Rick Barry vs. Kawhi Leonard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kawhi Leonard and Rick Barry, 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.

Rick Barry played 10 years in the NBA, 3 less than Kawhi Leonard, who played 13. Rick Barry had the first of his seasons in 1965-66, 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 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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1965-66	2011-12
Team	San Francisco Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals

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		%
Rick Barry	80	37.4	25.7	-	-	10.6	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	9.3	21.2	.439	-	-	-	7.1	8.3	.862
difference:	+16	+13.4	+17.8			+5.5	+1.1				-2.3	+6.2	+14.9	+.054				+6.0	+6.9	+.089
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		%
Rick Barry	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1966-67	2012-13
Team	San Francisco Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	Spurs Lost NBA Finals

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rick Barry	78	40.7	35.6	-	-	9.2	3.6	-	-	-	3.3	13.0	28.7	.451	-	-	-	9.7	10.9	.884
difference:	+20	+9.5	+23.7			+3.2	+2.0				-1.6	+8.5	+19.6	+.043				+7.9	+8.7	+.059
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		%
Rick Barry	15	40.9	34.7	-	-	7.5	3.9	-	-	-	3.3	13.1	32.6	.403	-	-	-	8.5	10.5	.809
difference:	+6	+4.0	+21.2			+1.5	+2.9				-1.4	+7.6	+22.6	+.142				+7.0	+8.2	+.176
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

Note: Rick Barry didn't play in 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72.

Season 3
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1972-73	2013-14
Team	Golden State Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rick Barry	82	37.5	22.3	-	-	8.9	4.9	-	-	-	3.0	9.0	19.9	.452	-	-	-	4.4	4.8	.902
difference:	+16	+8.4	+9.5			+2.7	+2.9				-1.1	+3.9	+10.1	+.070				+2.9	+2.9	+.100
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		%
Rick Barry	11	26.5	16.4	-	-	4.9	2.2	-	-	-	3.7	5.9	14.9	.396	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.909
difference:	+12	+5.5	+2.1			+1.8	+0.5				-0.8	+0.6	+4.5	+.114				+2.2	+1.9	+.173
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1973-74	2014-15
Team	Golden State Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs 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		%
Rick Barry	80	36.5	25.1	1.3	5.5	6.8	6.1	2.1	0.5	-	3.3	10.0	21.8	.456	-	-	-	5.2	5.8	.899
difference:	+16	+4.7	+8.6		+0.4	+0.4	+3.6	+0.2	+0.3		-1.3	+3.8	+9.0	+.023				+2.0	+1.9	+.097
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		%
Rick Barry	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1974-75	2015-16
Team	Golden State Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis

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		%
Rick Barry	80	40.4	30.6	1.2	4.6	5.7	6.2	2.9	0.4	-	2.8	12.9	27.7	.464	-	-	-	4.9	5.5	.904
difference:	+8	+7.3	+9.4	+0.1	+0.9	+1.1	+3.6	+1.1	+0.6		-1.0	+5.2	+12.6	+.042				+0.8	+0.9	+.030
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		%
Rick Barry	17	42.7	28.2	1.3	4.2	5.5	6.1	2.9	0.9	-	3.0	11.1	25.1	.444	-	-	-	5.9	6.5	.918
difference:	+7	+8.8	+5.7	+0.1	+0.7	+0.8	+3.3	+0.3	+0.5		-0.9	+2.8	+8.5	+.056				+1.7	+1.4	+.094
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1975-76	2016-17
Team	Golden State Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Finals	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals

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		%
Rick Barry	81	38.5	21.0	0.9	5.2	6.1	6.1	2.5	0.3	-	2.7	8.7	20.0	.435	-	-	-	3.5	3.8	.923
difference:	+7	+5.1	+4.5	+0.2	+0.5	+0.3	+2.6	+0.7	+0.4		-1.1	+0.1	+2.3	+.050				+2.8	+3.4	+.043
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		%
Rick Barry	13	40.9	24.0	1.5	4.9	6.5	6.5	2.9	1.1	-	3.1	9.7	22.2	.436	-	-	-	4.6	5.2	.882
difference:	+1	+5.1	+3.7	+0.1	+1.3	+1.3	+1.9	+1.2	+0.6		-1.3	+0.9	+5.4	+.089				+3.3	+3.3	+.049
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1976-77	2017-18
Team	Golden State Warriors	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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		%
Rick Barry	79	36.8	21.8	0.9	4.4	5.3	6.0	2.2	0.7	-	2.5	8.6	19.6	.440	-	-	-	4.5	5.0	.916
difference:	+70	+13.5	+5.6	+0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+3.7	+0.2	+0.3		-1.5	+2.8	+7.3	+.028				+1.1	+0.8	+.100
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		%
Rick Barry	10	41.5	28.4	2.5	3.4	5.9	4.7	1.7	0.7	-	3.2	12.2	26.2	.466	-	-	-	4.0	4.4	.909
Kawhi Leonard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1977-78	2018-19
Team	Golden State Warriors	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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		%
Rick Barry	82	36.9	23.1	0.9	4.6	5.5	5.4	1.9	0.5	2.7	2.3	9.3	20.6	.451	-	-	-	4.6	5.0	.924
difference:	+22	+2.9	+3.5	+0.4	+1.4	+1.8	+2.1	+0.1	+0.1	-0.7	-0.8		+1.8	+.045				+1.5	+2.1	+.070
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		%
Rick Barry	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1978-79	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Clippers Lost West 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		%
Rick Barry	80	32.1	13.5	0.5	3.0	3.5	6.3	1.2	0.5	2.5	2.4	5.8	12.5	.461	-	-	-	2.0	2.1	.947
difference:	+23	+0.3	+13.6	+0.4	+3.1	+3.6	+1.4	+0.6	+0.1	-0.1	-0.4	+3.5	+7.4	+.009				+4.2	+5.0	+.061
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		%
Rick Barry	2	32.5	12.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	4.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	4.0	12.5	.320	-	-	-	4.0	4.0	1.000
difference:	+11	+6.8	+16.2	+0.8	+4.5	+5.3	+1.0	+2.3	+0.2	-1.5	-1.8	+6.1	+8.1	+.169				+2.2	+3.2	+.138
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
	Rick Barry	Kawhi Leonard
Season	1979-80	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost East Conf Semis	Clippers Lost West Conf Finals

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		%
Rick Barry	72	25.2	12.0	0.7	2.5	3.3	3.7	1.1	0.4	2.1	2.5	4.5	10.7	.422	1.0	3.1	.330	2.0	2.1	.935
difference:	+20	+8.9	+12.8	+0.4	+2.9	+3.2	+1.5	+0.5		-0.1	-0.9	+4.4	+6.8	+.090	+0.9	+1.8	+.068	+3.0	+3.6	+.050
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		%
Rick Barry	6	13.2	5.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.7	1.8	2.0	5.5	.364	0.5	2.0	.250	1.0	1.0	1.000
difference:	+5	+26.1	+24.9	+2.0	+4.7	+6.7	+1.9	+1.9	+0.6	-0.5	-0.8	+9.1	+13.9	+.209	+1.7	+3.5	+.143	+5.0	+5.8	+.120
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

Additional Years
* Kawhi Leonard played 3 seasons more than Rick Barry in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 13, from 2023 to 2025—Kawhi Leonard played in 3 Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over Rick Barry, Kawhi Leonard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Star Game