Pau Gasol vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Pau Gasol, 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.

Pau Gasol played 18 years in the NBA, 10 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Pau Gasol had the first of his seasons in 2001-02, 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.

Rookie Season
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2001-02	2002-03
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.7	17.6	2.9	6.0	8.9	2.7	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	6.7	13.0	.518	0.0	0.1	.200	4.1	5.8	.709
difference:		+7.7	+4.1	+0.5	+0.2	+0.7	+1.0	+0.1	+0.3	-0.6	-0.4	+1.8	+3.2	+.020		+0.1		+0.4	+1.3	+.102
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
* Neiher Pau Gasol nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2002-03	2003-04
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	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		%
Pau Gasol	82	36.0	19.0	2.3	6.4	8.8	2.8	0.4	1.8	2.6	2.7	6.9	13.6	.510	0.0	0.1	.100	5.1	6.9	.736
difference:		+3.2	+1.5	+0.1	+0.2	+0.2	+1.3	+0.1	+0.1	-0.1	-0.6	+0.4	+1.1	+.012		+0.1		+0.7	+1.5	+.073
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		%
Pau Gasol	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
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2003-04	2004-05
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West 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		%
Pau Gasol	78	31.5	17.7	2.6	5.1	7.7	2.5	0.6	1.7	2.4	2.4	6.5	13.4	.482	0.1	0.2	.267	4.7	6.6	.714
difference:	+2	+0.9	+0.6		+0.7	+0.7	+1.7	+0.2	+0.3	-0.1	-1.3	+0.2	+1.2	+.070	+0.1	+0.2		+0.2	+0.4	+.069
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.5	18.5	1.0	4.0	5.0	2.5	1.0	1.5	1.3	2.5	7.0	12.3	.571	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	5.0	.900
difference:	+3	+1.6	+2.9	+2.3	+0.4	+2.7	+1.8	+0.7	+1.2	-1.4	-1.9	+0.9	+0.3	+.084				+1.2	+2.9	+.173
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
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2004-05	2005-06
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	56	32.0	17.8	2.3	5.0	7.3	2.4	0.7	1.7	2.4	2.6	6.4	12.4	.514	0.0	0.1	.167	5.0	6.6	.768
difference:	+1	+2.2	+4.5	+0.3	+2.6	+2.9	+0.9	+0.2	+0.1	-0.2	-0.8	+1.8	+3.4	+.005		+0.1		+0.9	+0.3	+.085
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	33.0	21.3	3.8	3.8	7.5	2.5	0.5	1.8	1.8	3.0	9.8	20.0	.488	0.3	0.3	1.000	1.5	3.0	.500
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2005-06	2006-07
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Pau Gasol	80	39.2	20.4	2.4	6.5	8.9	4.6	0.6	1.9	2.9	2.3	7.5	14.9	.503	0.0	0.2	.250	5.3	7.7	.689
difference:	+32	+5.4	+4.6	+0.3	+0.8	+0.5	+2.6	+0.2	+0.1	-0.6	-1.0	+1.3	+2.2	+.013		+0.2		+2.1	+0.9	+.173
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		%
Pau Gasol	4	39.5	20.3	1.0	5.8	6.8	3.0	0.5	1.3	2.8	2.8	7.3	16.8	.433	0.0	0.3	.000	5.8	7.5	.767
difference:	+3	+2.4	+4.8	+2.3	+1.2	+3.5	+2.1	+0.4	+0.6	-1.9	-1.1	+0.6	+1.1	+.007		+0.3		+3.6	+3.2	+.113
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
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2006-07	2007-08
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Pau Gasol	59	36.2	20.8	2.5	7.3	9.8	3.4	0.5	2.1	2.7	2.3	7.8	14.5	.538	0.1	0.2	.273	5.1	6.8	.748
difference:	+4	+1.0	+1.2	+0.6	+0.4	+1.0	+1.1		+0.1	-0.6	-0.8	+0.1	+1.0	+.031	+0.1	+0.2		+1.2	+0.6	+.102
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
* Neiher Pau Gasol nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 6

Season 7
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2007-08	2008-09
Team	Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Pau Gasol	66	35.6	18.9	2.3	6.0	8.4	3.2	0.5	1.5	1.9	2.1	7.2	13.5	.534	0.1	0.2	.250	4.4	5.5	.807
difference:	+11	+2.0	+0.8	+0.3	+1.2	+1.5	+1.4	+0.1	+0.4	-1.1	-1.2	+0.2	+0.1	+.014	+0.1	+0.2		+0.5	+0.2	+.059
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		%
Pau Gasol	21	39.8	16.9	2.6	6.7	9.3	4.0	0.5	1.9	2.1	2.9	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.0	-	3.4	5.0	.692
difference:	+12	+3.9	+0.2	+0.5	+2.1	+1.6	+3.0	+0.1	+0.7	-0.2	-0.1	+0.7	+1.7	+.015				+1.7	+0.7	+.210
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
	Pau Gasol	Yao Ming
Season	2008-09	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third 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		%
Pau Gasol	81	37.0	18.9	3.2	6.4	9.6	3.5	0.6	1.0	1.9	2.1	7.3	12.9	.567	0.0	0.0	-	4.2	5.4	.781
difference:	+76	+18.8	+8.7	+1.8	+2.4	+4.2	+2.7	+0.6	+0.6	-0.5	-0.5	+3.7	+5.5	+.081				+1.2	+2.2	+.157
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		%
Pau Gasol	23	40.5	18.3	3.0	7.9	10.8	2.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	12.0	.580	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.1	.714
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Pau Gasol played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2010 to 2019—Pau Gasol played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Pau Gasol got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 4 All-Star Game