Moses Malone vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Moses Malone, 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 / 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.

Moses Malone played 19 years in the NBA, 11 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Moses Malone had the first of his seasons in 1976-77, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
Moses Malone	19	12	1976-77 to 1994-95
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11

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


Rookie Season
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1976-77	2002-03
Team	Buffalo Braves, Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Moses Malone	82	30.6	13.2	5.3	7.7	13.1	1.1	0.8	2.2	-	3.4	4.7	9.9	.480	-	-	-	3.7	5.4	.693
difference:		+1.6	+0.3	+2.9	+1.9	+4.9	+0.6	+0.4	+0.4		-0.6	+0.2	+0.1	+.018					+0.9	+.118
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	12	43.2	18.8	7.0	9.9	16.9	0.6	1.1	1.8	-	3.5	6.8	13.5	.500	-	-	-	5.3	7.6	.692
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1977-78	2003-04
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Moses Malone	59	35.7	19.4	6.4	8.6	15.0	0.5	0.8	1.3	3.7	3.0	7.0	14.0	.499	-	-	-	5.4	7.5	.718
difference:	+23	+2.9	+1.9	+4.0	+2.0	+6.0	+1.0	+0.5	+0.6	-1.2	-0.3	+0.5	+1.5	+.023				+1.0	+2.1	+.091
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765


Season 3
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1978-79	2004-05
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Moses Malone	82	41.3	24.8	7.2	10.5	17.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	4.0	2.7	8.7	16.2	.540	-	-	-	7.3	9.9	.739
difference:	+2	+10.7	+6.5	+4.6	+4.7	+9.2	+1.0	+0.6	+0.5	-1.5	-1.0	+2.0	+4.0	+.012				+2.4	+3.7	+.044
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	2	39.0	24.5	12.5	8.0	20.5	1.0	0.5	4.0	4.0	2.5	9.0	20.5	.439	-	-	-	6.5	9.0	.722
difference:	+5	+7.1	+3.1	+9.2	+3.6	+12.8	+0.3	+0.2	+1.3	-1.3	-1.9	+1.1	+8.5	+.216				+0.8	+1.1	+.005
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727


Season 4
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1979-80	2005-06
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Moses Malone	82	38.3	25.8	7.0	7.5	14.5	1.8	1.0	1.3	3.7	2.6	9.5	18.9	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	6.9	9.5	.719
difference:	+25	+4.1	+3.5	+4.4	+0.1	+4.3	+0.3	+0.5	+0.3	-1.1	-0.8	+1.3	+3.1	+.017		+0.1		+1.0	+2.6	+.134
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	7	39.3	25.9	6.0	7.9	13.9	1.0	0.6	2.3	3.1	2.6	10.6	19.7	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	4.7	6.1	.767
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1980-81	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Moses Malone	80	40.6	27.8	5.9	8.8	14.8	1.8	1.0	1.9	3.9	2.8	10.1	19.3	.522	0.0	0.0	-	7.6	10.1	.757
difference:	+32	+6.8	+2.8	+3.8	+1.5	+5.4	+0.2	+0.6	+0.1	-0.4	-0.5	+1.3	+2.2	+.006				+0.2	+1.5	+.105
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	21	45.5	26.8	6.0	8.6	14.5	1.7	0.6	1.6	2.8	2.6	9.9	20.6	.479	0.0	0.1	.000	7.0	9.9	.712
difference:	+14	+8.4	+1.7	+2.7	+1.6	+4.2	+0.8	+0.5	+0.9	-1.9	-1.3	+2.0	+2.7	+.039		+0.1		+2.4	+0.8	+.168
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880


Season 6
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1981-82	2007-08
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Moses Malone	81	42.0	31.1	6.9	7.8	14.7	1.8	0.9	1.5	3.6	2.6	11.7	22.5	.519	0.0	0.1	.000	7.8	10.2	.762
difference:	+26	+4.8	+9.1	+3.8	+0.1	+3.9	+0.5	+0.4	+0.5	-0.3	-0.5	+3.8	+7.0	+.012		+0.1		+1.5	+2.8	+.088
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	3	45.3	24.0	9.3	7.7	17.0	3.3	0.7	0.7	2.0	2.7	9.7	22.3	.433	0.0	0.0	-	4.7	5.0	.933
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1982-83	2008-09
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Moses Malone	78	37.5	24.5	5.7	9.6	15.3	1.3	1.1	2.0	3.4	2.6	8.4	16.7	.501	0.0	0.0	-	7.7	10.1	.761
difference:	+1	+3.9	+4.8	+3.1	+2.4	+5.4	+0.5	+0.7	+0.1	-0.4	-0.7	+1.0	+3.3	+.047				+2.8	+4.4	+.105
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	13	40.3	26.0	5.4	10.5	15.8	1.5	1.5	1.9	3.1	3.1	9.7	18.1	.536	0.0	0.1	.000	6.6	9.2	.717
difference:	+4	+4.4	+8.9	+3.3	+1.7	+4.9	+0.5	+1.1	+0.7	-1.2	-0.1	+3.7	+7.1	+.009		+0.1		+1.5	+3.5	+.185
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.


Season 8
	Moses Malone	Yao Ming
Season	1983-84	2010-11
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Rebounds Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Moses Malone	71	36.8	22.7	5.0	8.4	13.4	1.4	1.0	1.5	3.5	2.6	7.5	15.5	.483	0.0	0.1	.000	7.7	10.2	.750
difference:	+66	+18.6	+12.5	+3.6	+4.4	+8.0	+0.6	+1.0	+0.1	-2.1		+3.9	+8.1	+.003		+0.1		+4.7	+7.0	+.188
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Moses Malone	5	42.4	21.4	4.0	9.8	13.8	1.4	0.6	2.2	4.2	3.0	7.6	16.6	.458	0.0	0.0	-	6.2	6.4	.969
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Moses Malone played 11 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 19, from 1985 to 1995—Moses Malone played in 5 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Yao Ming, Moses Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 Rebounds Leader 5 All-Star Game

Moses Malone vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Moses Malone, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years