LaMelo Ball vs. John Collins Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Collins and LaMelo Ball, 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 / Scoring / Stats / 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.

LaMelo Ball played 5 years in the NBA, 3 less than John Collins, who played 8. LaMelo Ball had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while John Collins had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
LaMelo Ball 5 0 2020-21 to 2024-25
John Collins 8 3 2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season

LaMelo Ball John Collins
Season 2020-212017-18
Team Charlotte HornetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball 51 28.8 15.7 1.2 4.7 5.9 6.1 1.6 0.4 2.8 2.7 5.7 13.2 .436 1.8 5.1 .352 2.5 3.2 .758
difference:+23+4.7+5.2+1.2+0.2+1.4+4.8+1.0+0.7-1.4-0.2+1.5+5.8+.140+1.6+4.5+.012+0.7+0.7+.043
John Collins 74 24.1 10.5 2.4 4.9 7.3 1.3 0.6 1.1 1.4 2.9 4.2 7.4 .576 0.2 0.6 .340 1.8 2.5 .715
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LaMelo Ball nor John Collins played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2

LaMelo Ball John Collins
Season 2021-222018-19
Team Charlotte HornetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball 75 32.3 20.1 1.4 5.2 6.7 7.6 1.6 0.4 3.3 3.2 7.2 16.7 .429 2.9 7.5 .389 2.8 3.2 .872
difference:+14+2.3+0.6+2.2+1.0+3.1+5.6+1.2+0.2-1.3-0.1+0.4+3.1+.131+2.0+4.9+.041+0.5+1.2+.109
John Collins 61 30.0 19.5 3.6 6.2 9.8 2.0 0.4 0.6 2.0 3.3 7.6 13.6 .560 0.9 2.6 .348 3.3 4.4 .763
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LaMelo Ball nor John Collins played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3

LaMelo Ball John Collins
Season 2022-232019-20
Team Charlotte HornetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball 36 35.2 23.3 1.2 5.3 6.4 8.4 1.3 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.2 20.0 .411 4.0 10.6 .376 2.8 3.4 .836
difference:+5+2.0+1.7+1.6+2.0+3.7+6.9+0.5+1.3-1.8-0.1+0.4+5.2+.172+2.6+7.0+.025+0.1+0.3+.036
John Collins 41 33.2 21.6 2.8 7.3 10.1 1.5 0.8 1.6 1.8 3.4 8.6 14.8 .583 1.4 3.6 .401 2.9 3.7 .800
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LaMelo Ball nor John Collins played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4

LaMelo Ball John Collins
Season 2023-242020-21
Team Charlotte HornetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayHawks Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball 22 32.3 23.9 1.3 3.8 5.1 8.0 1.8 0.2 3.8 3.6 8.3 19.2 .433 3.2 9.0 .355 4.1 4.7 .865
difference:+41+3.0+6.3+0.6+1.7+2.3+6.8+1.3+0.8-2.5-0.5+1.5+7.0+.123+1.9+5.7+.044+1.4+1.5+.032
John Collins 63 29.3 17.6 1.9 5.5 7.4 1.2 0.5 1.0 1.3 3.1 6.8 12.2 .556 1.3 3.3 .399 2.7 3.2 .833
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------
John Collins 18 32.0 13.9 2.0 6.7 8.7 0.9 0.4 0.6 1.3 3.3 5.6 10.1 .549 1.1 3.1 .357 1.7 2.0 .833

Season 5

LaMelo Ball John Collins
Season 2024-252021-22
Team Charlotte HornetsAtlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayHawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball 47 32.0 25.2 1.0 3.9 4.9 7.4 1.1 0.3 3.6 3.3 8.6 21.3 .405 3.8 11.2 .339 4.1 4.9 .843
difference:+7+1.2+9.0+0.7+2.2+2.9+5.6+0.5+0.7-2.5-0.3+2.3+9.4+.121+2.6+7.9+.025+1.6+1.8+.050
John Collins 54 30.8 16.2 1.7 6.1 7.8 1.8 0.6 1.0 1.1 3.0 6.3 11.9 .526 1.2 3.3 .364 2.5 3.1 .793
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LaMelo Ball DNP------ --- ----------
John Collins 5 24.4 9.4 0.4 4.2 4.6 1.2 0.4 0.2 1.0 2.4 3.8 7.8 .487 0.8 2.2 .364 1.0 2.0 .500

Additional Years

* John Collins played 3 seasons more than LaMelo Ball in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 8, from 2023 to 2025—John Collins played in one postseason.