LeBron James vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / 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.

LeBron James played 22 years in the NBA, 6 more than J.R. Smith, who played 16. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
J.R. Smith	16	12	2004-05 to 2019-20

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16


Rookie Season
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2003-04	2004-05
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+3	+15.0	+10.6	+0.8	+2.7	+3.5	+4.0	+0.9	+0.6	-2.1	-0.1	+4.0	+9.1	+.023	+0.3	+1.0	+.002	+2.9	+3.7	+.065
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2004-05	2005-06
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+25	+24.4	+19.5	+1.1	+4.3	+5.4	+6.1	+1.5	+0.6	-2.3	-0.2	+7.3	+14.4	+.079	+0.5	+1.4	+.020	+4.5	+6.2	+.072
J.R. Smith	55	18.0	7.7	0.3	1.7	2.0	1.1	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.7	.393	0.9	2.5	.371	1.5	1.8	.822

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2005-06	2006-07
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets 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:	+16	+19.2	+18.4	+0.4	+4.3	+4.7	+5.2	+0.8	+0.7	-2.0		+6.6	+12.9	+.039	+0.8	+1.3	+.055	+6.0	+8.3	+.072
J.R. Smith	63	23.3	13.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.3	4.5	10.2	.441	2.4	6.1	.390	1.6	2.0	.810

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	+34.7	+26.3	+1.4	+4.4	+5.8	+5.3	+0.4	+0.4	-4.2	-1.9	+9.7	+18.1	+.203	+1.6	+1.8	+.333	+5.2	+7.6	+.263
J.R. Smith	4	11.8	4.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	0.5	1.0	0.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	5.5	.273	0.0	3.0	.000	1.5	1.5	1.000


Season 4
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2006-07	2007-08
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets 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:	+4	+21.7	+15.0	+0.5	+4.2	+4.6	+4.3	+0.8	+0.5	-1.7	-0.3	+5.7	+11.7	+.015	+0.8	+1.3	+.084	+4.6	+6.6	+.021
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719

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:	+16	+17.7	+6.8	+1.0	+5.3	+6.3	+6.2	+0.7	+0.5	-2.0	-1.0	+2.5	+9.2	+.119	+0.7	+1.7	+.038	+2.4	+3.8	+.078
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833


Season 5
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2007-08	2008-09
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+6	+12.7	+14.8	+1.3	+3.0	+4.2	+4.4	+0.8	+0.9	-1.5	-0.1	+5.4	+10.2	+.038	+0.7	+0.8	+.082	+4.8	+6.9	+.042
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754

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	+15.3	+13.3	+0.5	+4.0	+4.5	+4.8	+0.7	+1.0	-2.6	-0.7	+3.2	+9.1	+.043	+1.0	+1.2	+.101	+7.8	+9.9	+.188
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543


Season 6
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2008-09	2009-10
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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:	+6	+9.9	+13.0	+0.9	+3.6	+4.5	+4.8	+0.4	+0.8	-1.1	-0.6	+4.0	+6.1	+.075	+0.5	+1.5	+.006	+5.4	+6.7	+.074
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706

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:	+8	+14.9	+24.1	+0.6	+4.8	+5.3	+5.6	+0.9	+0.6	-1.7	-0.7	+7.9	+12.8	+.142	+0.1	+0.6	+.022	+8.3	+11.5	+.126
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875


Season 7
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2009-10	2010-11
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+14.1	+17.4	+0.3	+2.9	+3.2	+6.4	+0.4	+0.8	-2.1	-0.6	+5.8	+10.2	+.068	+0.1	+1.1	+.057	+5.7	+7.4	+.029
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738

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:	+6	+26.6	+19.3	+1.2	+6.1	+7.3	+6.6	+1.3	+1.8	-2.2	-0.5	+6.4	+10.2	+.146		+0.3	+.029	+6.4	+8.7	+.006
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727


Season 8
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2010-11	2011-12
Team	Miami Heat	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+44	+11.2	+14.2	+0.2	+3.4	+3.6	+4.6	+0.1	+0.4	-2.3	-0.4	+4.9	+7.2	+.103	+0.7	+2.0	+.017	+5.3	+6.8	+.050
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709

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
difference:	+16	+8.9	+11.5	+1.2	+4.6	+5.8	+3.7	+0.5	+1.0	-0.9	-1.1	+3.5	+2.6	+.150	+0.4	+1.6	+.174	+4.1	+5.8	+.237
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000


Season 9
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2011-12	2012-13
Team	Miami Heat	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+18	+4.0	+9.0	+0.7	+1.9	+2.6	+3.5	+0.6	+0.5	-1.7	-1.3	+3.4	+3.3	+.109	+1.0	+3.1	+.006	+3.2	+4.2	+.009
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762

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:	+12	+10.8	+16.0	+1.8	+3.2	+5.0	+4.2	+0.9	+0.2	-1.7	-0.5	+6.0	+7.0	+.169	+0.6	+2.3	+.014	+4.7	+6.3	+.018
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721


Season 10
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2012-13	2013-14
Team	Miami Heat	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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		%
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:	+2	+5.2	+12.3	+0.8	+3.3	+4.0	+4.3	+0.8	+0.6	-1.5	-1.2	+4.7	+4.9	+.150	+1.2	+3.2	+.012	+4.1	+5.1	+.101
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2013-14	2014-15
Team	Miami Heat	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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11th 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	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:	+7	+8.0	+15.0	+0.7	+3.2	+3.8	+3.5	+0.4		-2.1	-0.7	+5.5	+6.8	+.150	+0.8	+2.1	+.004	+4.9	+6.6
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
difference:	+2	+7.1	+14.6	+0.2	+2.2	+2.4	+3.6	+0.9		-2.3	-0.7	+5.0	+5.6	+.162	+1.0	+3.6	+.048	+5.7	+6.9	+.106
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700


Season 12
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2014-15	2015-16
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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12th 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	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:	+8	+5.4	+12.9	+0.1	+3.0	+3.2	+5.7	+0.5	+0.4	-3.1	-0.6	+4.4	+7.5	+.073	+0.9	+1.7	+.046	+4.8	+6.8	+.076
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+1	+7.4	+18.6	+1.6	+6.6	+8.1	+7.1	+0.5	+0.9	-3.6	-0.3	+7.5	+18.2	+.019	+1.8	+1.7	+.203	+5.5	+7.4	+.112
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619


Season 13
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2015-16	2016-17
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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13th 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	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:	+35	+6.6	+16.7	+1.1	+3.7	+4.6	+5.3	+0.4	+0.3	-2.7		+6.7	+9.9	+.174	+1.2	+2.9	+.042	+4.5	+6.1	+.064
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
difference:	+3	+12.0	+18.2	+1.7	+5.4	+7.2	+6.9	+1.6	+1.0	-2.9	-0.3	+7.6	+14.4	+.020	+0.7	+0.1	+.160	+3.6	+5.3	+.206
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455


Season 14
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2016-17	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

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14th 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	74	37.8	26.4	1.3	7.3	8.6	8.7	1.2	0.6	4.1	1.8	9.9	18.2	.548	1.7	4.6	.363	4.8	7.2	.674
difference:	+6	+9.7	+18.1	+0.9	+4.7	+5.7	+6.9	+0.3	+0.5	-3.1	-0.2	+6.9	+10.8	+.145	+0.1	+0.2	+.012	+4.3	+6.5	+.022
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	18	41.3	32.8	1.1	8.1	9.1	7.8	1.9	1.3	4.0	2.4	12.1	21.3	.565	2.4	5.9	.411	6.3	9.0	.698
difference:	+4	+9.2	+24.1	+0.6	+5.8	+6.4	+6.7	+0.9	+1.1	-3.1	-0.1	+9.1	+12.8	+.217	+0.4	+0.4	+.044	+5.5	+8.0	+.075
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773


Season 15
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2017-18	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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15th 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	82	36.9	27.5	1.2	7.5	8.6	9.1	1.4	0.9	4.2	1.7	10.5	19.3	.542	1.8	5.0	.367	4.7	6.5	.731
difference:	+71	+16.7	+20.8	+1.2	+5.9	+7.0	+7.2	+0.4	+0.6	-3.2		+8.0	+12.1	+.200	+0.7	+1.5	+.059	+4.0	+5.6	+.069
J.R. Smith	11	20.2	6.7	0.0	1.6	1.6	1.9	1.0	0.3	1.0	1.7	2.5	7.2	.342	1.1	3.5	.308	0.7	0.9	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	22	41.9	34.0	1.4	7.7	9.1	9.0	1.4	1.0	4.3	2.4	12.5	23.2	.539	1.8	5.2	.342	7.2	9.7	.746
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 16
	LeBron James	J.R. Smith
Season	2018-19	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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16th 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	55	35.2	27.4	1.0	7.4	8.5	8.3	1.3	0.6	3.6	1.7	10.1	19.9	.510	2.0	5.9	.339	5.1	7.6	.665
difference:	+49	+22.0	+24.6	+1.0	+6.6	+7.7	+7.8	+1.1	+0.6	-2.9	-0.9	+8.9	+16.2	+.192	+1.8	+4.1	+.248	+4.8	+7.3	+.335
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-


Additional Years
* LeBron James played 6 seasons more than J.R. Smith in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 17 to 22, from 2020 to 2025—LeBron James played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship and one NBA Cup. In those 6 extra years over J.R. Smith, LeBron James got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 3 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 1 Cup MVP 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 6 All-Star Game

LeBron James vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Season 13

13th Season Stats Comparison

Season 14

14th Season Stats Comparison

Season 15

15th Season Stats Comparison

Season 16

16th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years