LeBron James vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and LeBron James, 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.

LeBron James played 22 years in the NBA, 15 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2003-04	1995-96
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	79	39.5	20.9	1.3	4.2	5.5	5.9	1.6	0.7	3.5	1.9	7.9	18.9	.417	0.8	2.7	.290	4.4	5.8	.754
difference:	+6	+15.7	+6.4	+0.7	+1.8	+2.6	+4.1	+0.7	+0.4	-1.4	-1.0	+2.5	+9.0	+.128	+0.3	+1.3	+.085	+1.2	+1.6	+.003
Arvydas Sabonis	73	23.8	14.5	2.0	6.0	8.1	1.8	0.9	1.1	2.1	2.9	5.4	9.9	.545	0.5	1.4	.375	3.2	4.2	.757
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	5	35.4	23.6	2.4	7.8	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.4	7.0	16.2	.432	1.0	1.8	.556	8.6	12.0	.717

Season 2
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2004-05	1996-97
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers 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		%
LeBron James	80	42.4	27.2	1.4	6.0	7.4	7.2	2.2	0.7	3.3	1.8	9.9	21.1	.472	1.4	3.9	.351	6.0	8.0	.750
difference:	+11	+16.9	+13.8	+0.3	+0.3	+0.5	+5.1	+1.3	+0.5	-1.1	-1.1	+5.1	+11.6	+.026	+0.7	+2.0	+.020	+2.8	+3.8	+.027
Arvydas Sabonis	69	25.5	13.4	1.7	6.3	7.9	2.1	0.9	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.8	9.5	.498	0.7	1.9	.371	3.2	4.2	.777
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	11.3	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.3	0.8	0.8	2.3	4.8	4.5	10.5	.429	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.0	.875

Season 3
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2005-06	1997-98
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers 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		%
LeBron James	79	42.5	31.4	0.9	6.1	7.0	6.6	1.6	0.8	3.3	2.3	11.1	23.1	.480	1.6	4.8	.335	7.6	10.3	.738
difference:	+6	+10.5	+15.4	+1.1	+1.8	+3.0	+3.6	+0.7	+0.3	-0.7	-1.4	+5.5	+11.8	+.013	+1.2	+3.2	+.074	+3.2	+4.8	+.060
Arvydas Sabonis	73	32.0	16.0	2.0	7.9	10.0	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.6	3.7	5.6	11.3	.493	0.4	1.6	.261	4.4	5.5	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	13	46.5	30.8	1.7	6.4	8.1	5.8	1.4	0.7	5.0	3.4	11.2	23.6	.476	1.6	4.8	.333	6.7	9.1	.737
difference:	+9	+19.7	+18.5	+0.1	+0.4	+0.3	+4.3	+0.4	+0.1	-2.5	-1.4	+6.7	+13.6	+.026	+1.3	+4.3	+.167	+3.7	+5.6	+.120
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	12.3	1.8	6.0	7.8	1.5	1.8	0.8	2.5	4.8	4.5	10.0	.450	0.3	0.5	.500	3.0	3.5	.857

Season 4
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2006-07	1998-99
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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		%
LeBron James	78	40.9	27.3	1.1	5.7	6.7	6.0	1.6	0.7	3.2	2.2	9.9	20.8	.476	1.3	4.0	.319	6.3	9.0	.698
difference:	+28	+13.9	+15.2	+0.7	+0.4	+1.2	+3.6	+0.9	+0.6	-1.5	-0.7	+5.3	+11.2	+.009	+1.2	+3.5	+.027	+3.6	+5.5	+.073
Arvydas Sabonis	50	27.0	12.1	1.8	6.1	7.9	2.4	0.7	1.3	1.7	2.9	4.6	9.6	.485	0.1	0.5	.292	2.7	3.5	.771
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	20	44.7	25.1	1.3	6.8	8.1	8.0	1.7	0.5	3.3	2.0	8.3	20.0	.416	1.1	3.8	.280	7.4	9.8	.755
difference:	+7	+14.6	+15.1	+0.4	+1.0	+0.7	+5.8	+0.5	+0.7	-1.8	-0.7	+4.8	+11.3	+.018	+1.0	+3.4	+.080	+4.4	+6.5	+.152
Arvydas Sabonis	13	30.1	10.0	0.9	7.8	8.8	2.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	2.7	3.5	8.7	.398	0.1	0.4	.200	3.0	3.3	.907

Season 5
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2007-08	1999-00
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

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		%
LeBron James	75	40.4	30.0	1.8	6.1	7.9	7.2	1.8	1.1	3.4	2.2	10.6	21.9	.484	1.5	4.8	.315	7.3	10.3	.712
difference:	+9	+14.8	+18.2	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	+5.4	+1.1	+0.1	-1.9	-0.6	+6.0	+12.8	+.021	+1.4	+4.5	+.053	+4.8	+7.3	+.131
Arvydas Sabonis	66	25.6	11.8	1.5	6.3	7.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.8	4.6	9.1	.505	0.1	0.3	.368	2.5	3.0	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	13	42.5	28.2	1.2	6.6	7.8	7.6	1.8	1.3	4.2	2.5	8.7	21.2	.411	1.4	5.4	.257	9.4	12.8	.731
difference:	+3	+11.7	+16.9		+1.1	+1.1	+5.7	+0.9	+0.5	-2.6	-1.2	+4.4	+11.8	+.042	+1.0	+4.1	+.029	+7.0	+9.7	+.065
Arvydas Sabonis	16	30.8	11.3	1.2	5.5	6.7	1.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	3.7	4.3	9.4	.453	0.4	1.3	.286	2.4	3.1	.796

Season 6
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2008-09	2000-01
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	81	37.7	28.4	1.3	6.3	7.6	7.2	1.7	1.1	3.0	1.7	9.7	19.9	.489	1.6	4.7	.344	7.3	9.4	.780
difference:	+20	+16.4	+18.3	+0.5	+1.7	+2.2	+5.7	+1.0	+0.1	-1.6	-0.5	+5.7	+11.4	+.010	+1.6	+4.5	+.277	+5.3	+6.8	+.004
Arvydas Sabonis	61	21.3	10.1	0.8	4.6	5.4	1.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.2	4.0	8.5	.479	0.0	0.2	.067	2.0	2.6	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	14	41.4	35.3	1.4	7.8	9.1	7.3	1.6	0.9	2.7	2.1	11.4	22.3	.510	1.9	5.8	.333	10.6	14.2	.749
difference:	+11	+6.4	+24.0	+1.3	+2.1	+0.8	+4.6	+1.3	+1.4	-2.0	-1.9	+6.7	+12.6	+.027	+1.9	+5.1	+.333	+8.6	+11.5	+.001
Arvydas Sabonis	3	35.0	11.3	2.7	5.7	8.3	2.7	0.3	2.3	0.7	4.0	4.7	9.7	.483	0.0	0.7	.000	2.0	2.7	.750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.

Season 7
	LeBron James	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2009-10	2002-03
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	76	39.0	29.7	0.9	6.4	7.3	8.6	1.6	1.0	3.4	1.6	10.1	20.1	.503	1.7	5.1	.333	7.8	10.2	.767
difference:	+2	+23.5	+23.6	+0.2	+3.2	+3.0	+6.8	+0.8	+0.4	-2.4	-0.2	+7.9	+15.5	+.027	+1.7	+5.0	+.167	+6.1	+8.1	+.020
Arvydas Sabonis	78	15.5	6.1	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.2	4.6	.476	0.0	0.1	.500	1.7	2.1	.787
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	11	41.8	29.1	1.4	7.9	9.3	7.6	1.7	1.8	3.8	2.1	9.6	19.2	.502	1.8	4.5	.400	8.0	10.9	.733
difference:	+5	+27.3	+19.1	+0.4	+4.9	+5.3	+6.8	+1.0	+1.1	-2.8	-0.2	+5.6	+13.2	+.165	+1.8	+4.5		+6.0	+8.4	+.067
Arvydas Sabonis	6	14.5	10.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.3	4.0	6.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800

Additional Years
* LeBron James played 15 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 22, from 2011 to 2025—LeBron James played in 13 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships and one NBA Cup. In those 15 extra years over Arvydas Sabonis, LeBron James got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	4 Finals MVP 2 Season MVP 9 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Assists Leader 1 Cup MVP 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 15 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP