-0.1	-0.2	+1.0	+1.5	+.023	+1.1	+2.6	+.037	+1.8	+2.7	+.111
Jamal Murray	81	31.7	16.7	1.0	2.7	3.7	3.4	1.0	0.3	2.1	2.1	5.9	13.1	.451	2.0	5.4	.378	2.8	3.1	.905
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	11	20.2	8.7	0.6	1.3	1.9	1.5	0.3	0.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	6.9	.408	0.3	1.3	.214	2.8	4.1	.689
Jamal Murray	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	1998-99	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Kobe Bryant	50	37.9	19.9	1.1	4.2	5.3	3.8	1.4	1.0	3.1	3.1	7.2	15.6	.465	0.5	2.0	.267	4.9	5.8	.839
difference:	+25	+5.3	+1.7	+0.2	+0.8	+1.1	+1.0	+0.5	+0.6	-1.0	-1.1	+0.4		+.028	+1.5	+3.5	+.100	+2.4	+2.8	+.009
Jamal Murray	75	32.6	18.2	0.9	3.4	4.2	4.8	0.9	0.4	2.1	2.0	6.8	15.6	.437	2.0	5.5	.367	2.5	3.0	.848
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	8	39.6	19.8	1.6	5.3	6.9	4.6	1.9	1.3	3.9	3.0	7.6	17.8	.430	1.0	2.9	.348	3.5	4.4	.800
difference:	+6	+3.3	+1.5	+0.2	+2.3	+2.5	+0.1	+0.9	+1.2	-2.3	-1.3		+0.2	+.005	+1.0	+3.0	+.011	+0.5		+.103
Jamal Murray	14	36.3	21.3	1.4	3.0	4.4	4.7	1.0	0.1	1.6	1.7	7.6	18.0	.425	2.0	5.9	.337	4.0	4.4	.903

Season 4
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	1999-00	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Kobe Bryant	66	38.2	22.5	1.6	4.7	6.3	4.9	1.6	0.9	2.8	3.3	8.4	17.9	.468	0.7	2.2	.319	5.0	6.1	.821
difference:	+7	+5.9	+4.0	+0.8	+1.5	+2.3	+0.1	+0.5	+0.6	-0.6	-1.6	+1.5	+2.7	+.012	+1.2	+3.3	+.027	+2.2	+3.0	+.060
Jamal Murray	59	32.3	18.5	0.8	3.2	4.0	4.8	1.1	0.3	2.2	1.7	6.9	15.2	.456	1.9	5.5	.346	2.8	3.1	.881
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	22	39.0	21.1	1.2	3.3	4.5	4.4	1.5	1.5	2.5	4.0	7.9	17.9	.442	1.0	2.9	.344	4.3	5.7	.754
difference:	+3	+0.6	+5.4	+0.1	+0.5	+0.3	+2.2	+0.6	+1.2	-0.3	-1.8	+1.9	+1.5	+.063	+2.3	+4.3	+.109	+0.6	+1.6	+.143
Jamal Murray	19	39.6	26.5	1.1	3.8	4.8	6.6	0.9	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.8	19.4	.505	3.3	7.2	.453	3.7	4.1	.897

Season 5
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	2000-01	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Kobe Bryant	68	40.9	28.5	1.5	4.3	5.9	5.0	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.3	10.3	22.2	.464	0.9	2.9	.305	7.0	8.2	.853
difference:	+20	+5.4	+7.3	+0.7	+1.0	+1.9	+0.2	+0.4	+0.3	-0.9	-1.3	+2.4	+5.7	+.013	+1.8	+3.7	+.103	+4.2	+5.0	+.016
Jamal Murray	48	35.5	21.2	0.8	3.3	4.0	4.8	1.3	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.9	16.5	.477	2.7	6.6	.408	2.8	3.2	.869
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	16	43.4	29.4	1.8	5.4	7.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	3.2	3.3	10.5	22.4	.469	0.7	2.1	.324	7.8	9.4	.821
Jamal Murray	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Jamal Murray didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 6
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	2001-02	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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		%
Kobe Bryant	80	38.3	25.2	1.4	4.1	5.5	5.5	1.5	0.4	2.8	2.9	9.4	20.0	.469	0.4	1.7	.250	6.1	7.4	.829
difference:	+15	+5.5	+5.2	+0.7	+0.9	+1.5	+0.7	+0.5	+0.2	-0.6	-1.3	+2.1	+4.0	+.015	+2.2	+4.9	+.148	+3.3	+4.1	+.004
Jamal Murray	65	32.8	20.0	0.7	3.2	4.0	6.2	1.0	0.2	2.2	1.6	7.3	16.0	.454	2.6	6.6	.398	2.8	3.3	.833
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	19	43.8	26.6	1.5	4.4	5.8	4.6	1.4	0.9	2.8	3.4	9.8	22.7	.434	1.2	3.1	.379	5.8	7.6	.759
difference:	+1	+3.8	+0.5	+0.7	+0.5	+0.1	+2.5	+0.1	+0.6	-0.3	-1.3	+0.1	+2.2	+.039	+1.8	+4.4	+.017	+2.0	+3.5	+.167
Jamal Murray	20	40.0	26.1	0.8	4.9	5.7	7.1	1.5	0.3	2.5	2.1	9.7	20.5	.473	3.0	7.5	.396	3.8	4.1	.926

Season 7
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	2002-03	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Nuggets 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		%
Kobe Bryant	82	41.5	30.0	1.3	5.6	6.9	5.9	2.2	0.8	3.5	2.7	10.6	23.5	.451	1.5	4.0	.383	7.3	8.7	.843
difference:	+23	+10.0	+8.8	+0.6	+2.2	+2.8	+0.6	+1.2	+0.1	-1.4	-0.9	+2.6	+6.8	+.030	+1.0	+1.8	+.042	+4.6	+5.6	+.010
Jamal Murray	59	31.5	21.2	0.7	3.4	4.1	6.5	1.0	0.7	2.1	1.8	8.0	16.7	.481	2.5	5.8	.425	2.7	3.1	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	12	44.3	32.1	1.3	3.8	5.1	5.2	1.2	0.1	3.5	2.9	11.4	26.4	.432	2.1	5.2	.403	7.2	8.7	.827
difference:		+5.8	+11.5	+0.5	+0.2	+0.8	+0.4	+0.4	+0.4	-0.9	-0.6	+3.1	+5.6	+.030	+0.2	+0.9	+.088	+5.2	+6.5	+.096
Jamal Murray	12	38.5	20.6	0.8	3.6	4.3	5.6	0.8	0.5	2.6	2.3	8.3	20.8	.402	1.9	6.1	.315	2.0	2.2	.923

Season 8
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	2003-04	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Kobe Bryant	65	37.6	24.0	1.6	3.9	5.5	5.1	1.7	0.4	2.6	2.7	7.9	18.1	.438	1.1	3.3	.327	7.0	8.2	.852
difference:	+2	+1.5	+2.6	+0.9	+0.7	+1.6	+0.9	+0.3	+0.1	-0.5	-0.8		+1.4	+.036	+1.2	+2.6	+.066	+3.7	+4.5	+.034
Jamal Murray	67	36.1	21.4	0.7	3.2	3.9	6.0	1.4	0.5	2.1	1.9	7.9	16.7	.474	2.3	5.9	.393	3.3	3.7	.886
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	22	44.2	24.5	0.8	3.9	4.7	5.5	1.9	0.3	2.8	2.7	8.6	20.9	.413	1.1	4.4	.247	6.1	7.5	.813
difference:	+8	+2.9	+2.7	+0.2	+0.3	+0.2	+0.3	+0.7	+0.5	-0.3	-0.5	+0.7	+3.0	+.031	+1.3	+2.5	+.107	+2.6	+3.5	+.062
Jamal Murray	14	41.3	21.8	0.6	4.2	4.9	5.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.2	7.9	17.9	.444	2.4	6.9	.354	3.5	4.0	.875

Season 9
	Kobe Bryant	Jamal Murray
Season	2004-05	2025-26
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kobe Bryant	66	40.7	27.6	1.4	4.5	5.9	6.0	1.3	0.8	4.1	2.6	8.7	20.1	.433	2.0	5.9	.339	8.2	10.1	.816
difference:	+61	+6.9	+1.6	+0.8	+0.5	+1.3	+0.6	+0.1	+0.8	-2.1	-1.0	+1.1	+1.1	+.083	+0.6	+0.7	+.055	+4.4	+6.1	+.134
Jamal Murray	5	33.8	26.0	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.4	1.2	0.0	2.0	1.6	9.8	19.0	.516	2.6	6.6	.394	3.8	4.0	.950
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kobe Bryant nor Jamal Murray played in the postseason in their season 9

Additional Years
* Kobe Bryant played 11 seasons more than Jamal Murray in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 20, from 2006 to 2016—Kobe Bryant played in 7 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 11 extra years over Jamal Murray, Kobe Bryant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 8 All-NBA First Team 6 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 2 Scoring Leader 11 All-Star Game 3 All-Star Game MVP