Nikola Jokic vs. Paul Pierce Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Paul Pierce 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.

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 10 years in the NBA, 9 less than Paul Pierce, who played 19. Nikola Jokic had the first of his seasons in 2015-16, while Paul Pierce had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2015-16	1998-99
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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:	+32	+12.3	+6.5	+0.1	+0.7	+0.6		+0.7	+0.4	-1.1	-0.3	+2.1	+6.0	+.073	+1.4	+3.2	+.079	+1.0	+1.7	+.098
Paul Pierce	48	34.0	16.5	2.4	4.0	6.4	2.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.9	5.9	13.5	.439	1.8	4.3	.412	2.9	4.1	.713
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Nikola Jokic nor Paul Pierce played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 4
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2018-19	2001-02
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
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:	+2	+9.0	+6.0	+1.9	+2.1	+3.9	+4.1	+0.5	+0.3	-0.2		+0.9	+4.4	+.069	+1.6	+2.9	+.097	+2.7	+3.4	+.012
Paul Pierce	82	40.3	26.1	1.0	5.9	6.9	3.2	1.9	1.0	2.9	2.9	8.6	19.5	.442	2.6	6.3	.404	6.3	7.8	.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
difference:	+2	+2.2	+0.5	+2.2	+2.2	+4.4	+4.3	+0.6	+0.4	-1.2	-0.6	+1.8	+0.3	+.103	+0.3	+2.5	+.105	+2.8	+4.2	+.082
Paul Pierce	16	42.0	24.6	1.7	6.9	8.6	4.1	1.7	1.3	3.8	3.3	7.6	18.9	.403	1.9	6.5	.288	7.5	9.8	.764

Season 5
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2019-20	2002-03
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis

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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		%
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:	+6	+7.2	+6.0	+1.0	+1.5	+2.4	+2.6	+0.6	+0.2	-0.5	-0.1	+0.7	+5.5	+.112	+0.4	+1.4	+.012	+4.2	+5.4	+.015
Paul Pierce	79	39.2	25.9	1.3	6.0	7.3	4.4	1.8	0.8	3.6	2.9	8.4	20.2	.416	1.5	4.9	.302	7.6	9.5	.802
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
difference:	+9	+8.0	+2.7	+0.8		+0.8	+1.0	+1.0		-1.1	-0.2	+1.7	+1.2	+.120	+0.6	+0.7	+.073	+6.6	+7.5	+.028
Paul Pierce	10	44.5	27.1	1.1	7.9	9.0	6.7	2.1	0.8	4.4	3.8	7.7	19.3	.399	1.6	4.5	.356	10.1	11.7	.863

Season 6
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2020-21	2003-04
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+8	+4.1	+3.4	+1.9	+2.3	+4.3	+3.2	+0.3		-0.7	-0.2	+2.7	+0.7	+.164	+0.1	+1.5	+.089	+1.7	+2.4	+.049
Paul Pierce	80	38.7	23.0	0.9	5.7	6.5	5.1	1.6	0.7	3.8	2.9	7.5	18.7	.402	1.4	4.8	.299	6.5	7.9	.819
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
difference:	+6	+6.3	+9.0	+2.2	+0.6	+2.8	+2.5	+0.7	+0.1	-3.9	-0.7	+5.1	+3.8	+.167	+0.7	+1.0	+.083	+1.9	+2.3	+.003
Paul Pierce	4	40.8	20.8	1.5	7.3	8.8	2.5	1.3	1.0	6.3	3.0	6.5	19.0	.342	1.3	4.3	.294	6.5	7.8	.839

Season 7
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2021-22	2004-05
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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
difference:	+8	+2.6	+5.5	+1.8	+5.4	+7.2	+3.7	+0.1	+0.4	-1.0	-0.5	+3.5	+2.8	+.128		+0.3	+.033	+1.6	+1.8	+.012
Paul Pierce	82	36.1	21.6	1.0	5.6	6.6	4.2	1.6	0.5	2.8	3.1	6.8	14.9	.455	1.3	3.6	.370	6.7	8.1	.822
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
difference:	+2	+5.5	+8.1	+2.4	+3.1	+5.5	+1.2	+0.3	+0.4	-2.1	-1.4	+5.5	+7.9	+.070		+0.3	+.019	+2.8	+3.1	+.020
Paul Pierce	7	39.7	22.9	1.0	6.7	7.7	4.6	1.9	1.4	2.7	2.6	6.7	13.3	.505	1.0	3.9	.259	8.4	9.7	.868

Season 8
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2022-23	2005-06
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
difference:	+10	+5.3	+2.3	+1.4	+3.7	+5.1	+5.1	+0.1	+0.3	-0.1	-0.3	+0.7	+3.7	+.161	+0.6	+1.8	+.029	+3.0	+4.3	+.050
Paul Pierce	79	39.0	26.8	1.0	5.7	6.7	4.7	1.4	0.4	3.5	2.8	8.7	18.5	.471	1.4	4.0	.354	7.9	10.3	.772
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
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2023-24	2006-07
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+32	+2.4	+1.4	+2.0	+4.4	+6.5	+4.9	+0.4	+0.6	-0.2	-0.1	+2.5	+0.2	+.144	+1.2	+3.0	+.030	+2.3	+3.1	+.021
Paul Pierce	47	37.0	25.0	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.1	1.0	0.3	3.2	2.6	7.9	18.1	.439	2.3	5.9	.389	6.8	8.6	.796
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	12	40.2	28.7	3.6	9.8	13.4	8.7	1.4	0.7	3.3	2.7	11.1	20.3	.545	1.2	4.4	.264	5.3	5.9	.901
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Nikola Jokic	Paul Pierce
Season	2024-25	2007-08
Team	Denver Nuggets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	70	36.7	29.6	2.9	9.9	12.7	10.2	1.8	0.6	3.3	2.3	11.2	19.5	.576	2.0	4.7	.417	5.2	6.4	.800
difference:	+10	+0.8	+10.0	+2.2	+5.4	+7.6	+5.7	+0.5	+0.1	-0.5	-0.2	+4.8	+5.8	+.112	+0.2	+0.1	+.025	+0.1	+0.3	+.043
Paul Pierce	80	35.9	19.6	0.7	4.5	5.1	4.5	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.5	6.4	13.7	.464	1.8	4.6	.392	5.1	6.1	.843
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Nikola Jokic	14	40.2	26.2	2.1	10.6	12.7	8.0	2.0	0.9	3.9	3.4	9.4	19.1	.489	1.9	5.1	.380	5.6	7.2	.772
difference:	+12	+2.1	+6.5	+1.3	+6.4	+7.7	+3.4	+0.9	+0.6	-0.7	-0.1	+3.1	+4.9	+.048	+0.2	+0.5	+.019	+0.1	+0.4	+.030
Paul Pierce	26	38.1	19.7	0.8	4.2	5.0	4.6	1.1	0.3	3.2	3.5	6.3	14.2	.441	1.7	4.6	.361	5.5	6.8	.802

Additional Years
* Paul Pierce played 9 seasons more than Nikola Jokic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 19, from 2009 to 2017—Paul Pierce played in 9 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Nikola Jokic, Paul Pierce got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 4 All-Star Game