LeBron James vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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, 14 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. LeBron James had the first of his seasons in 2003-04, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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	Yao Ming
Season	2003-04	2002-03
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
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	+10.5	+7.4	+1.1	+1.6	+2.7	+4.2	+1.2	+1.1	-1.4	-0.9	+3.0	+9.1	+.081	+0.8	+2.7		+0.7	+1.3	+.057
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher LeBron James nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2004-05	2003-04
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+2	+9.6	+9.7	+1.0	+0.6	+1.6	+5.7	+1.9	+1.2	-0.8	-1.5	+3.4	+8.6	+.050	+1.4	+3.9		+1.6	+2.6	+.059
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
LeBron James	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2005-06	2004-05
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+1	+11.9	+13.1	+1.7	+0.3	+1.4	+5.8	+1.2	+1.2	-0.8	-1.4	+4.4	+10.9	+.072	+1.6	+4.8		+2.7	+4.1	+.045
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
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:	+6	+14.6	+9.4	+1.6	+2.0	+0.4	+5.1	+1.1	+2.0	-2.3	-1.0	+3.3	+11.6	+.179	+1.6	+4.8		+1.0	+1.2	+.010
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2006-07	2005-06
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	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:	+21	+6.7	+5.0	+1.5	+1.9	+3.5	+4.5	+1.1	+0.9	-0.6	-1.2	+1.7	+5.0	+.043	+1.3	+4.0		+0.4	+2.1	+.155
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2007-08	2006-07
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+27	+6.6	+5.0	+0.3	+1.2	+1.5	+5.2	+1.4	+0.9	-0.1	-1.1	+1.8	+4.8	+.032	+1.5	+4.8		+0.1	+1.7	+.150
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
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:	+6	+5.4	+3.1	+2.1	+0.4	+2.5	+6.7	+1.7	+0.6	-0.5	-1.4	+0.8	+3.3	+.029	+1.4	+5.4			+2.1	+.149
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2008-09	2007-08
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	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:	+26	+0.5	+6.4	+1.8	+1.4	+3.2	+4.9	+1.2	+0.9	-0.3	-1.4	+1.8	+4.4	+.018	+1.6	+4.7		+1.0	+2.0	+.070
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2009-10	2008-09
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+1	+5.4	+10.0	+1.7	+0.8	+2.6	+6.8	+1.2	+0.9	-0.4	-1.7	+2.7	+6.7	+.045	+1.7	+5.1		+2.9	+4.5	+.099
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
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:	+2	+5.9	+12.0	+0.7	+0.9	+1.6	+6.6	+1.3	+0.6	-1.9	-0.9	+3.6	+8.2	+.043	+1.8	+4.5		+2.9	+5.2	+.169
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	LeBron James	Yao Ming
Season	2010-11	2010-11
Team	Miami Heat	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	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:	+74	+20.6	+16.5	+0.4	+2.5	+2.1	+6.2	+1.6	+1.0	-2.2	-0.5	+6.0	+11.4	+.024	+1.2	+3.5		+3.4	+5.2	+.179
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* LeBron James played 14 seasons more than Yao Ming 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 Yao Ming, 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