Kobe Bryant vs. Kenny Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kenny Smith 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, 10 more than Kenny Smith, who played 10. Kobe Bryant had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Kenny Smith had his rookie season in 1987-88. 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	Kenny Smith
Season	1996-97	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First 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:	+10	+20.1	+6.2		+0.4	+0.4	+5.8	+0.8	+0.2	-1.4	-0.9	+2.9	+5.5	+.060	+0.5	+1.3	+.067	+0.8	+1.0
Kenny Smith	61	35.6	13.8	0.7	1.6	2.3	7.1	1.5	0.1	3.0	2.3	5.4	11.4	.477	0.2	0.6	.308	2.7	3.3	.819
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	1997-98	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
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	+12.8	+1.9	+0.4	+0.1	+0.3	+5.2	+0.4	+0.4	-1.1	-0.2	+1.9	+3.0	+.034	+0.3	+1.2	+.018	+1.4	+1.4	+.057
Kenny Smith	81	38.8	17.3	0.6	2.2	2.8	7.7	1.3	0.1	3.1	2.1	6.8	14.6	.462	0.6	1.6	.359	3.2	4.4	.737
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	1998-99	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
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:	+29	+7.3	+8.0	+0.9	+2.4	+3.3	+1.8	+0.4	+0.9	-1.0	-1.3	+2.4	+5.3	+.001	+0.2	+0.9	+.046	+2.9	+3.3	+.018
Kenny Smith	79	30.6	11.9	0.2	1.8	2.0	5.6	1.0	0.1	2.1	1.8	4.8	10.3	.466	0.3	1.1	.313	2.0	2.5	.821
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	1999-00	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+12	+3.6	+4.8	+1.1	+3.1	+4.2	+2.2	+0.2	+0.8	-0.2	-1.6	+1.7	+5.0	+.052	+0.1	+0.5	+.044	+1.3	+1.7	+.023
Kenny Smith	78	34.6	17.7	0.5	1.6	2.1	7.1	1.4	0.1	3.0	1.7	6.7	12.9	.520	0.6	1.7	.363	3.7	4.4	.844
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:	+19	+1.3	+5.8	+0.1	+2.0	+1.8	+3.6	+0.2	+1.2	-0.5	-2.3	+1.9	+5.2	+.032	+0.3	+1.6	+.156	+1.6	+2.7	+.135
Kenny Smith	3	37.7	15.3	1.3	1.3	2.7	8.0	1.3	0.3	2.0	1.7	6.0	12.7	.474	0.7	1.3	.500	2.7	3.0	.889

Season 5
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2000-01	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
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:	+13	+7.1	+14.5	+1.1	+2.5	+3.7	+1.9	+0.4	+0.5	-0.4	-1.9	+5.0	+11.0	+.011	+0.2	+1.2	+.089	+4.3	+5.1	+.013
Kenny Smith	81	33.8	14.0	0.4	1.8	2.2	6.9	1.3	0.1	2.8	1.4	5.3	11.2	.475	0.7	1.7	.394	2.7	3.1	.866
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
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2001-02	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West 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		%
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:	+2	+8.8	+12.2	+1.1	+2.5	+3.5	+0.1	+0.5	+0.3	-0.8	-1.6	+4.7	+10.9	+.051	+0.8	+1.0	+.188	+3.7	+4.7	+.049
Kenny Smith	82	29.5	13.0	0.3	1.6	2.0	5.4	1.0	0.1	2.0	1.3	4.7	9.1	.520	1.2	2.7	.438	2.4	2.7	.878
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:	+7	+11.2	+11.8	+1.3	+2.6	+3.8	+0.4	+0.6	+0.8	-0.6	-1.9	+4.5	+12.0	+.058	+0.7	+0.7	+.121	+3.5	+4.6	+.019
Kenny Smith	12	32.6	14.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	4.2	0.8	0.1	2.2	1.5	5.3	10.7	.492	1.9	3.8	.500	2.3	3.0	.778

Season 7
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2002-03	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+4	+13.2	+18.4	+1.0	+4.1	+5.1	+1.7	+1.4	+0.7	-1.9	-1.1	+6.2	+14.4	+.029	+0.4	+1.2	+.022	+5.6	+6.7	+.028
Kenny Smith	78	28.3	11.6	0.3	1.5	1.8	4.2	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	4.4	9.1	.480	1.1	2.8	.405	1.7	2.0	.871
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:	+11	+14.0	+21.3	+1.1	+1.7	+2.8	+1.1	+0.2	+0.1	-2.1	-1.2	+7.7	+18.2	+.023	+0.6	+1.9	+.044	+5.4	+6.4	+.019
Kenny Smith	23	30.3	10.8	0.2	2.1	2.3	4.1	1.0	0.2	1.4	1.7	3.7	8.2	.455	1.5	3.3	.447	1.8	2.3	.808

Season 8
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2003-04	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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:	+16	+12.5	+13.6	+1.3	+2.3	+3.6	+1.1	+0.8	+0.3	-1.1	-1.4	+4.4	+10.8	+.046	+0.7	+0.8	+.102	+5.4	+6.4	+.001
Kenny Smith	81	25.1	10.4	0.3	1.6	1.9	4.0	0.9	0.1	1.5	1.3	3.5	7.3	.484	1.8	4.1	.429	1.6	1.8	.851
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:		+14.6	+13.7	+0.5	+2.0	+2.5	+1.0	+1.3	+0.2	-1.4	-0.6	+5.1	+12.8	+.025	+1.0	+0.3	+.195	+4.5	+5.7	+.087
Kenny Smith	22	29.6	10.8	0.3	1.9	2.2	4.5	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.1	3.5	8.1	.438	2.1	4.7	.442	1.6	1.8	.900

Season 9
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2004-05	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West 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		%
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:	+2	+16.9	+19.1	+1.1	+3.4	+4.5	+2.4	+0.6	+0.8	-2.6	-0.9	+5.7	+13.3		+0.7	+2.4	+.043	+6.9	+8.5	+.005
Kenny Smith	68	23.8	8.5	0.3	1.1	1.4	3.6	0.7	0.0	1.5	1.7	3.0	6.8	.433	1.3	3.5	.382	1.3	1.6	.821
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kenny Smith	8	23.9	8.9	0.5	1.0	1.5	4.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.8	2.9	6.6	.434	1.5	3.9	.387	1.6	1.6	1.000

Season 10
	Kobe Bryant	Kenny Smith
Season	2005-06	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Kobe Bryant	80	41.0	35.4	0.9	4.4	5.3	4.5	1.8	0.4	3.1	2.9	12.2	27.2	.450	2.3	6.5	.347	8.7	10.2	.850
difference:	+32	+25.1	+29.1	+0.8	+3.6	+4.4	+2.1	+1.4	+0.4	-1.6	-2.3	+10.1	+22.2	+.027	+1.1	+3.7	+.090	+7.9	+9.3	+.017
Kenny Smith	48	15.9	6.3	0.1	0.8	0.9	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.5	0.6	2.1	5.0	.423	1.2	2.8	.437	0.8	0.9	.867
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	7	44.9	27.9	0.6	5.7	6.3	5.1	1.1	0.4	4.7	3.6	10.3	20.7	.497	2.0	5.0	.400	5.3	6.9	.771
Kenny Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Kobe Bryant played 10 seasons more than Kenny Smith in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 20, from 2007 to 2016—Kobe Bryant played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Kenny Smith, Kobe Bryant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 7 All-NBA First Team 5 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Scoring Leader 10 All-Star Game 3 All-Star Game MVP