Rich Kelley vs. Kawhi Leonard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kawhi Leonard 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, 1 less than Kawhi Leonard, who played 12. Rich Kelley had the first of his seasons in 1975-76, while Kawhi Leonard had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Kawhi Leonard	12	11	2011-12 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1975-76	2011-12
Team	New Orleans Jazz	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West 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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	64	24.0	7.9	1.6	3.5	5.1	1.1	1.3	0.4	0.7	1.4	3.1	6.3	.493	0.6	1.7	.376	1.1	1.4	.773

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	14	27.1	8.6	1.3	4.6	5.9	0.6	1.2	0.4	0.9	1.6	3.2	6.4	.500	1.3	2.9	.450	0.9	1.1	.813


Season 2
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1976-77	2012-13
Team	New Orleans Jazz	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost NBA 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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	58	31.2	11.9	1.1	4.9	6.0	1.6	1.7	0.6	1.1	1.7	4.5	9.1	.494	1.1	3.0	.374	1.8	2.2	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	21	36.9	13.5	2.4	6.7	9.0	1.0	1.8	0.5	1.1	1.9	5.5	10.0	.545	1.1	2.8	.390	1.5	2.3	.633


Season 3
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1977-78	2013-14
Team	New Orleans Jazz	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	66	29.1	12.8	1.2	5.1	6.2	2.0	1.7	0.8	1.2	1.9	5.1	9.8	.522	1.0	2.8	.379	1.5	1.9	.802

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	23	32.0	14.3	1.3	5.4	6.7	1.7	1.7	0.6	1.3	2.9	5.3	10.4	.510	1.3	3.2	.419	2.3	3.1	.736


Season 4
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1978-79	2014-15
Team	New Orleans Jazz	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Steals Leader
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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	64	31.8	16.5	1.3	5.9	7.2	2.5	2.3	0.8	1.5	2.0	6.2	12.8	.479	1.0	3.0	.349	3.2	3.9	.802

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	7	35.7	20.3	1.9	5.6	7.4	2.6	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.6	7.4	15.6	.477	1.6	3.7	.423	3.9	5.0	.771


Season 5
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1979-80	2015-16
Team	New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs Lost West 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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	72	33.1	21.2	1.3	5.5	6.8	2.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	1.8	7.7	15.1	.506	1.8	4.0	.443	4.1	4.6	.874

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
Kawhi Leonard	10	33.9	22.5	1.4	4.9	6.3	2.8	2.6	1.4	1.6	2.1	8.3	16.6	.500	1.7	3.9	.436	4.2	5.1	.824


Season 6
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1980-81	2016-17
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs Lost West 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
Kawhi Leonard	74	33.4	25.5	1.1	4.7	5.8	3.5	1.8	0.7	2.1	1.6	8.6	17.7	.485	2.0	5.2	.380	6.3	7.2	.880

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
Kawhi Leonard	12	35.8	27.7	1.6	6.2	7.8	4.6	1.7	0.5	2.2	1.8	8.8	16.8	.525	2.1	4.6	.455	7.9	8.5	.931


Season 7
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1981-82	2017-18
Team	Phoenix Suns	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	9	23.3	16.2	0.7	4.0	4.7	2.3	2.0	1.0	1.8	1.0	5.8	12.3	.468	1.2	3.9	.314	3.4	4.2	.816

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
Kawhi Leonard	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1982-83	2018-19
Team	Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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
Kawhi Leonard	60	34.0	26.6	1.3	6.0	7.3	3.3	1.8	0.4	2.0	1.5	9.3	18.8	.496	1.9	5.0	.371	6.1	7.1	.854

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	24	39.1	30.5	2.3	6.8	9.1	3.9	1.7	0.7	3.1	2.3	10.1	20.7	.490	2.3	6.0	.379	8.0	9.0	.884


Season 9
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1983-84	2019-20
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Clippers Lost West 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		%
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
Kawhi Leonard	57	32.4	27.1	0.9	6.1	7.1	4.9	1.8	0.6	2.6	2.0	9.3	19.9	.470	2.2	5.7	.378	6.2	7.1	.886

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
Kawhi Leonard	13	39.3	28.2	1.8	7.5	9.3	5.5	2.3	0.8	2.5	2.2	10.1	20.6	.489	1.8	5.6	.329	6.2	7.2	.862


Season 10
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1984-85	2020-21
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Clippers Lost West 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	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
Kawhi Leonard	52	34.1	24.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	5.2	1.6	0.4	2.0	1.6	8.9	17.5	.512	1.9	4.9	.398	5.0	5.7	.885

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
Kawhi Leonard	11	39.3	30.4	2.0	5.7	7.7	4.4	2.1	0.8	2.2	2.6	11.1	19.4	.573	2.2	5.5	.393	6.0	6.8	.880

Note: Kawhi Leonard didn't play in 2021-22.


Season 11
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1985-86	2022-23
Team	Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Clippers 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
Kawhi Leonard	52	33.6	23.8	1.1	5.4	6.5	3.9	1.4	0.5	1.7	1.6	8.6	16.8	.512	2.0	4.8	.416	4.7	5.4	.871

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
Kawhi Leonard	2	40.0	34.5	1.5	5.0	6.5	6.0	2.0	0.5	3.0	2.5	12.0	22.0	.545	3.0	5.0	.600	7.5	8.5	.882


Season 12
	Rich Kelley	Kawhi Leonard
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	-	Clippers 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	68	34.3	23.7	1.2	4.9	6.1	3.6	1.6	0.9	1.8	1.4	9.0	17.1	.525	2.1	4.9	.417	3.7	4.2	.885

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Kawhi Leonard	2	29.5	12.0	1.5	6.5	8.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	2.0	1.5	5.5	12.0	.458	0.0	2.5	.000	1.0	1.5	.667

Rich Kelley vs. Kawhi Leonard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kawhi Leonard 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

Season 12