Sam Jones vs. David Robinson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Robinson and Sam Jones, 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.

Sam Jones played 12 years in the NBA, 2 less than David Robinson, who played 14. Sam Jones had the first of his seasons in 1957-58, while David Robinson had his rookie season in 1989-90. 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 Jones 12 12 1957-58 to 1968-69
David Robinson 14 12 1989-90 to 2002-03

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Rookie Season

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1957-581989-90
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement Rookie of the Year
-Achievement All-Rookie First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsSpurs Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 56 10.6 4.6 - - 2.9 0.7 - - - 0.8 1.8 4.2 .429 - - - 1.1 1.5 .714
difference:+26+26.0+19.7+9.1+1.3-2.4+6.6+11.7+.102+6.4+8.7+.018
David Robinson 82 36.6 24.3 3.7 8.3 12.0 2.0 1.7 3.9 3.1 3.2 8.4 15.9 .531 0.0 0.0 - 7.5 10.2 .732
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 8 9.4 3.9 - - 3.0 0.5 - - - 0.9 1.3 2.8 .455 - - - 1.4 2.0 .688
difference:+2+28.1+20.4+9.0+1.8-2.6+7.6+13.9+.078+5.1+7.6+.011
David Robinson 10 37.5 24.3 3.6 8.4 12.0 2.3 1.1 4.0 2.4 3.5 8.9 16.7 .533 0.0 0.0 - 6.5 9.6 .677

Season 2

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1958-591990-91
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Rebounds Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 71 20.6 10.7 - - 6.0 1.4 - - - 1.4 4.3 9.9 .434 - - - 2.1 2.8 .770
difference:+11+17.1+14.9+7.0+1.1-1.8+4.9+6.8+.118+5.1+6.7+.008
David Robinson 82 37.7 25.6 4.1 8.9 13.0 2.5 1.5 3.9 3.3 3.2 9.2 16.7 .552 0.0 0.1 .143 7.2 9.5 .762
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 11 17.5 10.3 - - 5.7 1.5 - - - 1.3 3.6 9.8 .370 - - - 3.0 3.5 .846
difference:+7+24.0+15.5+7.8+0.5-1.5+5.2+3.0+.316+5.3+6.0+.022
David Robinson 4 41.5 25.8 2.8 10.8 13.5 2.0 1.5 3.8 3.8 2.8 8.8 12.8 .686 0.0 0.3 .000 8.3 9.5 .868

Season 3

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1959-601991-92
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
-Achievement Blocks Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 74 20.4 11.9 - - 5.1 1.7 - - - 1.4 4.8 10.6 .454 - - - 2.3 3.0 .764
difference:+6+17.3+11.3+7.1+1.0-1.8+3.9+5.2+.097+3.5+5.3+.063
David Robinson 68 37.7 23.2 3.8 8.4 12.2 2.7 2.3 4.5 2.7 3.2 8.7 15.8 .551 0.0 0.1 .125 5.8 8.3 .701
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 13 15.2 8.2 - - 3.2 1.4 - - - 1.2 3.5 9.0 .385 - - - 1.3 1.6 .810
David Robinson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1960-611992-93
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 78 26.0 15.0 - - 5.4 2.8 - - - 1.9 6.2 13.7 .449 - - - 2.7 3.4 .787
difference:+4+13.2+8.4+6.3+0.9-1.0+2.0+2.7+.052+4.1+5.9+.055
David Robinson 82 39.2 23.4 2.8 8.9 11.7 3.7 1.5 3.2 2.9 2.9 8.2 16.4 .501 0.0 0.2 .176 6.8 9.3 .732
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 10 25.8 13.1 - - 5.4 2.2 - - - 2.2 5.0 11.2 .446 - - - 3.1 3.5 .886
difference:+16.3+10.0+7.2+1.8-1.7+2.9+5.8+.019+4.2+7.5+.222
David Robinson 10 42.1 23.1 2.9 9.7 12.6 4.0 1.0 3.6 2.5 3.9 7.9 17.0 .465 0.0 0.1 .000 7.3 11.0 .664

Season 5

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1961-621993-94
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 78 30.6 18.4 - - 5.9 3.0 - - - 1.9 7.6 16.5 .464 - - - 3.1 3.8 .818
difference:+2+9.9+11.4+4.8+1.8-1.0+2.9+4.2+.043+5.6+7.8+.069
David Robinson 80 40.5 29.8 3.0 7.7 10.7 4.8 1.7 3.3 3.2 2.9 10.5 20.7 .507 0.1 0.4 .345 8.7 11.6 .749
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 14 36.0 20.6 - - 7.1 3.1 - - - 2.1 8.8 19.8 .444 - - - 3.0 4.3 .700
difference:+10+0.5+0.6+2.9+0.4-1.4+1.3+1.5+.033+2.0+2.5+.041
David Robinson 4 36.5 20.0 3.3 6.8 10.0 3.5 0.8 2.5 2.3 3.5 7.5 18.3 .411 0.0 0.3 .000 5.0 6.8 .741

Season 6

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1962-631994-95
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement Season MVP
-Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 76 30.6 19.7 - - 5.2 3.2 - - - 2.1 8.2 17.2 .476 - - - 3.4 4.3 .793
difference:+5+7.4+7.9+5.6+0.3-0.7+1.5+1.2+.054+4.7+6.2+.019
David Robinson 81 38.0 27.6 2.9 7.9 10.8 2.9 1.7 3.2 2.9 2.8 9.7 18.4 .530 0.1 0.2 .300 8.1 10.5 .774
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 13 34.6 23.8 - - 6.2 2.5 - - - 3.2 9.2 19.1 .484 - - - 5.3 6.4 .831
difference:+2+6.9+1.5+5.9+0.6-1.0+0.6+0.2+.038+2.8+3.5+.019
David Robinson 15 41.5 25.3 3.8 8.3 12.1 3.1 1.5 2.6 3.7 4.2 8.6 19.3 .446 0.1 0.3 .200 8.1 9.9 .812

Season 7

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1963-641995-96
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 76 31.3 19.4 - - 4.6 2.7 - - - 2.5 8.1 17.9 .450 - - - 3.3 4.2 .783
difference:+6+5.5+5.6+7.6+0.3-0.7+0.6+1.1+.066+4.3+5.8+.022
David Robinson 82 36.8 25.0 3.9 8.3 12.2 3.0 1.4 3.3 2.3 3.2 8.7 16.8 .516 0.0 0.1 .333 7.6 10.0 .761
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 10 35.6 23.2 - - 4.7 2.3 - - - 2.4 9.1 18.0 .506 - - - 5.0 6.8 .735
difference:+0.3+0.4+5.4+0.1-1.4+0.8+1.9+.010+2.0+3.7+.068
David Robinson 10 35.3 23.6 3.7 6.4 10.1 2.4 1.5 2.5 2.4 3.8 8.3 16.1 .516 0.0 0.0 - 7.0 10.5 .667

Season 8

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1964-651996-97
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 80 36.1 25.9 - - 5.1 2.8 - - - 2.2 10.3 22.7 .452 - - - 5.4 6.5 .820
difference:+74+11.6+8.2+3.4+1.5-0.7+4.3+10.7+.048+0.3+2.2+.166
David Robinson 6 24.5 17.7 3.2 5.3 8.5 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.3 1.5 6.0 12.0 .500 0.0 0.0 - 5.7 8.7 .654
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 12 41.3 28.6 - - 4.6 2.5 - - - 3.3 11.3 24.5 .459 - - - 6.1 7.0 .869
David Robinson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 9

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1965-661997-98
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second TeamAchievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 67 32.2 23.5 - - 5.2 3.2 - - - 2.5 9.3 19.9 .469 - - - 4.9 6.1 .799
difference:+6+1.5+1.9+5.4+0.5-0.3+1.8+5.3+.042+1.7+2.9+.064
David Robinson 73 33.7 21.6 3.3 7.3 10.6 2.7 0.9 2.6 2.8 2.8 7.5 14.6 .511 0.0 0.1 .250 6.6 9.0 .735
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 17 35.4 24.8 - - 5.1 3.1 - - - 3.8 9.1 20.2 .449 - - - 6.7 8.0 .838
difference:+8+3.8+5.4+9.0+0.5-0.7+2.8+5.3+.024+0.1+2.7+.203
David Robinson 9 39.2 19.4 4.6 9.6 14.1 2.6 1.2 3.3 2.8 3.1 6.3 14.9 .425 0.0 0.0 - 6.8 10.7 .635

Season 10

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1966-671998-99
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 72 32.3 22.1 - - 4.7 3.0 - - - 2.7 8.9 19.5 .454 - - - 4.4 5.2 .857
difference:+23+0.6+6.3+5.3+0.9-0.2+3.4+8.7+.055+0.5+2.2+.199
David Robinson 49 31.7 15.8 3.0 7.0 10.0 2.1 1.4 2.4 2.2 2.9 5.5 10.8 .509 0.0 0.0 - 4.9 7.4 .658
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 9 36.2 26.7 - - 5.1 3.1 - - - 3.3 10.6 23.0 .459 - - - 5.6 6.4 .862
difference:+8+0.8+11.1+4.8+0.6-0.3+5.5+12.4+.024+0.2+1.0+.140
David Robinson 17 35.4 15.6 2.1 7.8 9.9 2.5 1.6 2.4 2.4 3.6 5.1 10.6 .483 0.0 0.0 - 5.4 7.4 .722

Season 11

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1967-681999-00
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 73 33.0 21.3 - - 4.9 3.0 - - - 2.5 8.5 18.5 .461 - - - 4.3 5.2 .827
difference:+7+1.0+3.5+4.7+1.2-0.6+1.9+5.6+.051+0.3+1.2+.101
David Robinson 80 32.0 17.8 2.4 7.2 9.6 1.8 1.2 2.3 2.1 3.1 6.6 12.9 .512 0.0 0.0 - 4.6 6.4 .726
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 19 36.1 20.5 - - 3.4 2.6 - - - 3.1 8.5 19.3 .441 - - - 3.5 4.4 .786
difference:+15+2.7+3.0+10.4+0.1-0.7+0.7+1.5+.068+4.5+6.1+.024
David Robinson 4 38.8 23.5 4.3 9.5 13.8 2.5 1.8 3.0 2.0 3.8 7.8 20.8 .373 0.0 0.3 .000 8.0 10.5 .762

Season 12

Sam Jones David Robinson
Season 1968-692000-01
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSpurs Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 70 26.0 16.3 - - 3.8 2.6 - - - 1.7 7.1 15.8 .450 - - - 2.1 2.7 .783
difference:+10+3.6+1.9+4.8+1.1-1.0+2.1+5.5+.036+2.3+3.2+.036
David Robinson 80 29.6 14.4 2.6 6.0 8.6 1.5 1.0 2.5 1.5 2.7 5.0 10.3 .486 0.0 0.0 - 4.4 5.9 .747
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Sam Jones 18 28.6 16.8 - - 3.2 2.1 - - - 2.5 6.9 16.4 .419 - - - 3.1 3.8 .797
difference:+5+2.8+0.2+8.6+0.4-0.7+1.1+4.2+.053+2.0+3.5+.102
David Robinson 13 31.4 16.6 3.0 8.8 11.8 1.7 1.3 2.4 2.2 3.2 5.8 12.2 .472 0.0 0.1 .000 5.1 7.3 .695

Additional Years

* David Robinson played 2 seasons more than Sam Jones in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 14, from 2002 to 2003—David Robinson played in two Playoffs and won one NBA Championship.