Kobe Bryant vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings / 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.

Kobe Bryant played 20 years in the NBA, 8 more than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. Kobe Bryant had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Kobe Bryant	20	15	1996-97 to 2015-16
Ricky Rubio	12	3	2011-12 to 2022-23

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


Rookie Season
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	1996-97	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+30	+18.7	+3.0	+0.2	+2.5	+2.3	+6.9	+1.5	+0.1	-1.6	-1.0	+0.9	+3.6	+.060	+0.1	+0.4	+.035	+1.2	+1.5	+.016
Ricky Rubio	41	34.2	10.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	8.2	2.2	0.2	3.2	2.4	3.4	9.5	.357	0.8	2.3	.340	3.1	3.8	.803

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	1997-98	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+22	+3.7	+4.7	+0.2	+1.1	+0.9	+4.8	+1.5	+0.4	-1.0	-0.2	+1.7	+2.6	+.068	+0.4	+1.2	+.048	+0.9	+1.2	+.005
Ricky Rubio	57	29.7	10.7	0.8	3.2	4.0	7.3	2.4	0.1	3.0	2.5	3.2	9.0	.360	0.5	1.6	.293	3.7	4.6	.799

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	1998-99	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+32	+5.7	+10.4	+0.4	+0.8	+1.1	+4.8	+0.9	+0.9	-0.4	-0.4	+4.1	+7.4	+.084		+0.4	+.064	+2.1	+2.3	+.037
Ricky Rubio	82	32.2	9.5	0.7	3.4	4.2	8.6	2.3	0.1	2.7	2.7	3.1	8.2	.381	0.5	1.6	.331	2.8	3.5	.802

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	1999-00	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+44	+6.7	+12.2	+0.7	+0.1	+0.6	+3.9	+0.1	+0.9	-0.1	-0.6	+4.9	+7.9	+.112	+0.1	+0.1	+.064	+2.4	+2.9	+.018
Ricky Rubio	22	31.5	10.3	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.8	1.7	0.0	2.9	2.7	3.5	10.0	.356	0.6	2.3	.255	2.6	3.2	.803

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2000-01	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+8	+10.3	+18.4	+1.0	+0.5	+1.6	+3.7	+0.4	+0.5	-0.7	-0.7	+7.4	+14.5	+.090	+0.1	+0.4	+.021	+3.5	+4.1	+.006
Ricky Rubio	76	30.6	10.1	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.7	2.1	0.1	2.5	2.6	2.9	7.7	.374	0.8	2.5	.326	3.5	4.1	.847

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2001-02	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+5	+5.4	+14.1	+0.5	+0.9	+1.4	+3.6	+0.2	+0.3	-0.2	-0.2	+5.9	+11.3	+.067	+0.4	+0.9	+.056	+2.7	+3.6	+.062
Ricky Rubio	75	32.9	11.1	0.9	3.2	4.1	9.1	1.7	0.1	2.6	2.7	3.5	8.7	.402	0.8	2.6	.306	3.4	3.8	.891

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2002-03	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+5	+12.2	+16.9	+0.7	+1.6	+2.3	+0.6	+0.6	+0.7	-0.8		+6.1	+12.8	+.033	+0.3	+0.5	+.031	+4.4	+5.4	+.023
Ricky Rubio	77	29.3	13.1	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.7	2.7	4.5	10.7	.418	1.2	3.5	.352	2.9	3.3	.866

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:	+6	+14.1	+18.1	+0.5	+2.7	+2.2	+1.8	+0.1	+0.4	-0.5	-0.7	+6.7	+13.2	+.078	+0.4	+0.1	+.090	+4.2	+4.9	+.044
Ricky Rubio	6	30.2	14.0	0.8	6.5	7.3	7.0	1.3	0.5	3.0	2.2	4.7	13.2	.354	1.7	5.3	.313	3.0	3.8	.783


Season 8
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2003-04	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+3	+9.7	+11.3	+1.1	+0.8	+1.9	+1.0	+0.4	+0.3		-0.1	+3.6	+7.4	+.034	+0.1	+0.4	+.016	+4.1	+4.8	+.003
Ricky Rubio	68	27.9	12.7	0.5	3.1	3.6	6.1	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.6	4.3	10.7	.404	1.2	3.7	.311	2.9	3.4	.855

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:	+17	+10.6	+9.1	+0.2	+1.3	+1.5	+3.1	+0.5	+0.1	-0.2	-0.1	+3.0	+7.7	+.011	+0.3	+0.4	+.047	+2.7	+3.5	+.037
Ricky Rubio	5	33.6	15.4	0.6	2.6	3.2	8.6	2.4	0.2	3.0	2.8	5.6	13.2	.424	0.8	4.0	.200	3.4	4.0	.850


Season 9
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2004-05	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

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:	+1	+9.7	+14.6	+0.7	+0.5	+1.2	+2.8	+0.1	+0.6	-1.4		+4.3	+9.5	+.018	+0.8	+2.6	+.022	+5.2	+6.6	+.047
Ricky Rubio	65	31.0	13.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	8.8	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	4.4	10.6	.415	1.2	3.3	.361	3.0	3.5	.863

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kobe Bryant nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 9


Season 10
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2005-06	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minnesota Timberwolves
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

more >>

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:	+12	+14.9	+26.8	+0.5	+1.5	+2.0	+1.9	+0.4	+0.3	-1.5	-0.9	+9.4	+19.9	+.062	+1.3	+3.4	+.039	+6.8	+8.0	+.017
Ricky Rubio	68	26.1	8.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	6.4	1.4	0.1	1.6	2.0	2.8	7.3	.388	1.0	3.1	.308	1.9	2.2	.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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2006-07	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

more >>

11th 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	77	40.8	31.6	1.0	4.7	5.7	5.4	1.4	0.5	3.3	2.7	10.6	22.8	.463	1.8	5.2	.344	8.7	10.0	.868
difference:	+43	+12.3	+18.5	+0.6	+1.0	+1.6	+1.2		+0.3	-0.7	-0.5	+6.2	+10.7	+.100	+0.1	+0.1	+.005	+6.1	+7.0	+.014
Ricky Rubio	34	28.5	13.1	0.4	3.7	4.1	6.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	2.2	4.4	12.1	.363	1.7	5.1	.339	2.6	3.0	.854

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	5	43.0	32.8	0.2	5.0	5.2	4.4	1.0	0.4	4.4	2.0	12.0	26.0	.462	2.0	5.6	.357	6.8	7.4	.919
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Kobe Bryant	Ricky Rubio
Season	2007-08	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

12th 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	38.9	28.3	1.1	5.2	6.3	5.4	1.8	0.5	3.1	2.8	9.5	20.6	.459	1.8	5.1	.361	7.6	9.0	.840
difference:	+49	+21.7	+23.1	+0.8	+3.4	+4.2	+1.9	+1.0	+0.3	-2.2	-1.3	+7.7	+15.2	+.116	+1.2	+2.6	+.105	+6.8	+7.9	+.040
Ricky Rubio	33	17.2	5.2	0.3	1.8	2.1	3.5	0.8	0.2	0.9	1.5	1.8	5.4	.343	0.6	2.5	.256	0.8	1.1	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kobe Bryant	21	41.1	30.1	0.9	4.8	5.7	5.6	1.7	0.4	3.3	2.8	10.6	22.0	.479	1.5	5.0	.302	7.5	9.2	.809
difference:	+18	+35.4	+30.1	+0.2	+3.5	+3.7	+4.6	+1.4	+0.4	-1.6	-1.1	+10.6	+21.7	+.479	+1.5	+5.0		+7.5	+9.2
Ricky Rubio	3	5.7	0.0	0.7	1.3	2.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	1.7	1.7	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Additional Years
* Kobe Bryant played 8 seasons more than Ricky Rubio in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 20, from 2009 to 2016—Kobe Bryant played in 4 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 8 extra years over Ricky Rubio, Kobe Bryant got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 8 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP

Kobe Bryant vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years