Nikola Jokic vs. Joe Kleine Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Kleine 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

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 9 years in the NBA, 6 less than Joe Kleine, who played 15. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Joe Kleine had his rookie season in 1985-86. 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
Nikola Jokic 9 6 2015-16 to 2023-24
Joe Kleine 15 10 1985-86 to 1999-00

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2015-161985-86
Team Denver NuggetsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKings Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 80 14.8 5.2 1.4 3.3 4.7 0.6 0.3 0.4 1.3 2.8 2.0 4.3 .465 0.0 0.0 - 1.2 1.6 .723
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 3 15.0 5.0 2.7 2.0 4.7 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 2.7 1.7 4.3 .385 0.0 0.0 - 1.7 2.0 .833

Season 2

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2016-171986-87
Team Denver NuggetsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 79 21.0 7.9 2.2 3.9 6.1 0.9 0.4 0.4 1.1 2.7 3.2 6.9 .471 0.0 0.0 .000 1.4 1.8 .786
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2017-181987-88
Team Denver NuggetsSacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 82 24.4 9.8 2.2 4.9 7.1 1.1 0.3 0.7 1.3 2.8 4.0 8.4 .472 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 2.3 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2018-191988-89
Team Denver NuggetsSacramento Kings, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisCeltics 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 %
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
Joe Kleine 75 18.8 6.5 1.7 3.4 5.0 0.9 0.4 0.3 1.4 2.6 2.3 5.8 .405 0.0 0.0 .000 1.8 2.0 .882
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 3 21.7 6.3 1.3 4.3 5.7 0.7 0.0 0.3 2.0 3.0 2.0 3.7 .545 0.0 0.3 .000 2.3 3.0 .778

Season 5

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2019-201989-90
Team Denver NuggetsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf FinalsCeltics 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 %
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
Joe Kleine 81 16.9 5.4 1.4 2.9 4.4 0.6 0.2 0.3 0.8 2.1 2.2 4.5 .480 0.0 0.0 .000 1.0 1.2 .830
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 5 15.8 6.2 0.6 2.2 2.8 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.8 2.4 2.6 3.4 .765 0.0 0.2 .000 1.0 1.2 .833

Season 6

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2020-211990-91
Team Denver NuggetsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf SemisCeltics 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 %
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
Joe Kleine 72 11.8 3.6 1.0 2.4 3.4 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.7 1.5 1.4 3.0 .468 0.0 0.0 .000 0.8 1.0 .783
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
Joe Kleine 5 6.2 1.6 1.0 1.2 2.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.4 1.4 0.8 1.8 .444 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 7

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2021-221991-92
Team Denver NuggetsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st RdCeltics 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 %
Nikola Jokic 74 33.5 27.1 2.8 11.0 13.8 7.9 1.5 0.9 3.8 2.6 10.3 17.7 .583 1.3 3.9 .337 5.1 6.3 .810
Joe Kleine 70 14.2 4.7 1.3 2.9 4.2 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.4 1.4 2.1 4.2 .491 0.1 0.1 .500 0.5 0.7 .708
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 5 34.2 31.0 3.4 9.8 13.2 5.8 1.6 1.0 4.8 4.0 12.2 21.2 .575 1.0 3.6 .278 5.6 6.6 .848
Joe Kleine 9 9.1 2.2 0.7 1.8 2.4 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 1.2 1.0 2.4 .409 0.0 0.1 .000 0.2 0.2 1.000

Season 8

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2022-231992-93
Team Denver NuggetsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics 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 %
Nikola Jokic 69 33.7 24.5 2.4 9.4 11.8 9.8 1.3 0.7 3.6 2.5 9.4 14.8 .632 0.8 2.2 .383 4.9 6.0 .822
Joe Kleine 78 14.5 3.3 1.4 3.0 4.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.5 1.6 1.4 3.4 .404 0.0 0.1 .000 0.5 0.7 .707
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 20 39.5 30.0 3.5 10.0 13.5 9.5 1.1 1.0 3.5 3.5 11.4 20.7 .548 1.8 3.8 .461 5.6 7.0 .799
Joe Kleine 4 7.3 1.5 0.0 1.3 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 1.0 0.8 1.3 .600 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 9

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season 2023-241993-94
Team Denver NuggetsPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Nuggets TBDSuns Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 79 34.6 26.4 2.8 9.5 12.4 9.0 1.4 0.9 3.0 2.5 10.4 17.9 .583 1.1 2.9 .359 4.5 5.5 .817
Joe Kleine 74 11.5 3.9 0.7 1.9 2.6 0.6 0.2 0.3 0.5 1.6 1.7 3.5 .488 0.1 0.1 .455 0.4 0.5 .769
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic 6 40.5 28.8 3.3 11.5 14.8 9.7 1.5 0.2 3.8 3.0 11.0 19.7 .559 1.3 4.5 .296 5.5 5.8 .943
Joe Kleine 8 10.1 3.5 0.6 1.5 2.1 0.4 0.1 0.5 0.3 1.9 1.5 3.5 .429 0.0 0.0 - 0.5 0.8 .667

Season 10

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1994-95
Team -Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Suns Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 75 12.9 3.7 1.1 2.4 3.5 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.5 2.3 1.6 3.5 .449 0.0 0.0 .000 0.6 0.7 .857
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 10 16.7 6.3 0.8 2.3 3.1 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.6 3.5 3.1 5.4 .574 0.1 0.2 .500 0.0 0.0 -

Season 11

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1995-96
Team -Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 56 11.8 2.9 0.6 1.7 2.4 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.7 2.0 1.3 3.0 .420 0.0 0.1 .286 0.4 0.4 .800
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 2 4.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 1.0 .000 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 12

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1996-97
Team -Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Did Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 59 14.4 2.8 1.1 2.4 3.4 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.7 1.9 1.2 2.9 .406 0.0 0.1 .667 0.5 0.6 .737
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine ------- --- ----------

Season 13

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1997-98
Team -Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -NBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 46 8.6 2.0 0.6 1.1 1.7 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.6 1.4 0.8 2.3 .368 0.0 0.0 - 0.3 0.4 .833
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine ------- --- ----------

Season 14

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1998-99
Team -Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 31 12.1 2.2 0.9 1.3 2.2 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.3 1.5 1.0 2.4 .405 0.0 0.1 .000 0.3 0.4 .667
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 1 5.0 2.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 15

Nikola Jokic Joe Kleine
Season -1999-00
Team -Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Did Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine 7 4.4 1.6 0.0 0.9 0.9 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.3 1.0 0.6 1.6 .364 0.0 0.0 - 0.4 0.4 1.000
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Nikola Jokic ------- --- ----------
Joe Kleine ------- --- ----------