Kyrie Irving vs. Willis Reed Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Willis Reed and Kyrie Irving, 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.

Kyrie Irving played 14 years in the NBA, 4 more than Willis Reed, who played 10. Kyrie Irving had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Willis Reed had his rookie season in 1964-65. 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
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2011-12	1964-65
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kyrie Irving	51	30.5	18.5	0.9	2.9	3.7	5.4	1.1	0.4	3.1	2.2	6.9	14.6	.469	1.4	3.6	.399	3.4	3.8	.872
difference:	+29	+7.5	+1.0			+11.0	+3.7				-2.0	+1.0	+3.6	+.037				+0.4	+1.3	+.130
Willis Reed	80	38.0	19.5	-	-	14.7	1.7	-	-	-	4.2	7.9	18.2	.432	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.742
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kyrie Irving nor Willis Reed played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2012-13	1965-66
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Kyrie Irving	59	34.7	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.7	5.9	1.5	0.4	3.2	2.5	8.2	18.1	.452	1.8	4.7	.391	4.2	4.9	.855
difference:	+17	+1.3	+7.0			+7.9	+4.7				-1.8	+2.4	+4.8	+.018				+0.2	+0.4	+.098
Willis Reed	76	33.4	15.5	-	-	11.6	1.2	-	-	-	4.3	5.8	13.3	.434	-	-	-	4.0	5.3	.757
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Kyrie Irving nor Willis Reed played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2013-14	1966-67
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Div 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		%
Kyrie Irving	71	35.2	20.8	0.7	2.9	3.6	6.1	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.3	7.5	17.4	.430	1.7	4.8	.358	4.1	4.8	.861
difference:	+7	+1.0	+0.1			+11.0	+4.5				-1.5	+0.6	+0.8	+.059				+0.5	+1.4	+.126
Willis Reed	78	36.2	20.9	-	-	14.6	1.6	-	-	-	3.8	8.1	16.6	.489	-	-	-	4.6	6.2	.735
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Willis Reed	4	37.0	27.5	-	-	13.8	1.8	-	-	-	4.8	10.8	20.0	.538	-	-	-	6.0	6.3	.960

Season 4
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2014-15	1967-68
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Div Semis

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	75	36.4	21.7	0.7	2.4	3.2	5.2	1.5	0.3	2.5	1.9	7.7	16.5	.468	2.1	5.0	.415	4.2	4.9	.863
difference:	+6	+0.9	+0.9			+10.0	+3.2				-2.3	+0.4	+0.1	+.022				+0.3	+1.4	+.142
Willis Reed	81	35.5	20.8	-	-	13.2	2.0	-	-	-	4.2	8.1	16.6	.490	-	-	-	4.5	6.3	.721
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	13	35.7	19.0	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.8	1.3	0.8	1.5	2.2	6.2	14.2	.438	2.1	4.6	.450	4.5	5.3	.841
difference:	+7	+0.7	+2.3			+6.7	+2.0				-1.8	+2.6	+2.1	+.103				+0.8	+0.3	+.108
Willis Reed	6	35.0	21.3	-	-	10.3	1.8	-	-	-	4.0	8.8	16.3	.541	-	-	-	3.7	5.0	.733

Season 5
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2015-16	1968-69
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	53	31.5	19.6	0.8	2.1	3.0	4.7	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	7.4	16.6	.448	1.6	4.9	.321	3.2	3.6	.885
difference:	+29	+6.4	+1.5			+11.5	+2.4				-1.8	+1.2	+0.1	+.073				+0.8	+1.7	+.138
Willis Reed	82	37.9	21.1	-	-	14.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	8.6	16.5	.521	-	-	-	4.0	5.3	.747
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	21	36.9	25.2	0.7	2.2	3.0	4.7	1.7	0.6	2.3	2.2	9.6	20.1	.475	2.4	5.5	.440	3.7	4.2	.875
difference:	+11	+6.0	+0.5			+11.1	+2.8				-1.8	+0.5	+0.3	+.035				+1.8	+2.8	+.089
Willis Reed	10	42.9	25.7	-	-	14.1	1.9	-	-	-	4.0	10.1	19.8	.510	-	-	-	5.5	7.0	.786

Season 6
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2016-17	1969-70
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Kyrie Irving	72	35.1	25.2	0.7	2.5	3.2	5.8	1.2	0.3	2.5	2.2	9.3	19.7	.473	2.5	6.1	.401	4.1	4.6	.905
difference:	+9	+3.0	+3.5			+10.7	+3.8				-1.3	+0.6	+2.6	+.034				+0.2	+1.1	+.149
Willis Reed	81	38.1	21.7	-	-	13.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.5	8.7	17.1	.507	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.756
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	18	36.3	25.9	0.7	2.1	2.8	5.3	1.3	0.4	2.7	2.1	9.6	20.6	.468	2.4	6.6	.373	4.2	4.7	.905
difference:		+4.4	+2.2			+11.0	+2.5				-1.2	+0.3	+0.4	+.003				+0.3	+0.6	+.168
Willis Reed	18	40.7	23.7	-	-	13.8	2.8	-	-	-	3.3	9.9	21.0	.471	-	-	-	3.9	5.3	.737

Season 7
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2017-18	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	60	32.2	24.4	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.1	1.1	0.3	2.3	2.0	8.9	18.1	.491	2.8	6.8	.408	3.9	4.4	.889
difference:	+13	+6.9	+3.5			+9.9	+3.1				-1.1	+0.5	+0.1	+.029				+0.2	+0.8	+.104
Willis Reed	73	39.1	20.9	-	-	13.7	2.0	-	-	-	3.1	8.4	18.2	.462	-	-	-	4.1	5.2	.785
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Willis Reed	12	42.0	15.7	-	-	12.0	2.3	-	-	-	3.4	6.8	16.3	.413	-	-	-	2.2	3.3	.667

Season 8
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2018-19	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	67	33.0	23.8	1.1	3.9	5.0	6.9	1.5	0.5	2.6	2.5	9.0	18.5	.487	2.6	6.5	.401	3.2	3.7	.873
difference:	+56		+10.4			+3.7	+4.9				-0.2	+3.5	+6.0	+.049				+0.7	+0.2	+.181
Willis Reed	11	33.0	13.4	-	-	8.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.7	5.5	12.5	.438	-	-	-	2.5	3.5	.692
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	9	36.7	21.3	0.6	3.8	4.3	7.0	1.4	0.4	3.1	2.9	7.7	19.9	.385	2.0	6.4	.310	4.0	4.4	.900
Willis Reed	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2019-20	1972-73
Team	Brooklyn Nets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	20	32.9	27.4	1.1	4.1	5.2	6.4	1.4	0.5	2.6	2.7	10.0	20.8	.478	2.8	7.1	.394	4.7	5.1	.922
difference:	+49	+5.7	+16.4			+3.4	+4.6				-0.3	+5.2	+10.6	+.004				+3.4	+3.3	+.180
Willis Reed	69	27.2	11.0	-	-	8.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.0	4.8	10.2	.474	-	-	-	1.3	1.8	.742
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Willis Reed	17	28.6	12.5	-	-	7.6	1.8	-	-	-	3.8	5.7	12.2	.466	-	-	-	1.1	1.2	.857

Season 10
	Kyrie Irving	Willis Reed
Season	2020-21	1973-74
Team	Brooklyn Nets	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Kyrie Irving	54	34.9	26.9	1.0	3.8	4.8	6.0	1.4	0.7	2.4	2.6	10.2	20.1	.506	2.8	7.0	.402	3.7	4.0	.922
difference:	+35	+8.6	+15.8	+1.5	+1.1	+2.6	+4.4	+0.8	+0.4			+5.8	+10.4	+.049				+1.5	+1.2	+.130
Willis Reed	19	26.3	11.1	2.5	4.9	7.4	1.6	0.6	1.1	-	2.6	4.4	9.7	.457	-	-	-	2.2	2.8	.792
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Kyrie Irving	9	36.1	22.7	1.3	4.4	5.8	3.4	1.0	0.6	1.2	2.1	8.6	18.1	.472	2.7	7.2	.369	2.9	3.1	.929
difference:	+2	+24.1	+19.3	+0.9	+2.8	+3.8	+3.0	+0.8	+0.6		-0.3	+7.1	+14.0	+.094				+2.6	+2.6	+.329
Willis Reed	11	12.0	3.4	0.4	1.6	2.0	0.4	0.2	0.0	-	2.4	1.5	4.1	.378	-	-	-	0.3	0.5	.600

Additional Years
* Kyrie Irving played 4 seasons more than Willis Reed in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 14, from 2022 to 2025—Kyrie Irving played in two Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Willis Reed, Kyrie Irving got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Star Game