Kobe Bryant vs. Lance Stephenson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lance Stephenson 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 Lance Stephenson, who played 10. Kobe Bryant had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Lance Stephenson had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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	Lance Stephenson
Season	1996-97	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	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:	+59	+5.9	+4.5	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4	+0.5	+0.4	+0.3	-0.3	-0.2	+1.4	+2.6	+.084	+0.7	+1.5	+.375	+1.0	+1.1	+.033
Lance Stephenson	12	9.6	3.1	0.1	1.4	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	1.3	1.2	1.1	3.3	.333	0.0	0.4	.000	0.9	1.2	.786
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	1997-98	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+37	+15.5	+12.9	+0.7	+1.1	+1.8	+1.4	+0.4	+0.4	-1.1	-1.6	+3.8	+8.6	+.052	+0.8	+2.1	+.208	+4.4	+5.4	+.323
Lance Stephenson	42	10.5	2.5	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.9	0.7	1.1	3.0	.376	0.1	0.7	.133	0.2	0.4	.471
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
difference:	+7	+17.2	+7.2	+0.6	+1.3	+1.9	+1.2	+0.3	+0.7	-0.5	-2.0	+2.3	+4.6	+.186		+0.8	+.286	+2.5	+3.6	+.189
Lance Stephenson	4	3.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	0.5	.500	0.3	0.5	.500

Season 3
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	1998-99	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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:	+28	+8.7	+11.1	+0.5	+0.9	+1.4	+0.9	+0.4	+0.8	-1.7	-1.0	+3.7	+7.9	+.005	+0.3	+0.4	+.063	+3.9	+4.3	+.187
Lance Stephenson	78	29.2	8.8	0.6	3.3	3.9	2.9	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.1	3.5	7.7	.460	0.8	2.4	.330	1.0	1.5	.652
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:	+11	+4.2	+10.4	+0.9	+1.5	+0.7	+1.3	+0.7	+1.2	-2.0	-0.5	+4.0	+8.9	+.022	+0.1	+0.5	+.067	+2.3	+2.5	+.178
Lance Stephenson	19	35.4	9.4	0.7	6.8	7.6	3.3	1.2	0.1	1.9	2.5	3.6	8.9	.408	0.9	3.4	.281	1.2	1.9	.622

Season 4
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	1999-00	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pacers Lost East 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:	+12	+2.9	+8.7	+0.4	+1.2	+0.9	+0.3	+0.9	+0.8	-0.1	-0.8	+2.9	+6.7	+.023	+0.4	+0.9	+.033	+3.2	+3.6	+.110
Lance Stephenson	78	35.3	13.8	1.2	5.9	7.2	4.6	0.7	0.1	2.7	2.5	5.5	11.2	.491	1.1	3.1	.352	1.8	2.5	.711
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	+1.9	+7.5	+0.1	+2.3	+2.4	+0.2	+0.7	+1.3	-0.1	-1.1	+2.6	+6.3	+.013	+0.3	+0.6	+.014	+2.5	+3.1	+.040
Lance Stephenson	19	37.1	13.6	1.3	5.6	6.9	4.2	0.8	0.2	2.4	2.9	5.3	11.6	.455	1.3	3.5	.358	1.8	2.6	.714

Season 5
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2000-01	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Charlotte Hornets
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:	+7	+15.1	+20.3	+0.9	+0.4	+1.4	+1.1	+1.1	+0.5	-1.1	-1.1	+6.9	+13.2	+.088	+0.6	+1.2	+.134	+5.9	+6.4	+.226
Lance Stephenson	61	25.8	8.2	0.6	3.9	4.5	3.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	2.2	3.4	9.0	.376	0.3	1.7	.171	1.1	1.8	.627
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2001-02	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+11	+18.4	+16.9	+0.8	+1.4	+2.3	+3.6	+0.9	+0.3	-1.4	-0.9	+6.1	+13.1	+.012		+0.6	+.135	+4.8	+5.8	+.045
Lance Stephenson	69	19.9	8.3	0.6	2.7	3.2	1.9	0.6	0.1	1.4	2.0	3.3	6.9	.481	0.4	1.1	.385	1.3	1.6	.784
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:	+15	+20.0	+13.6	+1.2	+3.1	+4.3	+2.8	+1.1	+0.9	-2.0	-0.9	+4.0	+11.7	+.089	+0.7	+1.8	+.021	+4.8	+6.3	+.041
Lance Stephenson	4	23.8	13.0	0.3	1.3	1.5	1.8	0.3	0.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	11.0	.523	0.5	1.3	.400	1.0	1.3	.800

Season 7
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2002-03	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+64	+21.4	+23.2	+1.1	+2.9	+4.0	+2.6	+1.9	+0.6	-2.1	-0.9	+7.6	+16.8	+.001	+1.2	+2.9	+.083	+6.9	+8.0	+.228
Lance Stephenson	18	20.1	6.8	0.2	2.7	2.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	1.4	1.8	3.0	6.7	.450	0.3	1.1	.300	0.4	0.7	.615
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:	+8	+17.5	+16.1	+1.0	+1.2	+0.2	+2.4	+0.7	+0.1	-2.5	-0.1	+4.6	+13.1	+.077	+0.3	+0.7	+.014	+6.4	+7.7	+.077
Lance Stephenson	4	26.8	16.0	0.3	5.0	5.3	2.8	0.5	0.0	1.0	2.8	6.8	13.3	.509	1.8	4.5	.389	0.8	1.0	.750

Season 8
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2003-04	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pacers Lost East 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		%
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:	+17	+15.0	+14.8	+0.8	+0.5	+0.3	+2.2	+1.1	+0.2	-1.0	-0.5	+4.2	+9.5	+.011	+0.3	+0.5	+.038	+6.0	+6.7	+.191
Lance Stephenson	82	22.6	9.2	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.9	0.6	0.2	1.6	2.2	3.7	8.6	.427	0.8	2.8	.289	1.0	1.5	.661
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:	+15	+22.9	+14.1	+0.4	+1.6	+2.0	+2.6	+1.6	+0.2	-1.5	-0.2	+4.3	+11.6	+.049		+0.7	+.061	+5.4	+6.2	+.257
Lance Stephenson	7	21.3	10.4	0.4	2.3	2.7	2.9	0.3	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.3	9.3	.462	1.1	3.7	.308	0.7	1.3	.556

Season 9
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2004-05	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
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:	+2	+24.2	+20.4	+0.9	+1.8	+2.7	+3.9	+0.7	+0.7	-2.8	-1.0	+6.0	+13.7	+.007	+0.9	+3.0	+.032	+7.5	+9.0	+.131
Lance Stephenson	68	16.5	7.2	0.5	2.7	3.2	2.1	0.6	0.1	1.3	1.6	2.7	6.4	.426	1.1	2.9	.371	0.7	1.1	.685
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kobe Bryant nor Lance Stephenson played in the postseason in their season 9

Note: Lance Stephenson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 10
	Kobe Bryant	Lance Stephenson
Season	2005-06	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers
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:	+34	+23.3	+27.1	+0.6	+1.9	+2.5	+0.9	+1.3	+0.3	-1.5	-0.8	+9.0	+20.2	+.005	+1.7	+4.5	+.047	+7.3	+8.5	+.062
Lance Stephenson	46	17.7	8.3	0.3	2.5	2.8	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.6	2.1	3.2	7.0	.455	0.6	2.0	.300	1.4	1.7	.788
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
Lance Stephenson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Kobe Bryant played 10 seasons more than Lance Stephenson 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 Lance Stephenson, 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