Luka Doncic vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

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

Luka Doncic played 8 years in the NBA, 8 less than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Luka Doncic had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, 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
Luka Doncic	8	5	2018-19 to 2025-26
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


Rookie Season
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2018-19	2004-05
Team	Dallas Mavericks	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		%
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:	+4	+7.7	+10.9	+0.7	+5.1	+5.8	+4.1	+0.4	+0.2	-2.0	-0.1	+3.1	+6.7	+.033	+1.2	+3.4	+.039	+3.3	+4.6	+.024
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 Luka Doncic nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2019-20	2005-06
Team	Dallas Mavericks	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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:	+6	+15.6	+21.1	+1.0	+6.4	+7.4	+7.7	+0.3	+0.1	-3.3	-0.9	+6.9	+13.9	+.070	+1.9	+6.4	+.055	+5.5	+7.4	+.064
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
	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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2020-21	2006-07
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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:	+3	+11.0	+14.7	+0.3	+5.4	+5.7	+7.2	+0.2	+0.4	-3.0		+5.3	+10.3	+.038	+0.5	+2.2	+.040	+3.6	+5.1	+.080
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		%
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:	+3	+28.3	+31.2	+0.3	+5.3	+5.6	+9.8	+0.3	+0.1	-3.8	-0.9	+12.2	+22.5	+.217	+4.4	+7.9	+.408	+2.4	+5.8	+.471
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
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2021-22	2007-08
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 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		%
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:	+9	+16.2	+16.1	+0.3	+6.8	+7.0	+7.0	+0.4	+0.4	-3.0	-0.3	+5.7	+12.5	+.004	+1.0	+3.5	+.050	+3.9	+5.1	+.025
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		%
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:	+11	+9.8	+13.4	+0.4	+7.6	+8.0	+4.6	+0.8	+0.6	-2.6	-0.1	+4.9	+12.7	+.080	+1.6	+4.4	+.027	+1.9	+3.0	+.063
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
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2022-23	2008-09
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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:	+15	+8.5	+17.2	+0.3	+4.7	+4.9	+5.2	+0.4	+0.3	-1.7	-0.2	+5.7	+10.3	+.050	+0.6	+2.6	+.055	+5.3	+7.1	+.012
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		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2023-24	2009-10
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA 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		%
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:	+5	+9.7	+18.5	+0.4	+5.7	+6.1	+7.4	+0.1	+0.2	-2.1	-0.2	+5.8	+9.8	+.073	+2.0	+4.4	+.044	+4.9	+6.0	+.080
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		%
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:	+16	+14.4	+17.7	+0.1	+5.7	+5.7	+6.4	+1.2	+0.1	-3.1	-0.3	+6.7	+13.4	+.078	+1.3	+4.4	+.033	+3.0	+4.3	+.110
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
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2024-25	2010-11
Team	Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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:	+29	+10.5	+15.9	+0.2	+3.9	+4.1	+5.5	+0.6	+0.2	-2.3	-0.3	+4.9	+10.6	+.015	+1.9	+5.6	+.022	+4.1	+5.1	+.044
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		%
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:		+26.4	+20.4	+0.2	+4.8	+5.0	+4.8	+0.6	+0.6	-2.4	-1.6	+6.2	+11.8	+.096	+1.4	+5.0	+.081	+6.6	+7.0	+.164
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
	Luka Doncic	J.R. Smith
Season	2025-26	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Luka Doncic	12	37.1	34.5	0.8	8.0	8.8	8.9	2.0	0.5	4.3	2.6	10.6	22.7	.467	3.4	11.0	.311	9.9	12.5	.793
difference:	+23	+9.5	+22.0		+4.9	+4.9	+6.5	+0.5	+0.3	-3.0	-0.1	+5.9	+11.1	+.060	+1.5	+5.5	+.036	+8.8	+10.9	+.084
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		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Additional Years
* J.R. Smith played 8 seasons more than Luka Doncic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 16, from 2013 to 2020—J.R. Smith played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 8 extra years over Luka Doncic, J.R. Smith got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Sixth Man of the Year

Luka Doncic vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

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

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years