Michael Jordan vs. Aaron Nesmith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Aaron Nesmith and Michael Jordan, 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 / 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.

Michael Jordan played 15 years in the NBA, 9 more than Aaron Nesmith, who played 6. Michael Jordan had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Aaron Nesmith had his rookie season in 2020-21. 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
Michael Jordan 15 13 1984-85 to 2002-03
Aaron Nesmith 6 4 2020-21 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1984-852020-21
Team Chicago BullsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf 1st RdCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 82 38.3 28.2 2.0 4.5 6.5 5.9 2.4 0.8 3.5 3.5 10.2 19.8 .515 0.1 0.6 .173 7.7 9.1 .845
difference:+36+23.8+23.5+1.4+2.3+3.7+5.4+2.1+0.6-3.0-1.6+8.5+15.9+.077+0.8+1.7+.197+7.2+8.5+.059
Aaron Nesmith 46 14.5 4.7 0.6 2.2 2.8 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.5 1.9 1.7 3.9 .438 0.9 2.3 .370 0.5 0.6 .786
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 4 42.8 29.3 1.8 4.0 5.8 8.5 2.8 1.0 3.8 3.8 8.5 19.5 .436 0.3 2.0 .125 12.0 14.5 .828
difference:+1+27.8+26.1+1.4+1.8+3.2+8.3+2.6+0.8-3.4-2.4+7.5+15.9+.158+0.5+0.8+.161+11.6+14.1+.172
Aaron Nesmith 5 15.0 3.2 0.4 2.2 2.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 1.4 1.0 3.6 .278 0.8 2.8 .286 0.4 0.4 1.000

Season 2
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1985-862021-22
Team Chicago BullsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf 1st RdCeltics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 18 25.1 22.7 1.3 2.3 3.6 2.9 2.1 1.2 2.5 2.6 8.3 18.2 .457 0.2 1.0 .167 5.8 6.9 .840
difference:+34+14.1+18.9+1.0+0.9+1.9+2.5+1.7+1.1-1.9-1.3+6.9+14.7+.061+0.4+1.2+.103+5.4+6.4+.032
Aaron Nesmith 52 11.0 3.8 0.3 1.4 1.7 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.6 1.3 1.4 3.5 .396 0.6 2.2 .270 0.4 0.5 .808
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 3 45.0 43.7 1.7 4.7 6.3 5.7 2.3 1.3 4.7 4.3 16.0 31.7 .505 0.3 0.3 1.000 11.3 13.0 .872
difference:+12+41.5+42.9+1.4+4.0+5.3+5.5+2.2+1.0-4.6-3.9+15.7+30.6+.270+0.2+0.4+.909+11.1+12.7+.122
Aaron Nesmith 15 3.5 0.8 0.3 0.7 1.0 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.3 1.1 .235 0.1 0.7 .091 0.2 0.3 .750

Season 3
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1986-872022-23
Team Chicago BullsIndiana Pacers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf 1st RdDid 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%
Michael Jordan 82 40.0 37.1 2.0 3.2 5.2 4.6 2.9 1.5 3.3 2.9 13.4 27.8 .482 0.1 0.8 .182 10.2 11.9 .857
difference:+9+15.1+27.0+1.2+0.3+1.4+3.3+2.1+1.0-2.3-0.3+9.9+19.7+.055+1.5+3.5+.184+8.6+10.0+.019
Aaron Nesmith 73 24.9 10.1 0.8 2.9 3.8 1.3 0.8 0.5 1.0 3.2 3.5 8.1 .427 1.6 4.3 .366 1.6 1.9 .838
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 3 42.7 35.7 2.3 4.7 7.0 6.0 2.0 2.3 2.7 3.7 11.7 28.0 .417 0.7 1.7 .400 11.7 13.0 .897
Aaron Nesmith DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1987-882023-24
Team Chicago BullsIndiana Pacers
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Defensive Player of the Year-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Steals Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf SemisPacers Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 82 40.4 35.0 1.7 3.8 5.5 5.9 3.2 1.6 3.1 3.3 13.0 24.4 .535 0.1 0.6 .132 8.8 10.5 .841
difference:+10+12.7+22.8+0.8+0.9+1.7+4.4+2.3+0.9-2.2+8.6+15.6+.039+1.8+4.0+.287+7.3+8.6+.060
Aaron Nesmith 72 27.7 12.2 0.9 2.9 3.8 1.5 0.9 0.7 0.9 3.3 4.4 8.8 .496 1.9 4.6 .419 1.5 1.9 .781
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 10 42.7 36.3 2.3 4.8 7.1 4.7 2.4 1.1 3.9 3.8 13.8 26.0 .531 0.1 0.3 .333 8.6 9.9 .869
difference:+7+9.8+25.8+1.2+1.0+2.2+2.5+1.8+0.6-2.5-0.1+10.2+17.7+.098+1.2+4.3+.055+6.6+7.7+.050
Aaron Nesmith 17 32.9 10.5 1.1 3.8 4.9 2.2 0.6 0.5 1.4 3.9 3.6 8.3 .433 1.3 4.6 .278 2.0 2.2 .919

Season 5
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1988-892024-25
Team Chicago BullsIndiana Pacers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf FinalsPacers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 81 40.2 32.5 1.8 6.2 8.0 8.0 2.9 0.8 3.6 3.0 11.9 22.2 .538 0.3 1.2 .276 8.3 9.8 .850
difference:+36+15.2+20.5+1.0+3.1+4.0+6.8+2.1+0.4-2.8-0.5+7.6+13.8+.031+1.6+3.1+.155+6.7+8.0+.063
Aaron Nesmith 45 25.0 12.0 0.8 3.1 4.0 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.8 2.5 4.3 8.4 .507 1.9 4.3 .431 1.6 1.8 .913
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 17 42.2 34.8 1.5 5.5 7.0 7.6 2.5 0.8 4.0 3.8 11.7 22.9 .510 0.6 2.1 .286 10.8 13.5 .799
difference:+6+13.9+22.1+0.3+1.0+1.3+6.5+1.6-3.0-0.3+7.4+13.7+.038+2.0+3.2+.206+9.5+11.9+.062
Aaron Nesmith 23 28.3 12.7 1.2 4.5 5.7 1.1 0.9 0.8 1.0 4.1 4.3 9.2 .472 2.6 5.3 .492 1.3 1.6 .861

Season 6
Michael Jordan Aaron Nesmith
Season 1989-902025-26
Team Chicago BullsIndiana Pacers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement Steals Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Bulls Lost East 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%
Michael Jordan 82 39.0 33.6 1.7 5.1 6.9 6.3 2.8 0.7 3.0 2.9 12.6 24.0 .526 1.1 3.0 .376 7.2 8.5 .848
difference:+75+7.0+18.9+0.3+1.7+2.0+5.3+2.5+0.4-2.4-0.5+7.9+10.1+.186+1.8+5.3+.031+4.8+5.1+.140
Aaron Nesmith 7 32.0 14.7 1.4 3.4 4.9 1.0 0.3 0.3 0.6 2.4 4.7 13.9 .340 2.9 8.3 .345 2.4 3.4 .708
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Michael Jordan 16 42.1 36.7 1.5 5.7 7.2 6.8 2.8 0.9 3.5 3.4 13.7 26.6 .514 1.0 3.1 .320 8.3 9.9 .836
Aaron Nesmith DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Michael Jordan played 9 seasons more than Aaron Nesmith in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 15, from 1991 to 2003—Michael Jordan played in 7 Playoffs and won 6 NBA Championships.

In those 9 extra years over Aaron Nesmith, Michael Jordan got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 6 Finals MVP
Achievement 4 Season MVP
Achievement 6 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 6 All-Defensive First Team
Achievement 6 Scoring Leader
Achievement 1 Steals Leader
Achievement 8 All-Star Game
Achievement 2 All-Star Game MVP
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