Mel Payton vs. Max Strus Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Max Strus and Mel Payton, 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.

Mel Payton played 2 years in the NBA, 3 less than Max Strus, who played 5. Mel Payton had the first of his seasons in 1951-52, while Max Strus 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 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
Mel Payton 2 2 1951-52 to 1952-53
Max Strus 5 4 2019-20 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season
Mel Payton Max Strus
Season 1951-522019-20
Team Philadelphia WarriorsChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Warriors Lost East Div SemisDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton 45 10.5 2.9 - - 1.8 1.0 - - - 1.5 1.2 3.1 .386 - - - 0.5 0.6 .750
Max Strus 2 3.0 2.5 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 .667 0.0 0.5 .000 0.5 0.5 1.000
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton 3 6.0 1.3 - - 1.0 0.3 - - - 2.0 0.3 0.7 .500 - - - 0.7 0.7 1.000
Max Strus ------- --- ----------

Season 2
Mel Payton Max Strus
Season 1952-532020-21
Team Indianapolis OlympiansMiami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Olympians Lost West Div SemisHeat Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton 66 21.6 7.1 - - 4.7 1.2 - - - 1.8 2.6 7.3 .357 - - - 1.8 2.4 .745
Max Strus 39 13.0 6.1 0.1 0.9 1.1 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.2 1.1 2.2 4.8 .455 1.3 3.8 .338 0.4 0.6 .667
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton 2 18.0 10.5 - - 3.0 0.0 - - - 3.5 3.5 8.5 .412 - - - 3.5 4.0 .875
Max Strus 2 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 .000 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 3
Mel Payton Max Strus
Season -2021-22
Team -Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Heat Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 68 23.3 10.6 0.4 2.6 3.0 1.4 0.4 0.2 0.8 1.7 3.7 8.3 .441 2.7 6.5 .410 0.6 0.8 .792
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 18 29.1 10.9 0.8 3.2 4.1 2.1 0.8 0.4 1.1 3.1 3.8 10.1 .374 2.6 7.9 .331 0.7 1.0 .722

Season 4
Mel Payton Max Strus
Season -2022-23
Team -Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Heat Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 80 28.4 11.5 0.6 2.6 3.2 2.1 0.5 0.2 0.9 2.1 4.1 9.9 .410 2.5 7.0 .350 1.0 1.1 .876
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 23 28.2 9.3 0.6 3.0 3.6 1.4 0.3 0.3 0.3 2.0 3.3 8.2 .402 1.9 5.9 .319 0.9 1.1 .800

Season 5
Mel Payton Max Strus
Season -2023-24
Team -Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 70 32.0 12.2 0.9 3.9 4.8 4.0 0.9 0.4 1.6 2.4 4.3 10.4 .418 2.4 6.8 .351 1.1 1.4 .794
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Mel Payton ------- --- ----------
Max Strus 12 36.2 9.5 0.7 4.7 5.3 2.9 0.8 0.0 1.3 3.4 3.5 8.6 .408 2.1 6.0 .347 0.4 0.4 1.000
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