Larry Johnson vs. Sam Jones Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Sam Jones and Larry Johnson, 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.

Larry Johnson played 10 years in the NBA, 2 less than Sam Jones, who played 12. Larry Johnson had the first of his seasons in 1991-92, while Sam Jones had his rookie season in 1957-58. 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
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1991-92	1957-58
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Larry Johnson	82	37.2	19.2	3.9	7.0	11.0	3.6	1.0	0.6	2.0	2.7	7.5	15.3	.490	0.1	0.3	.227	4.1	5.0	.829
difference:	+26	+26.6	+14.6			+8.1	+2.9				-1.9	+5.7	+11.1	+.061				+3.0	+3.5	+.115
Sam Jones	56	10.6	4.6	-	-	2.9	0.7	-	-	-	0.8	1.8	4.2	.429	-	-	-	1.1	1.5	.714
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sam Jones	8	9.4	3.9	-	-	3.0	0.5	-	-	-	0.9	1.3	2.8	.455	-	-	-	1.4	2.0	.688

Season 2
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1992-93	1958-59
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	82	40.5	22.1	3.4	7.1	10.5	4.3	0.6	0.3	2.8	2.3	8.9	16.9	.526	0.2	0.9	.254	4.1	5.3	.767
difference:	+11	+19.9	+11.4			+4.5	+2.9				-0.9	+4.6	+7.0	+.092				+2.0	+2.5	+.003
Sam Jones	71	20.6	10.7	-	-	6.0	1.4	-	-	-	1.4	4.3	9.9	.434	-	-	-	2.1	2.8	.770
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	9	38.7	19.8	2.1	4.8	6.9	3.3	0.6	0.2	2.1	3.0	7.6	13.6	.557	0.1	0.4	.250	4.6	5.8	.788
difference:	+2	+21.2	+9.5			+1.2	+1.8				-1.7	+4.0	+3.8	+.187				+1.6	+2.3	+.058
Sam Jones	11	17.5	10.3	-	-	5.7	1.5	-	-	-	1.3	3.6	9.8	.370	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.846

Season 3
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1993-94	1959-60
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	51	34.5	16.4	2.8	6.0	8.8	3.6	0.6	0.3	2.3	2.6	6.8	13.2	.515	0.1	0.4	.238	2.7	3.9	.695
difference:	+23	+14.1	+4.5			+3.7	+1.9				-1.2	+2.0	+2.6	+.061				+0.4	+0.9	+.069
Sam Jones	74	20.4	11.9	-	-	5.1	1.7	-	-	-	1.4	4.8	10.6	.454	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.764
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sam Jones	13	15.2	8.2	-	-	3.2	1.4	-	-	-	1.2	3.5	9.0	.385	-	-	-	1.3	1.6	.810

Season 4
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1994-95	1960-61
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	81	39.9	18.8	2.3	4.9	7.2	4.6	1.0	0.3	2.6	2.1	7.2	15.0	.480	1.0	2.6	.386	3.4	4.4	.774
difference:	+3	+13.9	+3.8			+1.8	+1.8				-0.2	+1.0	+1.3	+.031				+0.7	+1.0	+.013
Sam Jones	78	26.0	15.0	-	-	5.4	2.8	-	-	-	1.9	6.2	13.7	.449	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.787
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	4	43.0	20.8	2.5	3.3	5.8	2.8	1.0	0.5	1.5	1.8	7.8	16.3	.477	0.3	2.3	.111	5.0	6.3	.800
difference:	+6	+17.2	+7.7			+0.4	+0.6				-0.4	+2.8	+5.1	+.031				+1.9	+2.8	+.086
Sam Jones	10	25.8	13.1	-	-	5.4	2.2	-	-	-	2.2	5.0	11.2	.446	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.886

Season 5
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1995-96	1961-62
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	81	40.4	20.5	3.1	5.4	8.4	4.4	0.7	0.5	2.2	2.1	7.2	15.1	.476	0.8	2.3	.366	5.3	7.0	.757
difference:	+3	+9.8	+2.1			+2.5	+1.4				-0.2	+0.4	+1.4	+.012				+2.2	+3.2	+.061
Sam Jones	78	30.6	18.4	-	-	5.9	3.0	-	-	-	1.9	7.6	16.5	.464	-	-	-	3.1	3.8	.818
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sam Jones	14	36.0	20.6	-	-	7.1	3.1	-	-	-	2.1	8.8	19.8	.444	-	-	-	3.0	4.3	.700

Season 6
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1996-97	1962-63
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Larry Johnson	76	34.4	12.8	2.2	3.0	5.2	2.3	0.8	0.5	1.8	3.3	4.9	9.7	.512	0.4	1.4	.324	2.5	3.6	.693
difference:		+3.8	+6.9				+0.9				-1.2	+3.3	+7.5	+.036				+0.9	+0.7	+.100
Sam Jones	76	30.6	19.7	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.1	8.2	17.2	.476	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.793
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	9	32.6	13.8	1.2	2.8	4.0	2.6	0.8	0.1	1.7	3.0	4.8	8.6	.558	0.7	1.9	.353	3.6	4.2	.842
difference:	+4	+2.0	+10.0			+2.2	+0.1				-0.2	+4.4	+10.5	+.074				+1.7	+2.2	+.011
Sam Jones	13	34.6	23.8	-	-	6.2	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	9.2	19.1	.484	-	-	-	5.3	6.4	.831

Season 7
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1997-98	1963-64
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	70	34.5	15.5	2.5	3.2	5.7	2.1	0.6	0.2	1.8	2.8	6.1	12.6	.485	0.2	0.9	.238	3.1	4.0	.756
difference:	+6	+3.2	+3.9			+1.1	+0.6				-0.3	+2.0	+5.3	+.035				+0.2	+0.2	+.027
Sam Jones	76	31.3	19.4	-	-	4.6	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.1	17.9	.450	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	8	38.8	17.9	3.1	3.5	6.6	1.6	1.3	0.4	3.1	3.8	6.5	13.4	.486	0.3	1.3	.200	4.6	6.3	.740
difference:	+2	+3.2	+5.3			+1.9	+0.7				-1.4	+2.6	+4.6	+.020				+0.4	+0.5	+.005
Sam Jones	10	35.6	23.2	-	-	4.7	2.3	-	-	-	2.4	9.1	18.0	.506	-	-	-	5.0	6.8	.735

Season 8
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1998-99	1964-65
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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		%
Larry Johnson	49	33.4	12.0	1.9	3.9	5.8	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.8	3.0	4.3	9.3	.459	0.7	1.9	.359	2.7	3.3	.817
difference:	+31	+2.7	+13.9			+0.7	+0.4				-0.8	+6.0	+13.4	+.007				+2.7	+3.2	+.003
Sam Jones	80	36.1	25.9	-	-	5.1	2.8	-	-	-	2.2	10.3	22.7	.452	-	-	-	5.4	6.5	.820
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	20	34.1	11.5	1.1	3.8	4.9	1.6	1.1	0.1	1.7	3.2	4.4	10.2	.426	1.2	4.1	.293	1.6	2.3	.674
difference:	+8	+7.2	+17.1			+0.3	+0.9				-0.1	+6.9	+14.3	+.033				+4.5	+4.7	+.195
Sam Jones	12	41.3	28.6	-	-	4.6	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	11.3	24.5	.459	-	-	-	6.1	7.0	.869

Season 9
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	1999-00	1965-66
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Larry Johnson	70	32.6	10.7	1.2	4.2	5.4	2.5	0.6	0.1	1.3	2.9	4.0	9.3	.433	0.8	2.5	.333	1.8	2.4	.766
difference:	+3	+0.4	+12.8			+0.2	+0.7				-0.4	+5.3	+10.6	+.036				+3.1	+3.7	+.033
Sam Jones	67	32.2	23.5	-	-	5.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.5	9.3	19.9	.469	-	-	-	4.9	6.1	.799
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	16	36.8	11.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	1.6	0.5	0.1	1.4	2.9	4.4	9.5	.461	0.8	2.1	.394	1.7	2.1	.794
difference:	+1	+1.4	+13.5			+0.1	+1.5				-0.9	+4.7	+10.7	+.012				+5.0	+5.9	+.044
Sam Jones	17	35.4	24.8	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.1	20.2	.449	-	-	-	6.7	8.0	.838

Season 10
	Larry Johnson	Sam Jones
Season	2000-01	1966-67
Team	New York Knicks	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
Larry Johnson	65	32.4	9.9	1.4	4.2	5.6	2.0	0.6	0.4	1.5	3.2	3.8	9.2	.411	0.8	2.5	.313	1.6	2.0	.797
difference:	+7	+0.1	+12.2			+0.9	+1.0				-0.5	+5.1	+10.3	+.043				+2.8	+3.2	+.060
Sam Jones	72	32.3	22.1	-	-	4.7	3.0	-	-	-	2.7	8.9	19.5	.454	-	-	-	4.4	5.2	.857
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Johnson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sam Jones	9	36.2	26.7	-	-	5.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	23.0	.459	-	-	-	5.6	6.4	.862

Additional Years
* Sam Jones played 2 seasons more than Larry Johnson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 12, from 1968 to 1969—Sam Jones played in two Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 2 extra years over Larry Johnson, Sam Jones got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game