Luka Doncic vs. Gary Payton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Gary Payton and Luka Doncic, 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

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.

Luka Doncic played 7 years in the NBA, 10 less than Gary Payton, who played 17. Luka Doncic had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while Gary Payton had his rookie season in 1990-91. 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
Luka Doncic	7	5	2018-19 to 2024-25
Gary Payton	17	15	1990-91 to 2006-07

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


Rookie Season
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2018-19	1990-91
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Luka Doncic	72	32.2	21.2	1.2	6.6	7.8	6.0	1.1	0.3	3.4	1.9	7.0	16.5	.427	2.3	7.1	.327	4.8	6.7	.713
difference:	+10	+4.8	+14.0	+0.1	+5.0	+4.8	+0.4	+0.9	+0.1	-1.2	-1.1	+3.8	+9.5	+.023	+2.3	+6.9	+.250	+4.0	+5.5	+.002
Gary Payton	82	27.4	7.2	1.3	1.6	3.0	6.4	2.0	0.2	2.2	3.0	3.2	7.0	.450	0.0	0.2	.077	0.8	1.2	.711

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gary Payton	5	27.0	4.8	1.0	1.6	2.6	6.4	1.6	0.2	1.8	3.2	2.2	5.4	.407	0.0	0.2	.000	0.4	0.4	1.000


Season 2
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2019-20	1991-92
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Luka Doncic	61	33.6	28.8	1.3	8.1	9.4	8.8	1.0	0.2	4.3	2.5	9.5	20.6	.463	2.8	8.9	.316	7.0	9.2	.758
difference:	+20	+2.1	+19.4	+0.2	+6.0	+5.8	+2.6	+0.8	+0.1	-2.2	-0.6	+5.4	+11.5	+.012	+2.8	+8.6	+.186	+5.8	+7.4	+.089
Gary Payton	81	31.5	9.4	1.5	2.1	3.6	6.2	1.8	0.3	2.1	3.1	4.1	9.1	.451	0.0	0.3	.130	1.2	1.8	.669

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	6	35.8	31.0	0.7	9.2	9.8	8.7	1.2	0.5	5.2	2.8	10.7	21.3	.500	2.7	7.3	.364	7.0	10.7	.656
difference:	+2	+8.2	+23.4	+0.1	+7.3	+7.2	+3.9	+0.2	+0.2	-3.9	-0.5	+7.3	+14.0	+.034	+2.7	+7.0	+.364	+6.1	+9.2	+.073
Gary Payton	8	27.6	7.6	0.8	1.9	2.6	4.8	1.0	0.3	1.3	3.3	3.4	7.3	.466	0.0	0.3	.000	0.9	1.5	.583


Season 3
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2020-21	1992-93
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Supersonics Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Luka Doncic	66	34.3	27.7	0.8	7.2	8.0	8.6	1.0	0.5	4.3	2.3	9.8	20.5	.479	2.9	8.3	.350	5.2	7.1	.730
difference:	+16	+3.2	+14.2	+0.4	+4.9	+4.6	+3.7	+1.2	+0.2	-2.5	-0.7	+4.0	+8.8	+.015	+2.8	+7.9	+.144	+3.4	+4.7	+.040
Gary Payton	82	31.1	13.5	1.2	2.3	3.4	4.9	2.2	0.3	1.8	3.0	5.8	11.7	.494	0.1	0.4	.206	1.8	2.4	.770

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	7	40.1	35.7	0.6	7.3	7.9	10.3	1.3	0.4	4.6	2.4	13.7	28.0	.490	4.4	10.9	.408	3.9	7.3	.529
difference:	+12	+8.3	+23.4	+0.6	+5.1	+4.6	+6.6	+0.5	+0.2	-2.8	-1.0	+8.2	+15.6	+.047	+4.3	+10.6	+.241	+2.6	+5.4	+.147
Gary Payton	19	31.8	12.3	1.2	2.2	3.3	3.7	1.8	0.2	1.8	3.4	5.5	12.4	.443	0.1	0.3	.167	1.3	1.9	.676


Season 4
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2021-22	1993-94
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Supersonics 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		%
Luka Doncic	65	35.4	28.4	0.9	8.3	9.1	8.7	1.2	0.6	4.5	2.2	9.9	21.6	.457	3.1	8.8	.353	5.6	7.5	.744
difference:	+17	+0.3	+11.9	+0.4	+6.3	+5.8	+2.7	+1.1	+0.4	-2.4	-0.6	+2.8	+7.5	+.047	+2.9	+8.1	+.075	+3.6	+4.1	+.149
Gary Payton	82	35.1	16.5	1.3	2.0	3.3	6.0	2.3	0.2	2.1	2.8	7.1	14.1	.504	0.2	0.7	.278	2.0	3.4	.595

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	15	36.8	31.7	0.7	9.1	9.8	6.4	1.8	0.6	3.9	2.9	10.7	23.5	.455	3.4	9.9	.345	6.9	9.0	.770
difference:	+10	+0.6	+15.9	+0.5	+6.9	+6.4	+0.8	+0.2	+0.2	-2.3	-0.1	+3.9	+9.7	+.038	+2.8	+8.1	+.012	+5.3	+5.2	+.349
Gary Payton	5	36.2	15.8	1.2	2.2	3.4	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.6	3.0	6.8	13.8	.493	0.6	1.8	.333	1.6	3.8	.421


Season 5
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2022-23	1994-95
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Supersonics 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		%
Luka Doncic	66	36.2	32.4	0.8	7.8	8.6	8.0	1.4	0.5	3.6	2.5	10.9	22.0	.496	2.8	8.2	.342	7.8	10.5	.742
difference:	+16	+0.6	+11.8	+0.5	+5.7	+5.2	+0.9	+1.1	+0.3	-1.1		+2.5	+5.6	+.013	+1.9	+5.4	+.040	+4.8	+6.3	+.026
Gary Payton	82	36.8	20.6	1.3	2.1	3.4	7.1	2.5	0.2	2.5	2.5	8.4	16.4	.509	0.9	2.8	.302	3.0	4.2	.716

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gary Payton	4	43.0	17.8	1.5	1.0	2.5	5.3	1.3	0.0	2.0	3.3	8.0	16.8	.478	0.5	2.5	.200	1.3	3.0	.417


Season 6
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2023-24	1995-96
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Scoring Leader	-
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals	Supersonics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Luka Doncic	70	37.5	33.9	0.8	8.4	9.2	9.8	1.4	0.5	4.0	2.1	11.5	23.6	.487	4.1	10.6	.382	6.8	8.7	.786
difference:	+11	+1.5	+14.6	+0.5	+5.5	+5.0	+2.3	+1.5	+0.3	-0.8	-0.6	+3.9	+7.8	+.003	+2.9	+6.9	+.054	+4.0	+4.9	+.038
Gary Payton	81	39.0	19.3	1.3	2.9	4.2	7.5	2.9	0.2	3.2	2.7	7.6	15.8	.484	1.2	3.7	.328	2.8	3.8	.748

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	22	40.9	28.9	0.7	8.7	9.5	8.1	1.9	0.4	4.1	2.5	10.2	22.9	.446	3.1	9.6	.322	5.3	7.0	.765
difference:	+1	+2.5	+8.2	+0.2	+4.5	+4.4	+1.3	+0.1	+0.1	-1.1	-0.8	+2.5	+7.0	+.039	+1.1	+4.8	+.088	+2.0	+1.8	+.132
Gary Payton	21	43.4	20.7	0.9	4.2	5.1	6.8	1.8	0.3	3.0	3.3	7.7	15.9	.485	2.0	4.8	.410	3.3	5.2	.633


Season 7
	Luka Doncic	Gary Payton
Season	2024-25	1996-97
Team	Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Supersonics 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		%
Luka Doncic	50	35.4	28.2	0.8	7.4	8.2	7.7	1.8	0.4	3.6	2.5	9.2	20.5	.450	3.5	9.6	.368	6.2	7.9	.782
difference:	+32	+3.8	+6.4	+0.5	+4.1	+3.6	+0.6	+0.6	+0.2	-1.0		+0.6	+2.4	+.026	+2.0	+5.0	+.055	+3.1	+3.6	+.067
Gary Payton	82	39.2	21.8	1.3	3.3	4.6	7.1	2.4	0.2	2.6	2.5	8.6	18.1	.476	1.5	4.6	.313	3.1	4.3	.715

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	5	41.6	30.2	0.4	6.6	7.0	5.8	1.0	0.6	4.0	3.2	9.4	20.8	.452	3.2	9.2	.348	8.2	9.2	.891
difference:	+7	+4.0	+6.4	+1.3	+2.8	+1.6	+2.9	+1.2	+0.3	-1.1	-1.0	+0.6	+0.5	+.040	+1.1	+2.9	+.015	+4.0	+4.1	+.071
Gary Payton	12	45.6	23.8	1.7	3.8	5.4	8.7	2.2	0.3	2.9	2.2	8.8	21.3	.412	2.1	6.3	.333	4.2	5.1	.820


Additional Years
* Gary Payton played 10 seasons more than Luka Doncic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 17, from 1998 to 2007—Gary Payton played in 8 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 10 extra years over Luka Doncic, Gary Payton got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 5 All-Defensive First Team 5 All-Star Game

Luka Doncic vs. Gary Payton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Gary Payton and Luka Doncic, 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

Additional Years