LaMelo Ball vs. Luka Doncic Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Luka Doncic 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
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, 2 less than Luka Doncic, who played 7. LaMelo Ball had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while Luka Doncic had his rookie season in 2018-19. 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 |
| Luka Doncic | 7 | 5 | 2018-19 to 2024-25 |
Rookie Season |
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| LaMelo Ball | Luka Doncic | |
| Season | 2020-21 | 2018-19 |
| Team | Charlotte Hornets | Dallas Mavericks |
| Honors & Awards |  Rookie of the Year | Rookie of the Year |
| All-Rookie First Team | All-Rookie First Team | |
| 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 | % | ||||
| 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: | +21 | +3.4 | +5.5 | +1.9 | +1.9 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.1 | -0.6 | -0.8 | +1.3 | +3.3 | +.009 | +0.5 | +2.0 | +.025 | +2.3 | +3.5 | +.045 | |
| Luka Doncic | 72 | 32.2 | 21.2 | 1.2 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 16.5 | .427 | 2.3 | 7.1 | .327 | 4.8 | 6.7 | .713 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Neiher LaMelo Ball nor Luka Doncic played in the postseason in their season 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season 2 |
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| LaMelo Ball | Luka Doncic | |
| Season | 2021-22 | 2019-20 |
| Team | Charlotte Hornets | Dallas Mavericks |
| Honors & Awards | - | All-NBA First Team |
| All-Star Game | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd |
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 | % | ||||
| 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 | +1.3 | +8.7 | +0.1 | +2.9 | +2.7 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +0.2 | -1.0 | -0.7 | +2.3 | +3.9 | +.034 | +0.1 | +1.4 | +.073 | +4.2 | +6.0 | +.114 |
| Luka Doncic | 61 | 33.6 | 28.8 | 1.3 | 8.1 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 4.3 | 2.5 | 9.5 | 20.6 | .463 | 2.8 | 8.9 | .316 | 7.0 | 9.2 | .758 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Luka Doncic | 6 | 35.8 | 31.0 | 0.7 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 10.7 | 21.3 | .500 | 2.7 | 7.3 | .364 | 7.0 | 10.7 | .656 |
Season 3 |
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| LaMelo Ball | Luka Doncic | |
| Season | 2022-23 | 2020-21 |
| Team | Charlotte Hornets | Dallas Mavericks |
| Honors & Awards | - | All-NBA First Team |
| - | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd |
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 | % | ||||
| 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: | +30 | +0.9 | +4.4 | +0.4 | +1.9 | +1.6 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | -0.7 | -1.0 | +1.6 | +0.5 | +.068 | +1.1 | +2.3 | +.026 | +2.4 | +3.7 | +.106 |
| Luka Doncic | 66 | 34.3 | 27.7 | 0.8 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 9.8 | 20.5 | .479 | 2.9 | 8.3 | .350 | 5.2 | 7.1 | .730 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Luka Doncic | 7 | 40.1 | 35.7 | 0.6 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 10.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 13.7 | 28.0 | .490 | 4.4 | 10.9 | .408 | 3.9 | 7.3 | .529 |
Season 4 |
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| LaMelo Ball | Luka Doncic | |
| Season | 2023-24 | 2021-22 |
| Team | Charlotte Hornets | Dallas Mavericks |
| Honors & Awards | - | All-NBA First Team |
| - | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals |
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 | % | ||||
| 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: | +43 | +3.1 | +4.5 | +0.4 | +4.5 | +4.0 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | -0.7 | -1.4 | +1.6 | +2.4 | +.024 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +.002 | +1.5 | +2.8 | +.121 |
| Luka Doncic | 65 | 35.4 | 28.4 | 0.9 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 9.9 | 21.6 | .457 | 3.1 | 8.8 | .353 | 5.6 | 7.5 | .744 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| LaMelo Ball | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Luka Doncic | 15 | 36.8 | 31.7 | 0.7 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 10.7 | 23.5 | .455 | 3.4 | 9.9 | .345 | 6.9 | 9.0 | .770 |
Season 5 |
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| LaMelo Ball | Luka Doncic | |
| Season | 2024-25 | 2022-23 |
| Team | Charlotte Hornets | Dallas Mavericks |
| Honors & Awards | - | All-NBA First Team |
| - | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | 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 | % | ||||
| 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: | +19 | +4.2 | +7.2 | +0.2 | +3.9 | +3.7 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 | -0.8 | +2.3 | +0.7 | +.091 | +1.0 | +3.0 | +.003 | +3.7 | +5.6 | +.101 | |
| Luka Doncic | 66 | 36.2 | 32.4 | 0.8 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 10.9 | 22.0 | .496 | 2.8 | 8.2 | .342 | 7.8 | 10.5 | .742 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Neiher LaMelo Ball nor Luka Doncic played in the postseason in their season 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Additional Years |
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* Luka Doncic played 2 seasons more than LaMelo Ball in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 6 to 7, from 2024 to 2025—Luka Doncic played in two Playoffs. In those 2 extra years over LaMelo Ball, Luka Doncic got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 1 All-NBA First Team 1 Scoring Leader 1 All-Star Game |