LeBron James vs. Jeremy Lin Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jeremy Lin 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, 13 more than Jeremy Lin, who played 9. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while Jeremy Lin had his rookie season in 2010-11. 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	Jeremy Lin
Season	2003-04	2010-11
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	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		%
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:	+50	+29.7	+18.3	+0.9	+3.4	+4.3	+4.5	+0.5	+0.4	-2.9	-0.8	+6.9	+16.4	+.028	+0.8	+2.5	+.090	+3.7	+4.9	+.006
Jeremy Lin	29	9.8	2.6	0.4	0.8	1.2	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.0	2.5	.389	0.0	0.2	.200	0.7	0.9	.760
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor Jeremy Lin played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2004-05	2011-12
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
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:	+45	+15.5	+12.6	+0.9	+3.5	+4.3	+1.0	+0.6	+0.4	-0.3	-0.4	+5.0	+10.2	+.026	+0.7	+1.8	+.031	+1.8	+2.8	+.048
Jeremy Lin	35	26.9	14.6	0.5	2.5	3.1	6.2	1.6	0.3	3.6	2.2	4.9	10.9	.446	0.7	2.1	.320	4.2	5.2	.798
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor Jeremy Lin played in the postseason in their season 2

Season 3
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2005-06	2012-13
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+3	+10.3	+18.0	+0.5	+3.5	+4.0	+0.5		+0.4	-0.4	-0.2	+6.3	+12.2	+.039	+0.5	+1.7	+.004	+5.0	+6.9	+.047
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785
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	+25.5	+26.8	+1.7	+4.4	+6.1	+3.8	+0.9	+0.4	-3.0	-1.1	+9.7	+17.6	+.226	+1.1	+1.8	+.166	+6.2	+8.6	+.263
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000

Season 4
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2006-07	2013-14
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+7	+12.0	+14.8	+0.6	+3.5	+4.1	+1.9	+0.6	+0.3	-0.7	-0.1	+5.7	+11.5	+.030	+0.1	+0.8	+.039	+3.2	+5.3	+.125
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823
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:	+14	+15.2	+13.8	+0.1	+4.3	+4.4	+3.7	+1.2	+0.3	-1.1	-0.5	+4.1	+9.8	+.006	+0.3		+.063	+5.2	+7.1	+.058
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813

Season 5
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2007-08	2014-15
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
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:	+1	+14.6	+18.8	+1.4	+3.8	+5.3	+2.6	+0.7	+0.7	-1.2	-0.4	+6.9	+13.1	+.060	+0.6	+2.4	+.054	+4.4	+6.7	+.083
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795
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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2008-09	2015-16
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+3	+11.4	+16.7	+0.8	+3.6	+4.4	+4.2	+1.0	+0.6	-1.1	-0.4	+5.9	+10.6	+.077	+0.6	+1.8	+.008	+4.2	+5.7	+.035
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815
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:	+7	+14.4	+22.9	+1.0	+5.9	+6.8	+4.7	+0.9	+0.9	-1.1	-0.9	+7.7	+13.3	+.097	+1.5	+3.8	+.119	+6.0	+8.6	+.072
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821

Season 7
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2009-10	2016-17
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
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:	+40	+14.5	+15.2	+0.6	+3.0	+3.5	+3.5	+0.4	+0.6	-1.0	-0.6	+5.2	+9.0	+.065	+0.1	+0.8	+.039	+4.6	+6.3	+.049
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816
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
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2010-11	2017-18
Team	Miami Heat	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
LeBron James	79	38.8	26.7	1.0	6.5	7.5	7.0	1.6	0.6	3.6	2.1	9.6	18.8	.510	1.2	3.5	.330	6.4	8.4	.759
difference:	+78	+13.8	+8.7	+1.0	+6.5	+7.5	+3.0	+1.6	+0.6	-0.6	-0.9	+4.6	+6.8	+.093	+0.2	+1.5	+.170	+0.6	+1.4	+.241
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	21	43.9	23.7	1.6	6.8	8.4	5.9	1.7	1.2	3.1	2.7	8.3	17.8	.466	1.4	4.0	.353	5.7	7.4	.763
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	LeBron James	Jeremy Lin
Season	2011-12	2018-19
Team	Miami Heat	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
LeBron James	62	37.5	27.1	1.5	6.4	7.9	6.2	1.9	0.8	3.4	1.5	10.0	18.9	.531	0.9	2.4	.362	6.2	8.1	.771
difference:	+12	+18.1	+17.5	+1.2	+4.3	+5.5	+3.1	+1.3	+0.6	-1.7	-0.4	+6.8	+11.6	+.091	+0.2	+0.1	+.068	+3.8	+5.3	+.067
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	23	42.7	30.3	2.3	7.4	9.7	5.6	1.9	0.7	3.5	2.0	10.9	21.8	.500	1.0	3.7	.259	7.5	10.2	.739
difference:	+15	+39.3	+29.2	+2.3	+7.0	+9.3	+5.1	+1.8	+0.7	-2.9	-1.7	+10.6	+20.7	+.278	+0.9	+3.4	+.241	+7.0	+9.7	+.261
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000

Additional Years
* LeBron James played 13 seasons more than Jeremy Lin in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 22, from 2013 to 2025—LeBron James played in 11 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships and one NBA Cup. In those 13 extra years over Jeremy Lin, LeBron James got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 Finals MVP 1 Season MVP 7 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Assists Leader 1 Cup MVP 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 13 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP