Michael Jordan vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum 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.

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, 7 more than Jayson Tatum, who played 8. Michael Jordan had the first of his seasons in 1984-85, while Jayson Tatum had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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.

Rookie Season
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1984-85	2017-18
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
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:	+2	+7.8	+14.3	+1.4	+0.1	+1.5	+4.3	+1.4	+0.1	-2.1	-1.4	+5.2	+9.4	+.040	+1.2	+2.4	+.261	+5.0	+5.9	+.019
Jayson Tatum	80	30.5	13.9	0.6	4.4	5.0	1.6	1.0	0.7	1.4	2.1	5.0	10.4	.475	1.3	3.0	.434	2.7	3.2	.826
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+15	+6.9	+10.8	+1.3	+0.2	+1.4	+5.8	+1.6	+0.5	-1.6	-1.2	+2.0	+5.8	+.035	+0.9	+1.7	+.199	+7.7	+9.4	+.017
Jayson Tatum	19	35.9	18.5	0.5	3.8	4.4	2.7	1.2	0.5	2.2	2.6	6.5	13.7	.471	1.2	3.7	.324	4.3	5.1	.845

Season 2
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1985-86	2018-19
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
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:	+61	+6.0	+7.0	+0.4	+2.9	+2.4	+0.8	+1.0	+0.5	-1.0	-0.5	+2.4	+5.1	+.007	+1.3	+2.9	+.206	+3.3	+4.0	+.015
Jayson Tatum	79	31.1	15.7	0.9	5.2	6.0	2.1	1.1	0.7	1.5	2.1	5.9	13.1	.450	1.5	3.9	.373	2.5	2.9	.855
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+6	+12.2	+28.5	+0.9	+1.2	+0.4	+3.8	+1.2	+0.5	-2.7	-2.0	+10.6	+19.3	+.067	+0.8	+3.1	+.677	+8.1	+8.7	+.128
Jayson Tatum	9	32.8	15.2	0.8	5.9	6.7	1.9	1.1	0.8	2.0	2.3	5.4	12.4	.438	1.1	3.4	.323	3.2	4.3	.744

Season 3
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1986-87	2019-20
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
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:	+16	+5.7	+13.7	+1.0	+2.8	+1.8	+1.6	+1.5	+0.6	-1.0	-0.8	+5.0	+9.2	+.032	+2.8	+6.3	+.221	+6.4	+7.2	+.045
Jayson Tatum	66	34.3	23.4	1.0	6.0	7.0	3.0	1.4	0.9	2.3	2.1	8.4	18.6	.450	2.9	7.1	.403	3.8	4.7	.812
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
difference:	+14	+2.1	+10.0	+1.0	+4.0	+3.0	+1.0	+1.0	+1.1	-0.1	-1.3	+3.2	+8.4	+.017	+2.1	+5.7	+.027	+5.8	+5.8	+.084
Jayson Tatum	17	40.6	25.7	1.3	8.7	10.0	5.0	1.0	1.2	2.8	2.4	8.5	19.6	.434	2.8	7.4	.373	5.9	7.2	.813

Season 4
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1987-88	2020-21
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East 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		%
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:	+18	+4.6	+8.6	+0.9	+2.8	+1.9	+1.6	+2.0	+1.1	-0.4	-1.4	+3.5	+3.8	+.076	+2.8	+7.0	+.254	+4.2	+5.2	+.027
Jayson Tatum	64	35.8	26.4	0.8	6.6	7.4	4.3	1.2	0.5	2.7	1.9	9.5	20.6	.459	2.9	7.6	.386	4.6	5.3	.868
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+5	+5.7	+5.7	+1.7	+0.4	+1.3	+0.1	+1.2	+0.5	-1.3	-0.8	+4.4	+3.8	+.108	+2.7	+6.9	+.056	+0.4	+0.1	+.049
Jayson Tatum	5	37.0	30.6	0.6	5.2	5.8	4.6	1.2	1.6	2.6	3.0	9.4	22.2	.423	2.8	7.2	.389	9.0	9.8	.918

Season 5
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1988-89	2021-22
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
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:	+5	+4.3	+5.6	+0.7	+0.7		+3.6	+1.9	+0.2	-0.7	-0.7	+2.6	+1.6	+.085	+2.7	+7.4	+.077	+3.0	+3.6	+.003
Jayson Tatum	76	35.9	26.9	1.1	6.9	8.0	4.4	1.0	0.6	2.9	2.3	9.3	20.6	.453	3.0	8.6	.353	5.3	6.2	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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:	+7	+1.2	+9.2	+0.5	+0.2	+0.3	+1.4	+1.3	+0.1	-0.2	-0.8	+3.3	+3.2	+.084	+2.6	+6.1	+.107	+5.1	+6.4	+.001
Jayson Tatum	24	41.0	25.6	1.0	5.7	6.7	6.2	1.2	0.9	4.2	3.0	8.4	19.7	.426	3.2	8.2	.393	5.7	7.1	.800

Season 6
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1989-90	2022-23
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
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:	+8	+2.1	+3.5	+0.6	+2.6	+1.9	+1.7	+1.7		-0.1	-0.7	+2.8	+2.9	+.060	+2.1	+6.3	+.026		+0.1	+.006
Jayson Tatum	74	36.9	30.1	1.1	7.7	8.8	4.6	1.1	0.7	2.9	2.2	9.8	21.1	.466	3.2	9.3	.350	7.2	8.4	.854
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	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
difference:	+4	+2.1	+9.5	+0.2	+3.5	+3.3	+1.5	+1.7	+0.2	-0.7	-1.2	+4.4	+6.4	+.056	+1.7	+5.1	+.003	+2.3	+3.0	+.040
Jayson Tatum	20	40.0	27.2	1.3	9.2	10.5	5.3	1.1	1.1	2.8	2.2	9.3	20.2	.458	2.7	8.2	.323	6.0	6.9	.876

Season 7
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1990-91	2023-24
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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		%
Michael Jordan	82	37.0	31.5	1.4	4.6	6.0	5.5	2.7	1.0	2.5	2.8	12.1	22.4	.539	0.4	1.1	.312	7.0	8.2	.851
difference:	+8	+1.3	+4.6	+0.5	+2.6	+2.1	+0.6	+1.7	+0.4		-0.8	+3.0	+3.1	+.068	+2.7	+7.1	+.064	+1.4	+1.5	+.018
Jayson Tatum	74	35.7	26.9	0.9	7.2	8.1	4.9	1.0	0.6	2.5	2.0	9.1	19.3	.471	3.1	8.2	.376	5.6	6.7	.833
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Jordan	17	40.5	31.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	8.4	2.4	1.4	2.5	3.1	11.6	22.1	.524	0.6	1.5	.385	7.4	8.7	.845
difference:	+2	+0.1	+6.1	+0.2	+3.5	+3.3	+2.1	+1.3	+0.7	-0.1	-0.3	+3.2	+2.5	+.097	+1.5	+5.8	+.102	+1.2	+1.5	+.016
Jayson Tatum	19	40.4	25.0	0.9	8.8	9.7	6.3	1.1	0.7	2.6	2.8	8.4	19.6	.427	2.1	7.3	.283	6.2	7.2	.861

Season 8
	Michael Jordan	Jayson Tatum
Season	1991-92	2024-25
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
Michael Jordan	80	38.8	30.1	1.1	5.3	6.4	6.1	2.3	0.9	2.5	2.5	11.8	22.7	.519	0.3	1.3	.270	6.1	7.4	.832
difference:	+8	+2.4	+3.3	+0.4	+2.7	+2.3	+0.1	+1.2	+0.4	-0.4	-0.3	+2.6	+2.4	+.067	+3.2	+8.8	+.073	+1.1	+1.3	+.018
Jayson Tatum	72	36.4	26.8	0.7	8.0	8.7	6.0	1.1	0.5	2.9	2.2	9.2	20.3	.452	3.5	10.1	.343	5.0	6.1	.814
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Jordan	22	41.8	34.5	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.8	2.0	0.7	3.7	2.8	13.2	26.4	.499	0.8	2.0	.386	7.4	8.6	.857
difference:	+14	+1.5	+6.4	+0.6	+5.9	+5.3	+0.4	+0.1	+0.1	-0.4	-0.2	+3.9	+4.5	+.076	+2.8	+7.8	+.014	+1.4	+1.8	+.032
Jayson Tatum	8	40.3	28.1	1.1	10.4	11.5	5.4	2.1	0.8	3.3	2.6	9.3	21.9	.423	3.6	9.8	.372	6.0	6.8	.889

Additional Years
* Michael Jordan played 7 seasons more than Jayson Tatum in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 15, from 1993 to 2003—Michael Jordan played in 5 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships. In those 7 extra years over Jayson Tatum, Michael Jordan got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	4 Finals MVP 2 Season MVP 4 All-NBA First Team 4 All-Defensive First Team 4 Scoring Leader 1 Steals Leader 6 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP