Nikola Jokic vs. John Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Paxson 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, 2 less than John Paxson, who played 11. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while John Paxson had his rookie season in 1983-84. 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
John Paxson	11	10	1983-84 to 1993-94

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11


Rookie Season
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2015-16	1983-84
Team	Denver Nuggets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
John Paxson	49	9.3	2.9	0.1	0.6	0.7	3.0	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.0	1.2	2.8	.445	0.1	0.4	.182	0.3	0.5	.615

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2016-17	1984-85
Team	Denver Nuggets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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
John Paxson	78	16.1	6.2	0.2	0.6	0.9	2.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	4.9	.509	0.1	0.4	.294	1.1	1.3	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	5	22.8	10.2	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.2	1.0	0.0	1.0	1.8	4.2	8.4	.500	0.4	1.8	.222	1.4	1.8	.778


Season 3
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2017-18	1985-86
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
John Paxson	75	20.9	5.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	3.7	0.7	0.0	0.8	2.3	2.0	4.4	.466	0.2	0.7	.300	1.0	1.2	.804

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	3	26.7	9.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.7	1.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	2.3	5.0	.467	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.7	.765


Season 4
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2018-19	1986-87
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
John Paxson	82	32.8	11.3	0.3	1.4	1.7	5.7	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.5	4.7	9.7	.487	0.6	1.7	.371	1.3	1.6	.809

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
John Paxson	3	29.0	8.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.7	3.0	3.7	7.3	.500	1.0	2.3	.429	0.3	0.3	1.000


Season 5
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2019-20	1987-88
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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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
John Paxson	81	23.3	7.9	0.2	1.1	1.3	3.7	0.6	0.0	0.8	1.9	3.5	7.2	.493	0.4	1.2	.347	0.4	0.6	.733

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
John Paxson	10	16.5	4.6	0.0	0.4	0.4	3.0	0.1	0.1	0.5	2.4	2.0	5.3	.377	0.2	1.2	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000


Season 6
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2020-21	1988-89
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

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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
John Paxson	78	22.3	7.3	0.2	1.0	1.2	3.9	0.7	0.1	0.9	2.1	3.2	6.6	.480	0.6	1.7	.331	0.4	0.5	.861

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
John Paxson	16	18.9	5.8	0.1	0.5	0.6	2.1	0.8	0.0	0.9	2.2	2.3	4.9	.474	0.3	1.2	.263	0.9	1.0	.875


Season 7
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2021-22	1989-90
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

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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
John Paxson	82	28.8	10.0	0.3	1.1	1.5	4.1	1.0	0.1	1.0	2.1	4.5	8.6	.516	0.4	1.1	.359	0.7	0.8	.824

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
John Paxson	15	26.3	6.1	0.1	1.3	1.5	3.6	0.6	0.0	1.0	2.8	2.5	5.8	.425	0.3	0.6	.444	0.9	0.9	1.000


Season 8
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2022-23	1990-91
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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
John Paxson	82	24.0	8.7	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.6	0.8	0.0	0.8	1.7	3.9	7.0	.548	0.5	1.2	.438	0.4	0.5	.829

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
John Paxson	17	28.6	8.2	0.1	1.2	1.4	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.4	1.9	3.6	6.9	.530	0.1	0.8	.143	0.8	0.8	1.000


Season 9
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	2023-24	1991-92
Team	Denver Nuggets	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets TBD	NBA Champion

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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
John Paxson	79	24.6	7.0	0.3	0.9	1.2	3.1	0.6	0.1	0.6	1.8	3.3	6.2	.528	0.2	0.6	.273	0.4	0.5	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	11	39.5	28.2	3.4	9.5	12.9	8.8	1.5	0.6	3.4	2.7	10.9	19.6	.556	1.1	3.9	.279	5.3	5.8	.906
John Paxson	22	27.2	7.9	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.8	0.6	0.0	0.6	2.4	3.3	6.3	.525	0.5	1.2	.444	0.7	0.9	.842


Season 10
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	-	1992-93
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	59	17.5	4.2	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.7	1.8	3.9	.451	0.3	0.7	.463	0.3	0.3	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	19	17.4	4.9	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.1	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.2	.583	0.8	1.3	.625	0.4	0.6	.727


Season 11
	Nikola Jokic	John Paxson
Season	-	1993-94
Team	-	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	27	12.7	2.6	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.1	2.5	.441	0.3	0.8	.409	0.0	0.1	.500

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	9	6.4	0.7	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.8	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Nikola Jokic vs. John Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Paxson 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11