Lauri Markkanen vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson and Lauri Markkanen, 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 / 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.

Lauri Markkanen played 9 years in the NBA, 3 more than Zion Williamson, who played 6. Lauri Markkanen had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Zion Williamson had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Lauri Markkanen 9 0 2017-18 to 2025-26
Zion Williamson 6 0 2019-20 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2017-182019-20
Team Chicago BullsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First 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%
Lauri Markkanen 68 29.7 15.2 1.2 6.3 7.5 1.2 0.6 0.6 1.2 1.5 5.5 12.7 .434 2.1 5.9 .362 2.1 2.4 .843
difference:+44+1.9+7.3+1.5+2.7+1.2+0.9+0.1+0.2-1.3-0.3+3.3+2.3+.149+1.8+5.3+.067+2.7+5.0+.203
Zion Williamson 24 27.8 22.5 2.7 3.6 6.3 2.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 1.8 8.8 15.0 .583 0.3 0.6 .429 4.8 7.4 .640
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2018-192020-21
Team Chicago BullsNew Orleans Pelicans
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%
Lauri Markkanen 52 32.3 18.7 1.4 7.6 9.0 1.4 0.7 0.6 1.6 2.3 6.6 15.3 .430 2.3 6.4 .361 3.3 3.8 .872
difference:+9+0.9+8.3+1.3+3.1+1.8+2.3+0.2-1.1-0.1+3.8+1.7+.181+2.1+5.8+.067+2.7+4.9+.174
Zion Williamson 61 33.2 27.0 2.7 4.5 7.2 3.7 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.2 10.4 17.0 .611 0.2 0.6 .294 6.0 8.7 .698
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 2

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 3
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2019-202022-23
Team Chicago BullsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
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%
Lauri Markkanen 50 29.8 14.7 1.2 5.1 6.3 1.5 0.8 0.5 1.6 1.9 5.0 11.8 .425 2.2 6.3 .344 2.5 3.1 .824
difference:+21+3.2+11.3+0.8+0.1+0.7+3.1+0.3+0.1-1.8-0.3+4.8+4.4+.183+2.0+5.6+.024+3.6+5.5+.110
Zion Williamson 29 33.0 26.0 2.0 5.0 7.0 4.6 1.1 0.6 3.4 2.2 9.8 16.2 .608 0.2 0.7 .368 6.1 8.6 .714
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2020-212023-24
Team Chicago BullsNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Lauri Markkanen 51 25.8 13.6 0.7 4.6 5.3 0.9 0.5 0.3 1.0 1.5 4.9 10.2 .480 2.3 5.8 .402 1.5 1.8 .826
difference:+19+5.7+9.3+1.0+0.5+0.5+4.1+0.6+0.4-1.8-0.8+4.0+5.4+.090+2.2+5.5+.069+3.5+5.3+.124
Zion Williamson 70 31.5 22.9 1.7 4.1 5.8 5.0 1.1 0.7 2.8 2.3 8.9 15.6 .570 0.1 0.3 .333 5.0 7.1 .702
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2021-222024-25
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Lauri Markkanen 61 30.8 14.8 1.0 4.7 5.7 1.3 0.7 0.5 0.9 2.1 5.1 11.5 .445 2.2 6.2 .358 2.3 2.6 .868
difference:+31+2.2+9.8+1.5+1.5+4.0+0.5+0.4-2.1-0.6+4.5+5.4+.122+2.1+5.8+.127+3.0+5.4+.212
Zion Williamson 30 28.6 24.6 2.5 4.7 7.2 5.3 1.2 0.9 3.0 2.7 9.6 16.9 .567 0.1 0.4 .231 5.3 8.0 .656
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 5

Season 6
Lauri Markkanen Zion Williamson
Season 2022-232025-26
Team Utah JazzNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement Most Improved Player-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Lauri Markkanen 66 34.4 25.6 2.0 6.7 8.6 1.9 0.6 0.6 1.9 2.1 8.7 17.3 .499 3.0 7.7 .391 5.3 6.0 .875
difference:+56+3.5+3.5+0.3+3.4+3.0+2.1+1.0+0.1-1.2-0.2+1.3+2.8+.011+3.0+7.4+.391+2.0+4.1+.152
Zion Williamson 10 30.9 22.1 2.3 3.3 5.6 4.0 1.6 0.5 3.1 2.3 7.4 14.5 .510 0.0 0.3 .000 7.3 10.1 .723
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Lauri Markkanen nor Zion Williamson played in the postseason in their season 6

Additional Years

* Lauri Markkanen played 3 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 9, from 2024 to 2026—Lauri Markkanen didn't play in the postseason.

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