Manu Ginobili vs. Zion Williamson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Zion Williamson and Manu Ginobili, 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.

Manu Ginobili played 16 years in the NBA, 10 more than Zion Williamson, who played 6. Manu Ginobili had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Zion Williamson had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Manu Ginobili 16 15 2002-03 to 2017-18
Zion Williamson 6 0 2019-20 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2002-032019-20
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Rookie Second Team-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 69 20.7 7.6 0.7 1.7 2.3 2.0 1.4 0.2 1.4 2.5 2.5 5.8 .438 0.7 2.1 .345 1.8 2.5 .737
difference:+45+7.1+14.9+2.0+1.9+4.0+0.1+0.7+0.2-1.1-0.7+6.3+9.2+.145+0.4+1.5+.084+3.0+4.9+.097
Zion Williamson 24 27.8 22.5 2.7 3.6 6.3 2.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 1.8 8.8 15.0 .583 0.3 0.6 .429 4.8 7.4 .640
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 24 27.5 9.4 1.2 2.6 3.8 2.9 1.7 0.4 1.5 2.6 3.0 7.7 .386 1.2 3.0 .384 2.3 3.1 .757
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2003-042020-21
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Spurs Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 77 29.4 12.8 1.1 3.4 4.5 3.8 1.8 0.2 2.1 2.4 4.3 10.2 .418 1.1 3.2 .359 3.1 3.9 .802
difference:+16+3.8+14.2+1.6+1.1+2.7+0.1+0.9+0.4-0.6-0.2+6.1+6.8+.193+0.9+2.6+.065+2.9+4.8+.104
Zion Williamson 61 33.2 27.0 2.7 4.5 7.2 3.7 0.9 0.6 2.7 2.2 10.4 17.0 .611 0.2 0.6 .294 6.0 8.7 .698
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 10 27.9 13.0 1.5 3.8 5.3 3.1 1.7 0.1 2.1 3.0 4.2 9.4 .447 1.0 3.5 .286 3.6 4.4 .818
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Note: Zion Williamson didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 3

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2004-052022-23
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 74 29.6 16.0 1.0 3.4 4.4 3.9 1.6 0.4 2.3 2.6 5.0 10.5 .471 1.3 3.5 .376 4.8 6.0 .803
difference:+45+3.4+10.0+1.0+1.6+2.6+0.7+0.5+0.2-1.1-0.4+4.8+5.7+.137+1.1+2.8+.008+1.3+2.6+.089
Zion Williamson 29 33.0 26.0 2.0 5.0 7.0 4.6 1.1 0.6 3.4 2.2 9.8 16.2 .608 0.2 0.7 .368 6.1 8.6 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 23 33.7 20.8 0.8 5.0 5.8 4.2 1.2 0.3 2.9 3.0 6.3 12.4 .507 1.8 4.2 .438 6.4 8.0 .795
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2005-062023-24
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Spurs Lost West Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 65 27.9 15.1 0.6 2.9 3.5 3.6 1.6 0.4 1.9 2.4 4.8 10.3 .462 1.3 3.3 .382 4.3 5.5 .778
difference:+5+3.6+7.8+1.1+1.2+2.3+1.4+0.5+0.3-0.9-0.1+4.1+5.3+.108+1.2+3.0+.049+0.7+1.6+.076
Zion Williamson 70 31.5 22.9 1.7 4.1 5.8 5.0 1.1 0.7 2.8 2.3 8.9 15.6 .570 0.1 0.3 .333 5.0 7.1 .702
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 13 32.8 18.4 0.7 3.8 4.5 3.0 1.5 0.5 2.5 3.3 5.8 12.1 .484 1.1 3.2 .333 5.6 6.7 .839
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2006-072024-25
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 75 27.5 16.5 0.8 3.6 4.4 3.5 1.5 0.4 2.1 2.1 5.3 11.4 .464 1.7 4.3 .396 4.3 5.0 .860
difference:+45+1.1+8.1+1.7+1.1+2.8+1.8+0.3+0.5-0.9-0.6+4.3+5.5+.103+1.6+3.9+.165+1.0+3.0+.204
Zion Williamson 30 28.6 24.6 2.5 4.7 7.2 5.3 1.2 0.9 3.0 2.7 9.6 16.9 .567 0.1 0.4 .231 5.3 8.0 .656
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 20 30.1 16.7 0.8 4.7 5.5 3.7 1.7 0.2 2.1 3.1 5.0 12.4 .401 1.9 5.0 .384 4.9 5.8 .836
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6

Manu Ginobili Zion Williamson
Season 2007-082025-26
Team San Antonio SpursNew Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement Sixth Man of the Year-
Playoffs Spurs Lost West Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 74 31.1 19.5 0.9 3.9 4.8 4.5 1.5 0.4 2.7 2.3 6.1 13.3 .460 2.1 5.3 .401 5.1 6.0 .860
difference:+63+0.6+2.2+1.4+0.5+0.8+0.7+0.1-0.2-0.2+1.3+1.2+.049+2.1+5.0+.401+1.9+3.6+.134
Zion Williamson 11 30.5 21.7 2.3 3.4 5.6 3.8 1.5 0.5 2.9 2.1 7.4 14.5 .509 0.0 0.3 .000 7.0 9.6 .726
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Manu Ginobili 17 32.9 17.8 0.8 2.9 3.8 3.9 0.6 0.3 2.8 2.8 5.8 13.6 .422 2.2 6.0 .373 4.1 4.5 .896
Zion Williamson DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Manu Ginobili played 10 seasons more than Zion Williamson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 16, from 2009 to 2018—Manu Ginobili played in 9 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 10 extra years over Zion Williamson, Manu Ginobili got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 1 All-Star Game