Spencer Haywood vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy and Spencer Haywood, 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.

Spencer Haywood and James Worthy both played 12 years in the NBA. Spencer Haywood had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. 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
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1970-71	1982-83
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
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		%
Spencer Haywood	33	35.2	20.6	-	-	12.0	1.5	-	-	-	2.5	7.9	17.5	.449	-	-	-	4.8	6.6	.734
difference:	+44	+9.6	+7.2			+6.8	+0.2				-0.4	+2.1	+7.5	+.130				+3.0	+3.7	+.110
James Worthy	77	25.6	13.4	2.0	3.1	5.2	1.7	1.2	0.8	2.3	2.9	5.8	10.0	.579	0.0	0.1	.250	1.8	2.9	.624
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Spencer Haywood nor James Worthy played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1971-72	1983-84
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	73	43.4	26.2	-	-	12.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.8	9.8	21.3	.461	-	-	-	6.6	8.0	.819
difference:	+9	+13.9	+11.7			+6.4	+0.5				-0.2	+3.8	+10.4	+.095				+4.2	+4.9	+.060
James Worthy	82	29.5	14.5	1.9	4.4	6.3	2.5	0.9	0.9	2.2	3.0	6.0	10.9	.556	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.759
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	21	33.7	17.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	2.7	1.3	0.5	1.9	2.7	7.8	13.0	.599	0.0	0.1	.500	2.0	3.3	.609

Season 3
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1972-73	1984-85
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	77	42.3	29.2	-	-	12.9	2.5	-	-	-	2.8	11.5	24.3	.476	-	-	-	6.1	7.3	.839
difference:	+3	+8.6	+11.6			+6.5					-0.3	+3.9	+11.0	+.096				+3.7	+4.2	+.063
James Worthy	80	33.7	17.6	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.5	1.1	0.8	2.5	2.5	7.6	13.3	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	19	32.9	21.5	1.8	3.2	5.1	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	2.8	8.7	14.1	.622	0.1	0.1	.500	3.9	5.8	.676

Season 4
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1973-74	1985-86
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	75	40.5	23.5	4.2	9.2	13.4	3.2	0.9	1.4	-	2.6	9.3	20.3	.457	-	-	-	5.0	6.1	.814
difference:		+7.8	+3.5	+2.4	+5.9	+8.2	+0.5	+0.2	+0.4			+0.9	+5.8	+.122				+1.8	+1.9	+.043
James Worthy	75	32.7	20.0	1.8	3.3	5.2	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.0	2.6	8.4	14.5	.579	0.0	0.2	.000	3.2	4.2	.771
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	14	38.5	19.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	3.2	1.1	0.7	2.6	3.1	8.6	15.5	.558	0.0	0.3	.000	2.3	3.4	.681

Season 5
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1974-75	1986-87
Team	Seattle Supersonics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	68	37.2	22.4	2.9	6.4	9.3	2.0	0.8	1.6	-	2.5	8.9	19.5	.459	-	-	-	4.5	5.6	.811
difference:	+14	+2.8	+3.0	+1.0	+2.6	+3.6	+0.8	+0.5	+0.6			+1.0	+4.8	+.080				+0.9	+0.9	+.060
James Worthy	82	34.4	19.4	1.9	3.8	5.7	2.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	2.5	7.9	14.7	.539	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.7	.751
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	9	37.4	15.7	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.0	0.8	1.2	-	3.2	5.2	14.6	.359	-	-	-	5.2	6.8	.770
difference:	+9	+0.4	+7.9	+0.5	+2.9	+3.4	+1.5	+0.8			-0.9	+4.6	+2.0	+.232				+1.1	+1.4	+.017
James Worthy	18	37.8	23.6	1.7	3.9	5.6	3.5	1.6	1.2	2.2	2.3	9.8	16.6	.591	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.4	.753

Season 6
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1975-76	1987-88
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	78	37.1	19.9	3.0	8.3	11.3	1.2	0.7	1.0	-	3.3	7.8	17.4	.445	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.757
difference:	+3	+1.7	+0.2	+1.3	+5.0	+6.3	+2.7	+0.3	+0.3		-1.0	+0.4	+1.9	+.086				+1.1	+1.6	+.039
James Worthy	75	35.4	19.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	2.1	2.3	8.2	15.5	.531	0.0	0.2	.125	3.2	4.1	.796
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	24	37.3	21.1	2.2	3.6	5.8	4.4	1.4	0.8	2.3	2.4	8.5	16.3	.523	0.0	0.4	.111	4.0	5.3	.758

Season 7
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1976-77	1988-89
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	31	32.9	16.5	2.5	6.5	9.0	1.6	0.5	0.9	-	2.3	6.5	14.5	.450	-	-	-	3.5	4.2	.832
difference:	+50	+3.6	+4.0	+0.4	+2.5	+3.0	+2.0	+0.8	+0.2		-0.1	+2.2	+1.3	+.098				+0.4	+0.2	+.050
James Worthy	81	36.5	20.5	2.1	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.3	0.7	2.2	2.2	8.7	15.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.087	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	15	40.0	24.8	2.5	4.3	6.7	2.8	1.2	1.1	2.2	2.4	10.2	18.0	.567	0.2	0.5	.375	4.2	5.3	.788

Season 8
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1977-78	1989-90
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Spencer Haywood	67	26.3	13.7	2.1	4.5	6.6	1.9	0.6	1.1	2.1	2.8	6.1	12.7	.484	-	-	-	1.4	2.0	.711
difference:	+13	+10.7	+7.4	+0.1	+0.5	+0.6	+1.7	+0.6	+0.5	-0.1	-0.4	+2.8	+3.5	+.064				+1.7	+2.0	+.071
James Worthy	80	37.0	21.1	2.0	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.2	0.6	2.0	2.4	8.9	16.2	.548	0.2	0.6	.306	3.1	4.0	.782
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	6	29.5	16.2	3.2	3.8	7.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	1.7	4.0	7.2	14.2	.506	-	-	-	1.8	1.8	1.000
difference:	+3	+11.2	+8.0	+2.0	+0.5	+1.4	+1.0	+1.3	+0.5	-0.7	-2.0	+2.8	+5.9	+.009				+2.2	+3.0	+.163
James Worthy	9	40.7	24.2	1.2	4.3	5.6	3.0	1.6	0.3	2.4	2.0	10.0	20.1	.497	0.2	0.9	.250	4.0	4.8	.837

Season 9
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1978-79	1990-91
Team	New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	68	34.7	20.9	2.5	5.3	7.8	1.9	0.6	1.2	2.9	3.5	8.8	17.7	.494	-	-	-	3.4	4.3	.791
difference:	+10	+3.9	+0.5	+1.1	+2.1	+3.2	+1.6	+0.7	+0.8	-1.3	-2.0	+0.4	+1.0	+.002				+0.7	+0.9	+.006
James Worthy	78	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.2	4.6	3.5	1.3	0.4	1.6	1.5	9.2	18.7	.492	0.3	1.2	.289	2.7	3.4	.797
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Worthy	18	40.7	21.1	1.4	2.7	4.1	3.9	1.1	0.1	2.2	1.9	8.9	19.2	.465	0.2	1.3	.167	2.9	4.0	.736

Season 10
	Spencer Haywood	James Worthy
Season	1979-80	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	76	20.3	9.7	1.7	2.8	4.6	1.2	0.5	0.8	1.8	2.6	3.8	7.8	.487	0.0	0.1	.250	2.1	2.7	.772
difference:	+22	+18.7	+10.2	+0.1	+1.0	+1.0	+3.5	+0.9	+0.4	-0.6	-1.0	+4.5	+10.8	+.040	+0.2	+0.7	+.041	+1.0	+1.1	+.042
James Worthy	54	39.0	19.9	1.8	3.8	5.6	4.7	1.4	0.4	2.4	1.6	8.3	18.6	.447	0.2	0.8	.209	3.1	3.8	.814
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Spencer Haywood	11	13.2	5.7	1.3	1.1	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.5	1.8	1.5	2.3	4.8	.472	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.5	.813
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Spencer Haywood didn't play in 1980-81.