LeBron James vs. John Starks Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Starks 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings

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, 9 more than John Starks, who played 13. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while John Starks had his rookie season in 1988-89. 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
LeBron James 22 18 2003-04 to 2024-25
John Starks 13 9 1988-89 to 2001-02

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13

Rookie Season

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2003-041988-89
Team Cleveland CavaliersGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement 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%
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:+43+30.7+16.8+0.9+3.5+4.4+5.1+1.0+0.6-2.4-0.9+6.5+15.4+.009+0.5+2.0+.095+3.5+4.4+.100
John Starks 36 8.8 4.1 0.4 0.7 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.1 1.1 1.0 1.4 3.5 .408 0.3 0.7 .385 0.9 1.4 .654
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor John Starks played in the postseason in their season 1

Note: John Starks didn't play in 1989-90.

Season 2

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2004-051990-91
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+19+23.2+19.6+0.9+4.3+5.3+3.9+1.2+0.4-2.1-0.4+6.9+14.4+.033+1.0+2.4+.061+4.7+6.3+.002
John Starks 61 19.2 7.6 0.5 1.7 2.1 3.3 1.0 0.3 1.2 2.2 3.0 6.7 .439 0.4 1.5 .290 1.3 1.7 .752
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James DNP------ --- ----------
John Starks 3 9.3 2.0 0.3 0.7 1.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 1.3 0.7 1.7 .400 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 0.7 1.000

Season 3

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2005-061991-92
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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+16.7+17.5+0.4+4.3+4.7+3.2+0.3+0.6-1.5-0.5+6.2+12.1+.031+0.5+1.5+.013+4.7+6.6+.040
John Starks 82 25.8 13.9 0.5 1.8 2.3 3.4 1.3 0.2 1.8 2.8 4.9 11.0 .449 1.1 3.3 .348 2.9 3.7 .778
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+1+21.9+18.7+1.1+4.5+5.6+2.6+0.7-3.2-0.4+7.4+13.3+.102+0.7+1.0+.094+3.2+4.8+.071
John Starks 12 24.6 12.1 0.6 1.9 2.5 3.2 1.4 0.0 1.8 3.8 3.8 10.3 .374 0.9 3.8 .239 3.5 4.3 .808

Season 4

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2006-071992-93
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost NBA FinalsKnicks Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+9.9+9.8+0.4+3.8+4.1+0.9+0.5+0.5-1.0-0.7+3.5+5.8+.048+0.1+0.2+.002+3.0+4.9+.097
John Starks 80 31.0 17.5 0.7 1.9 2.6 5.1 1.1 0.2 2.2 2.9 6.4 15.0 .428 1.4 4.2 .321 3.3 4.1 .795
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+5+6.4+8.6+1.0+3.6+4.6+1.6+0.7+0.3-0.4-1.8+2.4+6.7+.024+0.8+1.2+.093+4.5+5.8+.038
John Starks 15 38.3 16.5 0.3 3.2 3.5 6.4 1.0 0.2 3.7 3.8 5.9 13.3 .440 1.9 5.0 .373 2.9 4.0 .717

Season 5

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2007-081993-94
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisKnicks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+16+5.5+11.0+1.2+3.6+4.8+1.3+0.2+1.0-0.3-1.0+3.7+5.3+.064+0.4+0.9+.020+4.1+6.1+.042
John Starks 59 34.9 19.0 0.6 2.5 3.1 5.9 1.6 0.1 3.1 3.2 6.9 16.6 .420 1.9 5.7 .335 3.2 4.2 .754
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+12+8.9+13.6+0.8+4.6+5.5+3.0+0.4+1.2-1.9-0.9+4.3+9.6+.030+0.5+0.1+.099+5.5+7.8+.039
John Starks 25 33.6 14.6 0.4 2.0 2.3 4.6 1.4 0.1 2.3 3.4 4.4 11.6 .381 1.9 5.3 .356 3.9 5.0 .770

Season 6

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2008-091994-95
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf FinalsKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+1+3.6+13.1+0.9+4.0+4.9+2.1+0.5+1.0-1.0-1.5+4.5+6.6+.094+1.1+2.9+.011+5.2+6.5+.043
John Starks 80 34.1 15.3 0.4 2.3 2.7 5.1 1.2 0.1 2.0 3.2 5.2 13.3 .395 2.7 7.6 .355 2.1 2.9 .737
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3+6.9+19.7+1.2+5.7+6.8+2.1+0.4+0.8-0.3-1.5+6.1+10.6+.060+0.8+0.8+.078+8.2+10.4+.130
John Starks 11 34.5 15.6 0.2 2.1 2.3 5.2 1.2 0.1 2.4 3.6 5.3 11.7 .450 2.7 6.6 .411 2.4 3.8 .619

Season 7

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2009-101995-96
Team Cleveland CavaliersNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost East Conf SemisKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+5+8.2+17.1+0.5+3.9+4.4+4.7+0.3+0.9-1.5-1.2+5.5+9.7+.060+0.1+0.2+.028+6.2+8.1+.014
John Starks 81 30.8 12.6 0.4 2.5 2.9 3.9 1.3 0.1 1.9 2.8 4.6 10.4 .443 1.8 4.9 .361 1.6 2.1 .753
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+3+2.5+13.1+1.0+4.6+5.7+3.5+0.1+1.7-0.7-1.2+4.7+8.3+.054+0.8+1.1+.067+4.4+6.0+.011
John Starks 8 39.3 16.0 0.4 3.3 3.6 4.1 1.6 0.1 3.1 3.3 4.9 10.9 .448 2.6 5.6 .467 3.6 4.9 .744

Season 8

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2010-111996-97
Team Miami HeatNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
-Achievement Sixth Man of the Year
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Heat Lost NBA FinalsKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+12.3+12.9+0.5+4.3+4.8+4.2+0.4+0.5-1.5-0.4+4.8+7.7+.079+0.7+1.8+.039+4.2+5.5+.010
John Starks 77 26.5 13.8 0.5 2.2 2.7 2.8 1.2 0.1 2.1 2.5 4.8 11.1 .431 1.9 5.3 .369 2.2 2.9 .769
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+12+15.6+9.7+0.8+4.1+5.0+3.1+0.6+1.2-0.9-0.1+3.4+6.8+.022+0.6+.036+2.9+4.0+.043
John Starks 9 28.3 14.0 0.8 2.7 3.4 2.8 1.1 0.0 2.2 2.8 4.9 11.0 .444 1.4 4.6 .317 2.8 3.4 .806

Season 9

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2011-121997-98
Team Miami HeatNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+20+10.8+14.2+0.9+4.2+5.1+3.5+0.9+0.7-1.7-1.0+5.5+7.4+.138+0.7+2.5+.035+3.9+5.2+.016
John Starks 82 26.7 12.9 0.6 2.2 2.8 2.7 1.0 0.1 1.7 2.5 4.5 11.5 .393 1.6 4.9 .327 2.3 2.9 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+13+11.3+13.9+1.9+3.8+5.7+3.3+0.3+0.6-2.4-1.5+5.0+9.3+.028+1.5+2.2+.165+5.4+7.8+.136
John Starks 10 31.4 16.4 0.4 3.6 4.0 2.3 1.6 0.1 1.1 3.5 5.9 12.5 .472 2.5 5.9 .424 2.1 2.4 .875

Season 10

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2012-131998-99
Team Miami HeatGolden State Warriors
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 76 37.9 26.8 1.3 6.8 8.0 7.3 1.7 0.9 3.0 1.4 10.1 17.8 .565 1.4 3.3 .406 5.3 7.0 .753
difference:+26+4.2+13.0+0.6+4.2+4.7+2.6+0.3+0.8-1.3-1.3+4.7+3.2+.195+0.2+2.1+.116+3.8+5.0+.013
John Starks 50 33.7 13.8 0.7 2.6 3.3 4.7 1.4 0.1 1.7 2.7 5.4 14.6 .370 1.6 5.4 .290 1.5 2.0 .740
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 23 41.7 25.9 1.6 6.8 8.4 6.6 1.8 0.8 3.0 1.9 9.2 18.8 .491 1.6 4.2 .375 5.9 7.6 .777
John Starks DNP------ --- ----------

Season 11

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2013-141999-00
Team Miami HeatGolden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Heat Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 77 37.7 27.1 1.1 5.9 6.9 6.3 1.6 0.3 3.5 1.6 10.0 17.6 .567 1.5 4.0 .379 5.7 7.6 .750
difference:+40+5.5+13.2+0.8+3.4+4.2+1.4+0.5+0.2-1.7-1.2+4.5+3.0+.192+0.1+0.6+.034+4.3+6.0+.097
John Starks 37 32.2 13.9 0.3 2.5 2.7 4.9 1.1 0.1 1.8 2.8 5.5 14.6 .375 1.6 4.6 .345 1.4 1.6 .847
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 20 38.2 27.4 0.7 6.4 7.1 4.8 1.8 0.6 3.1 2.3 9.6 17.0 .565 1.8 4.3 .407 6.5 8.0 .806
John Starks DNP------ --- ----------

Season 12

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2014-152000-01
Team Cleveland CavaliersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Cavaliers Lost NBA FinalsJazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 69 36.1 25.3 0.7 5.3 6.0 7.4 1.6 0.7 3.9 2.0 9.0 18.5 .488 1.7 4.9 .354 5.4 7.7 .710
difference:+6+7.8+16.0+0.3+3.6+3.9+5.0+0.6+0.6-2.6-0.9+5.4+9.4+.090+0.8+2.5+.002+4.2+6.2+.092
John Starks 75 28.3 9.3 0.4 1.7 2.1 2.4 1.0 0.1 1.3 2.9 3.6 9.1 .398 0.9 2.4 .352 1.2 1.5 .802
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 20 42.2 30.1 1.9 9.5 11.3 8.5 1.7 1.1 4.1 2.9 11.4 27.2 .417 1.3 5.5 .227 6.1 8.4 .731
difference:+17+30.2+26.4+1.9+8.5+10.3+8.2+1.4+0.8-3.4-1.2+10.1+23.2+.084+1.0+4.2+.023+5.4+7.7+.269
John Starks 3 12.0 3.7 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 1.7 1.3 4.0 .333 0.3 1.3 .250 0.7 0.7 1.000

Season 13

LeBron James John Starks
Season 2015-162001-02
Team Cleveland CavaliersUtah Jazz
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 76 35.6 25.3 1.5 6.0 7.4 6.8 1.4 0.6 3.3 1.9 9.7 18.6 .520 1.1 3.7 .309 4.7 6.5 .731
difference:+10+21.5+20.9+1.3+5.2+6.4+5.7+0.9+0.6-2.5+8.0+13.9+.152+0.7+2.3+.004+4.2+5.9+.074
John Starks 66 14.1 4.4 0.2 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.5 0.0 0.8 1.9 1.7 4.7 .368 0.4 1.4 .305 0.5 0.6 .805
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
LeBron James 21 39.1 26.3 2.0 7.5 9.5 7.6 2.3 1.3 3.6 2.6 10.4 19.9 .525 1.5 4.5 .340 3.9 5.9 .661
John Starks DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* LeBron James played 9 seasons more than John Starks in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 14 to 22, from 2017 to 2025—LeBron James played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship and one NBA Cup.

In those 9 extra years over John Starks, LeBron James got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 3 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 4 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 1 Assists Leader
Achievement 1 Cup MVP
Achievement 1 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement 9 All-Star Game
Achievement 1 All-Star Game MVP