Rudy Gobert vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Rudy Gobert, 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.

Rudy Gobert played 12 years in the NBA, 4 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Rudy Gobert had the first of his seasons in 2013-14, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2002-03
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	45	9.6	2.3	1.1	2.3	3.4	0.2	0.2	0.9	0.7	1.3	0.8	1.6	.486	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.4	.492
difference:	+37	+19.4	+11.2	+1.3	+3.5	+4.8	+1.5	+0.2	+0.9	-1.4	-1.5	+4.1	+8.2	+.012				+3.0	+3.1	+.319
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Rudy Gobert nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2003-04
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	82	26.3	8.4	3.2	6.2	9.5	1.3	0.8	2.3	1.4	2.1	3.1	5.2	.604	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.3	.623
difference:		+6.5	+9.1	+0.8	+0.4	+0.5	+0.2	+0.5	+0.4	-1.1	-1.2	+3.4	+7.3	+.082				+2.3	+2.1	+.186
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2004-05
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	61	31.7	9.1	3.4	7.5	11.0	1.5	0.7	2.2	1.9	2.7	3.2	5.8	.559	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	4.6	.569
difference:	+19	+1.1	+9.2	+0.8	+1.7	+2.6	+0.7	+0.3	+0.2	-0.6	-1.0	+3.5	+6.4	+.007				+2.3	+1.6	+.214
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2005-06
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Blocks Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	81	33.9	14.0	3.9	8.9	12.8	1.2	0.6	2.6	1.8	3.0	5.1	7.7	.661	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	5.9	.653
difference:	+24	+0.3	+8.3	+1.3	+1.3	+2.6	+0.3	+0.1	+1.0	-0.8	-0.4	+3.1	+8.1	+.142				+2.1	+1.0	+.200
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	9	27.3	11.6	2.4	7.4	9.9	1.2	1.0	1.3	1.0	3.3	4.4	7.0	.635	0.0	0.0	-	2.7	5.6	.480
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2017-18	2006-07
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	56	32.4	13.5	2.9	7.8	10.7	1.4	0.8	2.3	1.9	2.7	4.9	7.9	.622	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	5.3	.682
difference:	+8	+1.4	+11.5	+0.8	+0.5	+1.3	+0.6	+0.4	+0.3	-1.6	-0.6	+3.9	+9.2	+.106				+3.8	+3.3	+.180
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	11	34.8	13.2	3.9	6.8	10.7	1.0	0.9	2.3	1.9	3.1	5.0	7.6	.655	0.0	0.0	-	3.2	5.3	.603
difference:	+4	+2.3	+11.9	+0.6	+0.2	+0.4	+0.1	+0.8	+1.6	-2.8	-0.8	+2.9	+10.3	+.215				+6.2	+5.4	+.277
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2018-19	2007-08
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	81	31.8	15.9	3.8	9.0	12.9	2.0	0.8	2.3	1.6	2.9	5.9	8.8	.669	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.4	.636
difference:	+26	+5.4	+6.1	+0.7	+1.3	+2.1	+0.3	+0.3	+0.3	-1.7	-0.2	+2.0	+6.7	+.162				+2.2	+1.0	+.214
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	5	30.4	11.2	4.6	5.6	10.2	1.4	0.6	2.6	1.8	3.2	3.8	6.4	.594	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	4.6	.783
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2019-20	2008-09
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	68	34.3	15.1	3.4	10.1	13.5	1.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	3.2	5.7	8.2	.693	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.9	.630
difference:	+9	+0.7	+4.6	+0.8	+2.9	+3.6	+0.3	+0.4	+0.1	-1.1	-0.1	+1.7	+5.2	+.145				+1.2	+0.2	+.236
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	7	38.6	16.9	3.4	8.0	11.4	1.1	0.6	1.4	1.3	3.7	6.9	10.6	.649	0.0	0.0	-	3.1	6.0	.524
difference:	+2	+2.7	+0.2	+1.3	+0.8	+0.5	+0.1	+0.2	+0.2	-0.6	-0.7	+0.9	+0.4	+.104				+2.0	+0.3	+.378
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	Rudy Gobert	Yao Ming
Season	2020-21	2010-11
Team	Utah Jazz	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	71	30.8	14.3	3.4	10.1	13.5	1.3	0.6	2.7	1.7	2.3	5.5	8.2	.675	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.3	.623
difference:	+66	+12.6	+4.1	+2.0	+6.1	+8.1	+0.5	+0.6	+1.1	-0.3	-0.3	+1.9	+0.8	+.189		+0.1		+0.3	+2.1	+.315
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rudy Gobert	11	34.2	14.7	3.9	8.4	12.3	0.8	0.5	2.1	1.5	4.2	5.5	7.4	.741	0.0	0.1	.000	3.8	6.0	.636
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Rudy Gobert played 4 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 12, from 2022 to 2025—Rudy Gobert played in 4 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Yao Ming, Rudy Gobert got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year 1 Rebounds Leader 1 All-Star Game