Marcus Smart vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier and Marcus Smart, 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

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.

Marcus Smart and Norm Van Lier both played 10 years in the NBA. Marcus Smart had the first of his seasons in 2014-15, while Norm Van Lier had his rookie season in 1969-70. 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 achivements, 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
Marcus Smart	10	9	2014-15 to 2023-24
Norm Van Lier	10	5	1969-70 to 1978-79

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


Rookie Season
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2014-15	1969-70
Team	Boston Celtics	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	67	27.0	7.8	0.9	2.4	3.3	3.1	1.5	0.3	1.3	2.6	2.6	7.1	.367	1.4	4.1	.335	1.2	1.9	.646
Norm Van Lier	81	35.7	9.5	-	-	5.0	6.2	-	-	-	4.1	3.7	9.2	.403	-	-	-	2.0	2.8	.741

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	4	22.5	9.8	1.3	1.5	2.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	1.0	3.0	3.5	7.3	.483	0.8	3.3	.231	2.0	3.8	.533
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2015-16	1970-71
Team	Boston Celtics	Cincinnati Royals
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	61	27.3	9.1	1.2	2.9	4.2	3.0	1.5	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	8.7	.348	1.0	4.0	.253	2.1	2.7	.777
Norm Van Lier	82	40.5	16.0	-	-	7.1	10.1	-	-	-	4.2	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	4.4	5.4	.816

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	6	32.2	12.0	1.3	3.2	4.5	3.0	1.7	0.8	2.5	2.8	3.7	10.0	.367	1.8	5.3	.344	2.8	3.5	.810
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2016-17	1971-72
Team	Boston Celtics	Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	79	30.4	10.6	1.0	2.9	3.9	4.6	1.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.4	9.5	.359	1.2	4.2	.283	2.6	3.2	.812
Norm Van Lier	79	30.6	11.5	-	-	4.5	6.9	-	-	-	3.0	4.2	9.6	.439	-	-	-	3.0	3.8	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	18	29.9	8.6	1.3	3.4	4.7	4.7	1.5	0.9	2.1	2.8	2.6	7.4	.351	1.6	4.1	.397	1.8	2.8	.640
Norm Van Lier	4	36.0	14.0	-	-	6.3	8.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	13.3	.415	-	-	-	3.0	3.5	.857


Season 4
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2017-18	1972-73
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	54	29.9	10.2	0.8	2.7	3.5	4.8	1.3	0.4	2.4	2.5	3.5	9.5	.367	1.4	4.6	.301	1.8	2.5	.729
Norm Van Lier	80	36.0	13.9	-	-	5.5	7.1	-	-	-	3.4	5.9	13.3	.445	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.787

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	15	29.9	9.8	0.9	2.8	3.7	5.3	1.7	0.7	2.4	2.9	3.2	9.5	.336	1.0	4.5	.221	2.4	3.3	.735
Norm Van Lier	7	36.9	14.4	-	-	5.3	5.1	-	-	-	4.6	6.4	18.4	.349	-	-	-	1.6	2.1	.733


Season 5
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2018-19	1973-74
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Bulls Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	80	27.5	8.9	0.7	2.2	2.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	1.5	2.5	3.0	7.1	.422	1.6	4.3	.364	1.3	1.6	.806
Norm Van Lier	80	35.8	14.3	1.4	3.3	4.7	6.9	2.0	0.1	-	3.5	5.3	13.1	.406	-	-	-	3.6	4.6	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	2	16.0	3.5	2.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	1.5	0.0	1.5	1.5	0.5	5.5	.091	0.5	5.5	.091	2.0	3.0	.667
Norm Van Lier	11	42.4	14.6	1.0	3.3	4.3	6.8	1.5	0.3	-	3.7	5.5	13.1	.424	-	-	-	3.5	4.3	.830


Season 6
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2019-20	1974-75
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	60	32.0	12.9	0.7	3.1	3.8	4.9	1.7	0.5	1.7	2.7	4.3	11.4	.375	2.3	6.6	.347	2.1	2.5	.836
Norm Van Lier	70	37.0	15.0	1.2	3.5	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	-	3.5	5.8	13.9	.420	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.792

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	17	38.1	14.5	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.6	1.2	0.5	2.6	3.2	4.6	11.6	.394	2.4	7.2	.333	2.9	3.3	.875
Norm Van Lier	13	42.1	15.1	1.4	3.8	5.2	4.7	1.5	0.4	-	4.0	5.2	12.6	.409	-	-	-	4.8	6.4	.747


Season 7
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2020-21	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	48	32.9	13.1	0.8	2.7	3.5	5.7	1.5	0.5	2.0	2.6	4.2	10.6	.398	1.9	5.9	.330	2.7	3.4	.790
Norm Van Lier	76	39.8	12.6	1.8	3.6	5.4	6.6	2.0	0.3	-	3.9	4.8	13.0	.366	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.737

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	5	36.6	17.8	0.8	3.6	4.4	6.0	1.0	0.2	2.8	2.8	5.8	13.2	.439	3.2	8.6	.372	3.0	4.2	.714
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2021-22	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	71	32.3	12.1	0.6	3.2	3.8	5.9	1.7	0.3	2.2	2.3	4.2	10.1	.418	1.7	5.1	.331	2.0	2.5	.793
Norm Van Lier	82	37.8	10.2	1.3	3.2	4.5	7.8	1.6	0.2	-	3.3	3.7	8.9	.412	-	-	-	2.9	3.7	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	21	36.2	15.4	1.0	3.6	4.5	5.9	1.2	0.2	2.5	3.4	5.4	13.3	.405	2.3	6.5	.350	2.4	3.0	.806
Norm Van Lier	3	44.7	5.3	1.7	3.3	5.0	9.7	3.3	0.3	-	4.7	1.0	6.3	.158	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833


Season 9
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2022-23	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	61	32.1	11.5	0.8	2.4	3.1	6.3	1.5	0.4	2.3	2.8	4.1	9.9	.415	1.9	5.6	.336	1.4	1.9	.746
Norm Van Lier	78	32.4	7.3	1.1	2.5	3.6	6.8	1.8	0.1	2.6	3.6	2.6	6.1	.419	-	-	-	2.2	2.9	.751

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	20	34.0	14.9	1.1	3.0	4.0	5.1	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.9	5.1	11.2	.453	2.2	6.1	.361	2.6	3.3	.800
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Marcus Smart	Norm Van Lier
Season	2023-24	1978-79
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	20	30.3	14.5	0.3	2.4	2.7	4.3	2.1	0.3	3.1	2.7	5.1	11.9	.430	2.1	6.7	.313	2.2	2.8	.768
Norm Van Lier	38	14.6	2.8	0.2	0.8	1.1	4.2	1.1	0.1	1.3	2.8	0.8	2.0	.390	-	-	-	1.2	1.4	.904

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Marcus Smart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Norm Van Lier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Marcus Smart vs. Norm Van Lier Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Norm Van Lier and Marcus Smart, 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10