Paul Pierce vs. J.R. Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of J.R. Smith and Paul Pierce, 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.

Paul Pierce played 19 years in the NBA, 3 more than J.R. Smith, who played 16. Paul Pierce had the first of his seasons in 1998-99, while J.R. Smith had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	1998-99	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+28	+9.5	+6.2	+1.9	+2.5	+4.4	+0.5	+1.0	+0.9	-1.0	-1.1	+2.0	+3.7	+.045	+0.7	+0.6	+.124	+1.4	+2.0	+.024
J.R. Smith	76	24.5	10.3	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.4	1.8	3.9	9.8	.394	1.1	3.7	.288	1.5	2.1	.689
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Paul Pierce nor J.R. Smith played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 4
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2001-02	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+8	+21.1	+13.8	+0.4	+4.4	+4.8	+1.5	+1.1	+0.8	-1.4	-1.0	+4.4	+10.4	+.019	+0.5	+1.0	+.001	+4.6	+5.4	+.090
J.R. Smith	74	19.2	12.3	0.6	1.5	2.1	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.2	9.1	.461	2.1	5.3	.403	1.7	2.4	.719
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+12	+15.0	+6.3	+1.4	+5.4	+6.8	+2.3	+0.7	+1.3	-2.5	-0.3	+1.8	+8.1	+.132	+0.1	+1.0	+.030	+2.5	+3.8	+.069
J.R. Smith	4	27.0	18.3	0.3	1.5	1.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	3.0	5.8	10.8	.535	1.8	5.5	.318	5.0	6.0	.833

Season 5
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2002-03	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+11.5	+10.7	+0.8	+2.9	+3.6	+1.6	+0.8	+0.6	-1.7	-0.6	+3.2	+8.5	+.030	+0.7	+0.7	+.095	+5.1	+6.1	+.048
J.R. Smith	81	27.7	15.2	0.5	3.1	3.7	2.8	1.0	0.2	1.9	2.3	5.2	11.7	.446	2.2	5.6	.397	2.5	3.4	.754
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+17.3	+12.2	+0.4	+5.3	+5.7	+3.9	+1.0	+0.5	-2.8	-0.6	+2.2	+7.2	+.055	+0.8	+2.1	+.002	+8.5	+8.8	+.320
J.R. Smith	16	27.2	14.9	0.7	2.6	3.3	2.8	1.1	0.3	1.6	3.2	5.5	12.1	.454	2.4	6.6	.358	1.6	2.9	.543

Season 6
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2003-04	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+10.9	+7.6	+0.5	+3.0	+3.4	+2.7	+0.3	+0.4	-1.9	-0.6	+1.8	+4.9	+.012	+0.7	+1.4	+.039	+4.6	+5.2	+.113
J.R. Smith	75	27.8	15.4	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.4	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.3	5.7	13.8	.414	2.1	6.2	.338	1.9	2.7	.706
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+14.3	+9.6	+0.7	+4.3	+5.0	+0.8	+0.6	+0.7	-5.3	-0.2	+3.0	+9.5	+.026	+0.5	+0.9	+.061	+4.2	+5.1	+.036
J.R. Smith	6	26.5	11.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	1.7	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.8	3.5	9.5	.368	1.8	5.2	.355	2.3	2.7	.875

Season 7
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2004-05	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+3	+11.2	+9.3	+0.4	+2.1	+2.5	+2.0	+0.4	+0.3	-1.5	-0.9	+2.5	+5.0	+.020	+0.3	+0.4	+.020	+4.6	+5.3	+.084
J.R. Smith	79	24.9	12.3	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.2	1.2	0.2	1.3	2.2	4.3	9.9	.435	1.6	4.0	.390	2.1	2.8	.738
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+24.5	+13.1	+0.8	+4.9	+5.7	+3.6	+1.5	+1.4	-1.1	-1.0	+3.5	+4.3	+.149	+0.8	+0.3	+.170	+6.8	+7.5	+.141
J.R. Smith	5	15.2	9.8	0.2	1.8	2.0	1.0	0.4	0.0	1.6	1.6	3.2	9.0	.356	1.8	4.2	.429	1.6	2.2	.727

Season 8
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2005-06	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+44	+11.4	+14.3	+0.2	+2.6	+2.8	+2.3	+0.1	+0.2	-2.2	-0.3	+4.0	+6.9	+.064	+0.5	+1.5	+.007	+6.8	+8.7	+.063
J.R. Smith	35	27.6	12.5	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.4	1.5	0.2	1.3	2.5	4.7	11.6	.407	1.9	5.5	.347	1.1	1.6	.709
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	5	35.0	12.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	2.2	1.2	0.2	2.2	3.8	4.8	15.2	.316	1.0	5.6	.179	1.6	1.6	1.000

Season 9
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2006-07	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+33	+3.5	+6.9		+0.6	+0.6	+1.4	+0.3		-1.5	-0.2	+1.3	+2.5	+.017	+0.4	+0.4	+.033	+3.8	+4.7	+.034
J.R. Smith	80	33.5	18.1	0.8	4.5	5.3	2.7	1.3	0.3	1.7	2.8	6.6	15.6	.422	1.9	5.5	.356	3.0	3.9	.762
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J.R. Smith	11	31.9	14.3	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.4	1.0	0.5	1.8	2.5	4.9	14.8	.331	1.6	6.0	.273	2.8	3.9	.721

Season 10
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2007-08	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+3.2	+5.1	+0.2	+1.0	+1.1	+1.5	+0.4	+0.2	-1.3	-0.1	+1.0	+0.8	+.049	+0.8	+1.9	+.002	+3.9	+4.2	+.191
J.R. Smith	74	32.7	14.5	0.5	3.5	4.0	3.0	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.6	5.4	12.9	.415	2.6	6.5	.394	1.2	1.9	.652
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
J.R. Smith	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2008-09	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	81	37.5	20.5	0.7	5.0	5.6	3.6	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.7	6.7	14.6	.457	1.5	3.8	.391	5.7	6.8	.830
difference:	+11	+7.8	+8.4	+0.3	+2.3	+2.5	+0.8	+0.2		-1.4	-0.4	+2.2	+3.8	+.040	+0.8	+2.3	+.008	+4.9	+5.8	+.080
J.R. Smith	70	29.7	12.1	0.4	2.7	3.1	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.4	2.3	4.5	10.8	.417	2.3	6.1	.383	0.8	1.0	.750
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	14	39.7	21.0	0.3	5.5	5.8	3.1	1.1	0.4	2.4	3.1	6.8	15.8	.430	1.4	4.1	.333	6.1	7.2	.842
difference:	+4	+8.6	+8.2	+0.2	+1.3	+1.1	+1.9	+0.2	+0.2	-1.6	-0.1	+2.2	+4.4	+.027	+1.4	+3.8	+.026	+5.3	+6.1	+.142
J.R. Smith	18	31.1	12.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	1.2	0.9	0.6	0.8	3.0	4.6	11.4	.403	2.8	7.9	.359	0.8	1.1	.700

Season 12
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2009-10	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	71	34.0	18.3	0.5	3.8	4.4	3.1	1.2	0.4	2.3	2.8	5.8	12.2	.472	1.5	3.7	.414	5.2	6.1	.852
difference:	+6	+3.3	+5.9	+0.1	+1.5	+1.6	+1.4	+0.1	+0.1	-1.5	-0.2	+1.2	+1.2	+.057	+1.1	+2.9	+.014	+4.6	+5.2	+.218
J.R. Smith	77	30.7	12.4	0.6	2.3	2.8	1.7	1.1	0.3	0.8	2.6	4.6	11.0	.415	2.6	6.6	.400	0.6	0.9	.634
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	24	38.8	18.8	0.8	5.1	6.0	3.4	1.0	0.6	2.7	3.3	6.1	14.0	.438	1.7	4.3	.392	4.9	5.9	.824
difference:	+3	+4.0	+7.3	+0.5	+2.2	+2.8	+2.0	+0.2	+0.4	-2.2	-0.7	+2.2	+5.0	+.002	+1.4	+2.9	+.038	+4.3	+4.9	+.205
J.R. Smith	21	34.8	11.5	0.3	2.9	3.2	1.4	1.2	0.2	0.5	2.6	3.9	9.0	.436	3.1	7.2	.430	0.6	1.0	.619

Season 13
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2010-11	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	80	34.7	18.9	0.4	5.0	5.4	3.3	1.0	0.6	2.1	2.9	6.3	12.8	.497	1.4	3.7	.374	4.8	5.6	.860
difference:	+39	+5.7	+10.3		+2.7	+2.6	+1.8		+0.3	-1.5	-1.0	+3.3	+4.1	+.151	+0.9	+2.9	+.023	+4.6	+5.2	+.193
J.R. Smith	41	29.0	8.6	0.4	2.3	2.8	1.5	1.0	0.3	0.6	1.9	3.0	8.7	.346	2.3	6.6	.351	0.2	0.4	.667
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	9	38.1	20.8	0.6	4.4	5.0	2.8	1.3	0.4	2.7	3.3	7.6	16.4	.459	2.3	5.2	.447	3.3	3.8	.882
difference:	+9	+11.0	+12.7	+0.3	+2.3	+2.7	+2.1	+0.6	+0.1	-2.0	-1.0	+4.8	+10.9	+.046	+0.1	+0.8	+.053	+3.0	+3.2	+.427
J.R. Smith	18	27.1	8.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.3	2.8	5.5	.505	2.2	4.4	.500	0.3	0.6	.455

Season 14
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2011-12	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Cavaliers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

14th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	61	34.0	19.4	0.6	4.6	5.2	4.5	1.1	0.4	2.8	2.4	6.5	14.6	.443	1.6	4.5	.366	4.8	5.6	.852
difference:	+19	+5.9	+11.1	+0.2	+2.0	+2.3	+2.7	+0.2	+0.3	-1.8	-0.4	+3.5	+7.2	+.040	+0.2	+0.3	+.009	+4.3	+4.9	+.156
J.R. Smith	80	28.1	8.3	0.4	2.6	2.9	1.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	2.0	3.0	7.4	.403	1.8	4.8	.375	0.5	0.7	.696
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	20	38.9	18.9	0.7	5.4	6.1	3.1	1.5	0.9	2.8	3.4	6.0	15.6	.386	1.4	4.4	.310	5.5	6.2	.894
difference:	+2	+6.8	+10.2	+0.2	+3.1	+3.4	+2.0	+0.5	+0.7	-1.9	-0.9	+3.0	+7.1	+.038	+0.6	+1.1	+.057	+4.7	+5.2	+.121
J.R. Smith	22	32.1	8.7	0.5	2.3	2.7	1.1	1.0	0.2	0.9	2.5	3.0	8.5	.348	2.0	5.5	.367	0.8	1.0	.773

Season 16
	Paul Pierce	J.R. Smith
Season	2013-14	2019-20
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

16th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	75	28.0	13.5	0.3	4.3	4.6	2.4	1.1	0.4	2.0	2.5	4.3	9.5	.451	1.5	4.0	.373	3.4	4.1	.826
difference:	+69	+14.8	+10.7	+0.3	+3.5	+3.8	+1.9	+0.9	+0.4	-1.3	-1.7	+3.1	+5.8	+.133	+1.3	+2.2	+.282	+3.1	+3.8	+.174
J.R. Smith	6	13.2	2.8	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.7	0.8	1.2	3.7	.318	0.2	1.8	.091	0.3	0.3	1.000
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Paul Pierce	12	30.7	13.7	0.3	4.2	4.5	2.0	1.2	0.3	1.7	3.7	5.0	10.8	.465	1.6	4.4	.358	2.1	2.7	.781
difference:	+2	+23.2	+11.7	+0.3	+3.9	+4.2	+1.7	+1.0	+0.3	-1.0	-2.6	+4.3	+8.2	+.196	+1.0	+2.2	+.085	+2.1	+2.7
J.R. Smith	10	7.5	2.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.7	2.6	.269	0.6	2.2	.273	0.0	0.0	-