Sam Cassell vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Sam Cassell, 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 / Stats Rankings

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.

Sam Cassell played 15 years in the NBA, 7 more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played 8. Sam Cassell had the first of his seasons in 1993-94, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his rookie season in 2018-19. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Sam Cassell	15	11	1993-94 to 2007-08
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	8	4	2018-19 to 2025-26

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


Rookie Season
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1993-94	2018-19
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Sam Cassell	66	17.0	6.7	0.4	1.7	2.0	2.9	0.9	0.1	1.4	2.1	2.5	5.9	.418	0.4	1.3	.295	1.4	1.6	.841
difference:	+16	+9.5	+4.1	+0.3	+0.4	+0.8	+0.4	+0.3	+0.4	-0.3		+1.7	+2.8	+.058	+0.2	+0.4	+.072	+0.5	+0.8	+.041
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	82	26.5	10.8	0.7	2.1	2.8	3.3	1.2	0.5	1.7	2.1	4.2	8.7	.476	0.6	1.7	.367	1.9	2.4	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	22	21.7	9.4	0.9	1.8	2.7	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.1	2.8	2.9	7.3	.394	0.8	2.0	.378	2.9	3.4	.865
difference:	+16	+7.1	+4.3	+0.2	+0.2		+1.0		+0.6	-1.3		+1.8	+2.7	+.073	+0.7	+1.0	+.122	+0.1	+0.1	+.015
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	6	28.8	13.7	0.7	2.0	2.7	3.2	1.0	0.8	0.8	2.8	4.7	10.0	.467	1.5	3.0	.500	2.8	3.3	.850


Season 2
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1994-95	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Thunder 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		%
Sam Cassell	82	23.0	9.5	0.5	2.1	2.6	4.9	1.1	0.2	2.0	2.5	3.1	7.2	.427	0.8	2.3	.330	2.6	3.1	.843
difference:	+12	+11.7	+9.5	+0.2	+3.1	+3.3	+1.6		+0.5	-0.1	-0.8	+3.7	+7.3	+.044	+0.4	+1.3	+.017	+1.5	+2.0	+.036
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	70	34.7	19.0	0.7	5.2	5.9	3.3	1.1	0.7	1.9	1.7	6.8	14.5	.471	1.2	3.6	.347	4.1	5.1	.807

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	22	22.0	11.0	0.4	1.5	1.9	4.0	1.0	0.1	1.5	3.0	3.4	7.7	.438	1.1	2.7	.400	3.2	3.9	.835
difference:	+15	+17.9	+5.3		+3.4	+3.4	+0.1		+0.3	-0.6	-0.6	+2.2	+5.2	+.005	+0.9	+2.3		+0.1	+0.6	+.122
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	7	39.9	16.3	0.4	4.9	5.3	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.1	2.4	5.6	12.9	.433	2.0	5.0	.400	3.1	3.3	.957


Season 3
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1995-96	2020-21
Team	Houston Rockets	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Sam Cassell	61	27.6	14.5	0.8	2.2	3.1	4.6	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.7	4.7	10.8	.439	1.2	3.4	.348	3.9	4.7	.825
difference:	+26	+6.1	+9.2	+0.3	+2.0	+1.6	+1.3	+0.1	+0.6	-0.4	-0.7	+3.5	+5.3	+.069	+0.8	+1.5	+.070	+1.4	+1.8	+.017
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	35	33.7	23.7	0.5	4.2	4.7	5.9	0.8	0.7	3.0	2.0	8.2	16.1	.508	2.0	4.9	.418	5.3	6.5	.808

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	8	25.8	10.4	0.1	2.0	2.1	4.3	0.8	0.1	2.3	2.5	3.3	10.1	.321	1.0	3.6	.276	2.9	3.6	.793
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1996-97	2021-22
Team	Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Sam Cassell	61	28.1	15.9	0.8	2.2	3.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	2.8	3.3	5.5	12.8	.430	1.3	3.8	.351	3.5	4.1	.845
difference:	+5	+6.6	+8.6	+0.1	+2.1	+2.0	+0.9		+0.5		-0.8	+3.0	+6.0	+.023	+0.3	+1.5	+.051	+2.4	+3.1	+.035
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	56	34.7	24.5	0.7	4.3	5.0	5.9	1.3	0.8	2.8	2.5	8.5	18.8	.453	1.6	5.3	.300	5.9	7.2	.810

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Sam Cassell nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 4


Season 5
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1997-98	2022-23
Team	New Jersey Nets	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Sam Cassell	75	34.7	19.6	1.0	2.1	3.0	8.0	1.6	0.3	3.6	3.5	6.8	15.4	.441	0.2	1.1	.188	5.8	6.8	.860
difference:	+7	+0.8	+11.8	+0.1	+1.9	+1.8	+2.5		+0.7	-0.8	-0.7	+3.6	+4.9	+.069	+0.7	+1.4	+.157	+4.0	+4.1	+.045
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	68	35.5	31.4	0.9	4.0	4.8	5.5	1.6	1.0	2.8	2.8	10.4	20.3	.510	0.9	2.5	.345	9.8	10.9	.905

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	3	9.0	2.0	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.7	2.3	1.0	3.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1998-99	2023-24
Team	New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Sam Cassell	8	24.9	15.9	0.6	1.3	1.9	4.5	1.1	0.0	2.5	2.8	4.9	11.6	.419	0.3	1.3	.200	5.9	6.3	.940
difference:	+67	+9.1	+14.2	+0.3	+3.4	+3.6	+1.7	+0.9	+0.9	-0.3	-0.3	+5.7	+8.2	+.116	+1.0	+2.3	+.153	+1.7	+2.4	+.066
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	75	34.0	30.1	0.9	4.7	5.5	6.2	2.0	0.9	2.2	2.5	10.6	19.8	.535	1.3	3.6	.353	7.6	8.7	.874

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	3	34.3	15.3	0.0	2.0	2.0	8.7	1.0	0.0	2.3	4.7	5.3	10.7	.500	0.0	0.3	.000	4.7	5.3	.875
difference:	+7	+5.6	+14.9	+0.8	+4.4	+5.2	+2.3	+0.3	+1.7	-0.1	-1.6	+5.8	+11.7	+.004	+1.6	+3.4	+.432	+1.7	+2.8	+.085
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	10	39.9	30.2	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.4	1.3	1.7	2.2	3.1	11.1	22.4	.496	1.6	3.7	.432	6.4	8.1	.790


Season 7
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	1999-00	2024-25
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Cup All-Tournament Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Sam Cassell	81	35.8	18.6	0.9	2.9	3.7	9.0	1.3	0.1	3.3	3.1	6.7	14.4	.466	0.3	1.1	.289	4.8	5.5	.876
difference:	+5	+1.6	+14.1		+1.2	+1.3	+2.6	+0.4	+0.9	-0.9	-0.9	+4.6	+7.4	+.053	+1.8	+4.6	+.086	+3.1	+3.3	+.022
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	76	34.2	32.7	0.9	4.1	5.0	6.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.2	11.3	21.8	.519	2.1	5.7	.375	7.9	8.8	.898

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	5	35.6	15.8	0.0	3.4	3.4	9.0	0.8	0.0	1.8	3.8	6.0	14.4	.417	0.2	1.0	.200	3.6	4.2	.857
difference:	+18	+1.4	+14.1	+1.0	+0.9	+1.9	+2.5	+0.9	+0.9	-0.8	-1.0	+4.1	+7.5	+.045	+1.2	+3.9	+.083	+4.7	+5.2	+.019
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	23	37.0	29.9	1.0	4.3	5.3	6.5	1.7	0.9	2.6	2.8	10.1	21.9	.462	1.4	4.9	.283	8.3	9.4	.876


Season 8
	Sam Cassell	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2000-01	2025-26
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Sam Cassell	76	35.6	18.2	0.6	3.2	3.8	7.6	1.2	0.1	2.9	2.8	7.1	14.9	.474	0.4	1.3	.306	3.6	4.3	.858
difference:	+62	+2.0	+14.4	+0.2	+1.5	+1.3	+1.0	+0.2	+0.8	-1.3	-1.0	+4.0	+6.1	+.057	+1.8	+4.6	+.067	+4.5	+4.7	+.039
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	14	33.6	32.6	0.4	4.7	5.1	6.6	1.4	0.9	1.6	1.8	11.1	21.0	.531	2.2	5.9	.373	8.1	9.0	.897

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Sam Cassell	18	37.9	17.4	0.7	3.9	4.6	6.7	1.1	0.2	2.9	4.2	6.1	15.4	.396	0.6	1.7	.333	4.7	5.4	.866
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Sam Cassell played 7 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 15, from 2002 to 2008—Sam Cassell played in 4 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 7 extra years over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Sam Cassell got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Star Game

Sam Cassell vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Sam Cassell, 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

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years