Nikola Jokic vs. Jaden McDaniels Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jaden McDaniels and Nikola Jokic, 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 / Games against each other

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.

Nikola Jokic played 11 years in the NBA, 5 more than Jaden McDaniels, who played 6. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Jaden McDaniels 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
Nikola Jokic 11 7 2015-16 to 2025-26
Jaden McDaniels 6 3 2020-21 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2015-162020-21
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic 80 21.7 10.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 2.4 1.0 0.6 1.3 2.6 3.8 7.5 .512 0.4 1.1 .333 1.9 2.4 .811
difference:+17+2.3+3.2+1.5+1.8+3.3+1.3+0.4+0.4-0.6-0.1+1.2+1.7+.065+0.7+2.0+.031+1.5+1.7+.211
Jaden McDaniels 63 24.0 6.8 0.8 2.9 3.7 1.1 0.6 1.0 0.7 2.7 2.6 5.8 .447 1.1 3.1 .364 0.4 0.7 .600
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Nikola Jokic nor Jaden McDaniels played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2016-172021-22
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayTimberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic 73 27.9 16.7 2.9 6.9 9.8 4.9 0.8 0.8 2.3 2.9 6.8 11.7 .578 0.6 1.9 .324 2.6 3.1 .825
difference:+3+2.1+7.5+1.8+3.8+5.6+3.8+0.1-1.2-0.3+3.2+3.8+.118+0.5+1.7+.007+1.8+2.1+.022
Jaden McDaniels 70 25.8 9.2 1.1 3.1 4.2 1.1 0.7 0.8 1.1 3.2 3.6 7.9 .460 1.1 3.6 .317 0.8 1.0 .803
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic DNP------ --- ----------
Jaden McDaniels 6 21.7 9.3 0.8 2.0 2.8 0.7 0.3 1.8 1.0 3.0 3.0 5.7 .529 1.7 3.3 .500 1.7 2.0 .833

Season 3
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2017-182022-23
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid 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%
Nikola Jokic 75 32.6 18.5 2.6 8.1 10.7 6.1 1.2 0.8 2.8 2.8 6.7 13.5 .499 1.5 3.7 .396 3.5 4.2 .850
difference:+4+2.0+6.4+1.4+5.4+6.8+4.2+0.3+0.2-1.4-0.6+2.0+4.4+.018+0.1+0.3+.002+2.2+2.4+.114
Jaden McDaniels 79 30.6 12.1 1.2 2.7 3.9 1.9 0.9 1.0 1.4 3.4 4.7 9.1 .517 1.4 3.4 .398 1.3 1.8 .736
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Nikola Jokic nor Jaden McDaniels played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2018-192023-24
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisTimberwolves Lost West 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%
Nikola Jokic 80 31.3 20.1 2.9 8.0 10.8 7.3 1.4 0.7 3.1 2.9 7.7 15.1 .511 1.0 3.4 .307 3.6 4.4 .821
difference:+8+2.1+9.6+2.1+5.7+7.7+5.9+0.5+0.1-1.9-0.1+3.4+6.4+.022+0.2+0.1+.030+2.8+3.3+.099
Jaden McDaniels 72 29.2 10.5 0.8 2.3 3.1 1.4 0.9 0.6 1.2 3.0 4.3 8.7 .489 1.2 3.5 .337 0.8 1.1 .722
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic 14 39.8 25.1 3.9 9.1 13.0 8.4 1.1 0.9 2.6 3.9 9.4 18.6 .506 1.6 4.0 .393 4.7 5.6 .846
difference:+2+6.2+12.9+2.1+7.0+9.2+7.3+0.2+0.2-1.5-0.5+4.9+9.8+.008+0.1+0.5+.036+3.0+3.4+.075
Jaden McDaniels 16 33.6 12.2 1.8 2.1 3.8 1.1 0.9 1.1 1.1 3.4 4.5 8.8 .514 1.5 3.5 .429 1.7 2.2 .771

Season 5
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2019-202024-25
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsTimberwolves Lost West Conf 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%
Nikola Jokic 73 32.0 19.9 2.3 7.5 9.7 7.0 1.2 0.6 3.1 3.0 7.7 14.7 .528 1.1 3.5 .314 3.4 4.1 .817
difference:+9+0.1+7.7+0.7+3.3+4.0+5.0+0.1+0.3-1.9-0.3+2.8+4.5+.051+0.1+0.2+.016+2.1+2.5+.004
Jaden McDaniels 82 31.9 12.2 1.6 4.2 5.7 2.0 1.3 0.9 1.2 2.7 4.9 10.2 .477 1.2 3.7 .330 1.3 1.6 .813
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic 19 36.5 24.4 1.9 7.9 9.8 5.7 1.1 0.8 3.3 3.6 9.4 18.1 .519 2.2 5.2 .429 3.5 4.2 .835
difference:+4+3.4+9.7+0.1+4.1+4.2+4.2+0.2+0.1-2.1-0.3+3.6+6.8+.004+0.8+1.5+.047+1.8+2.3+.058
Jaden McDaniels 15 33.1 14.7 1.8 3.8 5.6 1.5 1.3 0.9 1.2 3.3 5.8 11.3 .515 1.4 3.7 .382 1.7 1.9 .893

Season 6
Nikola Jokic Jaden McDaniels
Season 2020-212025-26
Team Denver NuggetsMinnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisDid 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%
Nikola Jokic 72 34.6 26.4 2.8 8.0 10.8 8.3 1.3 0.7 3.1 2.7 10.2 18.0 .566 1.3 3.3 .388 4.8 5.5 .868
difference:+70+6.6+12.4+2.3+5.0+7.3+7.3+0.8+1.3-1.6-1.8+4.7+6.0+.108+0.2+0.7+.013+3.3+3.5+.118
Jaden McDaniels 2 28.0 14.0 0.5 3.0 3.5 1.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 4.5 5.5 12.0 .458 1.5 4.0 .375 1.5 2.0 .750
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Nikola Jokic 10 34.5 29.8 3.7 7.9 11.6 5.0 0.6 0.9 2.4 2.3 11.6 22.8 .509 2.0 5.3 .377 4.6 5.5 .836
Jaden McDaniels DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Nikola Jokic played 5 seasons more than Jaden McDaniels in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 11, from 2022 to 2026—Nikola Jokic played in 4 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.

In those 5 extra years over Jaden McDaniels, Nikola Jokic got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 2 Season MVP
Achievement 3 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 4 All-Star Game
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