LeBron James vs. Lauri Markkanen Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lauri Markkanen 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 / 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, 14 more than Lauri Markkanen, who played 8. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while Lauri Markkanen had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Lauri Markkanen	8	0	2017-18 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2003-04	2017-18
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	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:	+11	+9.8	+5.7	+0.1	+2.1	+2.0	+4.7	+1.0	+0.1	-2.3	-0.4	+2.4	+6.2	+.017	+1.3	+3.2	+.072	+2.3	+3.4	+.089
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

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor Lauri Markkanen played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2004-05	2018-19
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Chicago Bulls
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:	+28	+10.1	+8.5		+1.6	+1.6	+5.8	+1.5	+0.1	-1.7	-0.5	+3.3	+5.8	+.042	+0.9	+2.5	+.010	+2.7	+4.2	+.122
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

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor Lauri Markkanen played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2005-06	2019-20
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+29	+12.7	+16.7	+0.3	+1.0	+0.7	+5.1	+0.8	+0.3	-1.7	-0.4	+6.1	+11.3	+.055	+0.6	+1.5	+.009	+5.1	+7.2	+.086
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

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2006-07	2020-21
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+27	+15.1	+13.7	+0.4	+1.1	+1.4	+5.1	+1.1	+0.4	-2.2	-0.7	+5.0	+10.6	+.004	+1.0	+1.8	+.083	+4.8	+7.2	+.128
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

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2007-08	2021-22
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland Cavaliers
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:	+14	+9.6	+15.2	+0.8	+1.4	+2.2	+5.9	+1.1	+0.6	-2.5	-0.1	+5.5	+10.4	+.039	+0.7	+1.4	+.043	+5.0	+7.7	+.156
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

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2008-09	2022-23
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Most Improved Player
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+15	+3.3	+2.8	+0.7	+0.4	+1.0	+5.3	+1.1	+0.5	-1.1	-0.4	+1.0	+2.6	+.010	+1.4	+3.0	+.047	+2.0	+3.4	+.095
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

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2009-10	2023-24
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Utah Jazz
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:	+21	+5.9	+6.5	+1.3	+0.5	+0.9	+6.6	+0.7	+0.5	-2.0	-0.2	+2.3	+3.9	+.023	+1.5	+2.9	+.066	+3.3	+5.2	+.132
Lauri Markkanen	55	33.1	23.2	2.2	5.9	8.2	2.0	0.9	0.5	1.4	1.8	7.8	16.2	.480	3.2	8.0	.399	4.5	5.0	.899

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	LeBron James	Lauri Markkanen
Season	2010-11	2024-25
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
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:	+32	+7.4	+7.7	+0.5	+2.1	+1.6	+5.5	+0.9	+0.2	-2.2	-0.4	+3.3	+3.9	+.087	+1.7	+5.0	+.016	+3.0	+4.5	+.117
Lauri Markkanen	47	31.4	19.0	1.5	4.4	5.9	1.5	0.7	0.4	1.4	1.7	6.3	14.9	.423	2.9	8.5	.346	3.4	3.9	.876

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
Lauri Markkanen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* LeBron James played 14 seasons more than Lauri Markkanen in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 22, from 2012 to 2025—LeBron James played in 12 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships and one NBA Cup. In those 14 extra years over Lauri Markkanen, LeBron James got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	4 Finals MVP 2 Season MVP 8 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Assists Leader 1 Cup MVP 1 Cup All-Tournament Team 14 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP

LeBron James vs. Lauri Markkanen Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Lauri Markkanen 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

Additional Years