Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 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.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played 7 years in the NBA, 1 less than Yao Ming, who played 8. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, 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
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2018-19	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
difference:		+2.5	+2.7	+1.7	+3.7	+5.4	+1.6	+0.8	+1.3	-0.4	-0.7	+0.7	+1.1	+.022	+0.6	+1.7		+1.8	+2.1	+.011
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2019-20	2003-04
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
difference:	+12	+1.9	+1.5	+1.7	+1.4	+3.1	+1.8	+0.8	+1.2	-0.6	-1.6	+0.3	+2.0	+.051	+1.2	+3.6		+0.3	+0.3	+.002
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		%
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
difference:	+2	+2.3	+1.3	+1.8	+0.3	+2.1	+2.3	+0.6	+1.0	-0.5	-1.6	+0.6	+0.7	+.023	+2.0	+5.0		+0.5	+0.1	+.192
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
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2020-21	2004-05
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	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		%
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
difference:	+45	+3.1	+5.4	+2.1	+1.6	+3.7	+5.1	+0.4	+1.3	-0.5	-1.7	+1.5	+3.9	+.044	+2.0	+4.9		+0.4	+0.3	+.025
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		%
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	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
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2021-22	2005-06
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
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
difference:	+1	+0.5	+2.2	+1.9	+3.3	+5.2	+4.4	+0.8	+0.8	-0.2	-0.9	+0.3	+3.0	+.066	+1.6	+5.3			+0.3	+.043
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
* Neiher Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2022-23	2006-07
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
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
difference:	+20	+1.7	+6.4	+1.2	+3.3	+4.6	+3.5	+1.2	+1.0	-0.7	-0.5	+1.6	+3.2	+.006	+0.9	+2.5		+2.4	+2.3	+.043
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		%
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2023-24	2007-08
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
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
difference:	+20	+3.2	+8.1	+2.2	+3.0	+5.3	+3.9	+1.5	+1.1	-1.1	-0.6	+2.7	+4.3	+.028	+1.3	+3.6		+1.3	+1.3	+.024
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		%
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	Yao Ming
Season	2024-25	2008-09
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Cup All-Tournament Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
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
difference:	+1	+0.6	+13.0	+1.7	+3.1	+4.9	+4.6	+1.3	+0.9	-0.6	-1.1	+3.9	+8.4	+.029	+2.1	+5.7		+3.0	+3.1	+.032
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		%
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
difference:	+14	+1.1	+12.8	+1.1	+4.5	+5.6	+5.5	+1.3	+0.3	-0.7	-0.2	+4.1	+10.9	+.083	+1.4	+4.9		+3.2	+3.7	+.026
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

Additional Years
* Yao Ming played 1 season more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA. In that period—his season 8 in 2011—Yao Ming didn't play in the postseason. In that extra year over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Yao Ming got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game