Ronnie Lester vs. George Mikan Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of George Mikan and Ronnie Lester, 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.

Ronnie Lester played 6 years in the NBA, 1 less than George Mikan, who played 7. Ronnie Lester had the first of his seasons in 1980-81, while George Mikan had his rookie season in 1948-49. 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
Ronnie Lester 6 2 1980-81 to 1985-86
George Mikan 7 7 1948-49 to 1955-56

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7

Rookie Season

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1980-811948-49
Team Chicago BullsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Playoffs Bulls Lost East Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 8 10.4 3.8 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.9 0.3 0.0 1.1 0.6 1.3 3.0 .417 0.0 0.0 - 1.3 1.4 .909
George Mikan 60 - 28.3 - - - 3.6 - - - 4.3 9.7 23.4 .416 - - - 8.9 11.5 .772
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 5 8.4 3.8 1.0 0.2 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.0 1.0 0.8 1.4 3.6 .389 0.0 0.2 .000 1.0 1.4 .714
George Mikan 10 - 30.3 - - - 2.1 - - - 4.4 10.3 22.7 .454 - - - 9.7 12.1 .802

Season 2

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1981-821949-50
Team Chicago BullsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 75 30.0 11.6 1.0 1.8 2.8 4.8 1.1 0.2 2.5 2.1 4.4 8.8 .501 0.1 0.1 .500 2.8 3.4 .813
George Mikan 68 - 27.4 - - - 2.9 - - - 4.4 9.5 23.5 .407 - - - 8.3 10.7 .779
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 12 - 31.3 - - - 3.0 - - - 3.9 10.1 26.3 .383 - - - 11.2 14.2 .788

Season 3

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1982-831950-51
Team Chicago BullsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayLakers Lost West Div Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 65 22.1 8.1 0.7 1.9 2.6 5.1 0.8 0.1 2.1 1.9 3.1 6.9 .453 0.0 0.1 .000 1.9 2.6 .725
George Mikan 68 - 28.4 - - 14.1 3.1 - - - 4.5 10.0 23.3 .428 - - - 8.5 10.5 .803
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 7 - 24.0 - - 10.6 1.3 - - - 3.6 8.9 21.7 .408 - - - 6.3 7.9 .800

Season 4

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1983-841951-52
Team Chicago BullsMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 43 16.0 5.4 0.5 0.6 1.1 3.9 0.7 0.1 1.7 1.4 1.8 4.4 .415 0.0 0.1 .200 1.7 2.0 .862
George Mikan 64 40.2 23.8 - - 13.5 3.0 - - - 4.5 8.5 22.1 .385 - - - 6.8 8.7 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 13 42.5 23.6 - - 15.9 2.8 - - - 4.8 7.6 20.1 .379 - - - 8.4 10.6 .790

Season 5

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1984-851952-53
Team Los Angeles LakersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 32 8.7 2.8 0.1 0.7 0.8 2.5 0.5 0.1 1.0 0.8 1.1 2.6 .415 0.0 0.0 .000 0.7 1.0 .677
George Mikan 70 37.9 20.6 - - 14.4 2.9 - - - 4.1 7.1 17.9 .399 - - - 6.3 8.1 .780
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 9 6.0 2.1 0.2 0.7 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.8 0.7 1.7 .400 0.0 0.0 - 0.8 1.0 .778
George Mikan 12 38.6 19.8 - - 15.4 1.9 - - - 4.7 6.5 17.8 .366 - - - 6.8 9.3 .732

Season 6

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season 1985-861953-54
Team Los Angeles LakersMinneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester 27 8.2 2.5 0.0 0.4 0.4 2.0 0.3 0.1 1.6 1.0 1.0 1.9 .500 0.0 0.1 .000 0.6 0.7 .789
George Mikan 72 32.8 18.1 - - 14.3 2.4 - - - 3.7 6.1 16.1 .380 - - - 5.9 7.6 .777
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 13 32.6 19.4 - - 13.2 1.9 - - - 4.3 6.7 14.6 .458 - - - 6.0 7.4 .813

Note: George Mikan didn't play in 1954-55.

Season 7

Ronnie Lester George Mikan
Season -1955-56
Team -Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Lakers Lost West Div Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 37 20.7 10.5 - - 8.3 1.4 - - - 4.1 4.0 10.1 .395 - - - 2.5 3.3 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Ronnie Lester ------- --- ----------
George Mikan 3 20.0 12.0 - - 9.3 1.7 - - - 4.7 4.3 11.7 .371 - - - 3.3 4.3 .769