Rich Kelley vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum and Rich Kelley, 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.

Rich Kelley played 11 years in the NBA, 4 more than Jayson Tatum, who played 7. Rich Kelley had the first of his seasons in 1975-76, while Jayson Tatum had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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
Rich Kelley	11	6	1975-76 to 1985-86
Jayson Tatum	7	7	2017-18 to 2023-24

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


Rookie Season
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1975-76	2017-18
Team	New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	75	17.9	7.0	2.6	4.5	7.0	2.1	0.7	0.8	-	2.8	2.5	5.1	.485	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.776
Jayson Tatum	80	30.5	13.9	0.6	4.4	5.0	1.6	1.0	0.7	1.4	2.1	5.0	10.4	.475	1.3	3.0	.434	2.7	3.2	.826

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jayson Tatum	19	35.9	18.5	0.5	3.8	4.4	2.7	1.2	0.5	2.2	2.6	6.5	13.7	.471	1.2	3.7	.324	4.3	5.1	.845


Season 2
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1976-77	2018-19
Team	New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics 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		%
Rich Kelley	76	19.8	6.9	2.8	5.0	7.7	2.7	0.6	0.8	-	3.2	2.4	5.1	.477	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.792
Jayson Tatum	79	31.1	15.7	0.9	5.2	6.0	2.1	1.1	0.7	1.5	2.1	5.9	13.1	.450	1.5	3.9	.373	2.5	2.9	.855

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jayson Tatum	9	32.8	15.2	0.8	5.9	6.7	1.9	1.1	0.8	2.0	2.3	5.4	12.4	.438	1.1	3.4	.323	3.2	4.3	.744


Season 3
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1977-78	2019-20
Team	New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	82	25.8	10.2	3.0	6.2	9.3	2.8	1.1	1.6	2.7	3.6	3.7	7.3	.505	-	-	-	2.7	3.5	.779
Jayson Tatum	66	34.3	23.4	1.0	6.0	7.0	3.0	1.4	0.9	2.3	2.1	8.4	18.6	.450	2.9	7.1	.403	3.8	4.7	.812

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jayson Tatum	17	40.6	25.7	1.3	8.7	10.0	5.0	1.0	1.2	2.8	2.4	8.5	19.6	.434	2.8	7.4	.373	5.9	7.2	.813


Season 4
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1978-79	2020-21
Team	New Orleans Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics 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		%
Rich Kelley	80	33.8	15.7	3.8	9.0	12.8	3.6	1.6	2.1	3.6	3.9	5.5	10.9	.506	-	-	-	4.7	5.7	.814
Jayson Tatum	64	35.8	26.4	0.8	6.6	7.4	4.3	1.2	0.5	2.7	1.9	9.5	20.6	.459	2.9	7.6	.386	4.6	5.3	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jayson Tatum	5	37.0	30.6	0.6	5.2	5.8	4.6	1.2	1.6	2.6	3.0	9.4	22.2	.423	2.8	7.2	.389	9.0	9.8	.918


Season 5
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1979-80	2021-22
Team	New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	80	23.0	8.8	2.5	3.9	6.4	2.2	1.0	1.2	2.5	3.4	2.9	6.1	.473	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	3.9	.787
Jayson Tatum	76	35.9	26.9	1.1	6.9	8.0	4.4	1.0	0.6	2.9	2.3	9.3	20.6	.453	3.0	8.6	.353	5.3	6.2	.853

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	8	18.3	5.9	1.8	2.8	4.5	2.8	1.1	0.9	1.3	2.1	2.4	5.5	.432	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.3	.900
Jayson Tatum	24	41.0	25.6	1.0	5.7	6.7	6.2	1.2	0.9	4.2	3.0	8.4	19.7	.426	3.2	8.2	.393	5.7	7.1	.800


Season 6
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1980-81	2022-23
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	81	20.8	7.0	1.6	3.8	5.4	3.5	1.0	0.8	2.6	2.6	2.4	4.8	.506	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	2.9	.758
Jayson Tatum	74	36.9	30.1	1.1	7.7	8.8	4.6	1.1	0.7	2.9	2.2	9.8	21.1	.466	3.2	9.3	.350	7.2	8.4	.854

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	7	16.1	4.1	1.9	3.1	5.0	1.9	0.9	0.4	2.0	1.7	1.4	3.6	.400	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.0	.643
Jayson Tatum	20	40.0	27.2	1.3	9.2	10.5	5.3	1.1	1.1	2.8	2.2	9.3	20.2	.458	2.7	8.2	.323	6.0	6.9	.876


Season 7
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1981-82	2023-24
Team	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics TBD

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	81	23.4	7.9	2.1	4.1	6.1	3.6	0.8	0.9	3.0	3.6	2.9	6.2	.467	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	2.8	.749
Jayson Tatum	74	35.7	26.9	0.9	7.2	8.1	4.9	1.0	0.6	2.5	2.0	9.1	19.3	.471	3.1	8.2	.376	5.6	6.7	.833

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	7	27.3	9.7	2.6	4.3	6.9	4.3	0.9	0.4	1.7	3.6	3.9	7.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.9	.700
Jayson Tatum	10	39.2	24.3	0.6	9.8	10.4	5.8	1.0	0.8	2.1	2.8	7.7	17.9	.430	1.8	6.4	.281	7.1	8.2	.866


Season 8
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1982-83	-
Team	Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz	-
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		%
Rich Kelley	70	19.2	5.7	1.9	3.9	5.8	2.0	0.8	0.6	1.7	3.2	1.9	4.2	.444	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.811
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1983-84	-
Team	Utah Jazz	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rich Kelley	75	22.3	5.2	1.9	4.7	6.5	2.1	0.7	0.4	2.0	3.6	1.8	3.5	.500	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.2	.765
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	11	18.3	5.0	1.7	3.5	5.3	2.0	0.8	0.5	1.5	3.8	1.4	2.5	.556	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	2.6	.862
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1984-85	-
Team	Utah Jazz	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz 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		%
Rich Kelley	77	16.6	3.8	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.5	0.4	1.6	2.9	1.3	2.8	.477	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.5	.750
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	9	19.3	5.4	2.8	3.6	6.3	1.6	0.8	0.6	1.6	3.6	2.0	4.2	.474	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.7	.867
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Rich Kelley	Jayson Tatum
Season	1985-86	-
Team	Sacramento Kings	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Kings 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		%
Rich Kelley	37	8.8	2.0	0.8	1.4	2.2	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.6	1.7	0.8	1.3	.571	0.0	0.1	.000	0.5	0.6	.818
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	3	11.7	3.7	2.0	2.0	4.0	1.3	0.7	0.0	0.7	1.7	1.0	3.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.0	.833
Jayson Tatum	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Rich Kelley vs. Jayson Tatum Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jayson Tatum and Rich Kelley, 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