Stephen Curry vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Stephen Curry, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Stephen Curry played 16 years in the NBA, 8 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Stephen Curry had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Stephen Curry	16	10	2009-10 to 2024-25
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11

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


Rookie Season
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2009-10	2002-03
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Stephen Curry	80	36.2	17.5	0.6	3.9	4.5	5.9	1.9	0.2	3.0	3.2	6.6	14.3	.462	2.1	4.8	.437	2.2	2.5	.885
difference:	+2	+7.2	+4.0	+1.8	+1.9	+3.7	+4.2	+1.5	+1.6	-0.9	-0.4	+1.7	+4.5	+.036	+2.1	+4.8		+1.5	+2.0	+.074
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 Stephen Curry nor Yao Ming played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2010-11	2003-04
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	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		%
Stephen Curry	74	33.6	18.6	0.7	3.2	3.9	5.8	1.5	0.3	3.1	3.1	6.8	14.2	.480	2.0	4.6	.442	2.9	3.1	.934
difference:	+8	+0.8	+1.1	+1.7	+3.4	+5.1	+4.3	+1.2	+1.6	-0.6	-0.2	+0.3	+1.7	+.042	+2.0	+4.6		+1.5	+2.3	+.125
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		%
Stephen Curry	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
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2011-12	2004-05
Team	Golden State Warriors	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		%
Stephen Curry	26	28.2	14.7	0.6	2.8	3.4	5.3	1.5	0.3	2.5	2.4	5.6	11.4	.490	2.1	4.7	.455	1.5	1.8	.809
difference:	+54	+2.4	+3.6	+2.0	+3.0	+5.0	+4.5	+1.1	+1.7		-1.3	+1.1	+0.8	+.062	+2.1	+4.7		+3.4	+4.4	+.026
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		%
Stephen Curry	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
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2012-13	2005-06
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors 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		%
Stephen Curry	78	38.2	22.9	0.8	3.3	4.0	6.9	1.6	0.2	3.1	2.5	8.0	17.8	.451	3.5	7.7	.453	3.4	3.7	.900
difference:	+21	+4.0	+0.6	+1.8	+4.3	+6.2	+5.4	+1.1	+1.4	-0.5	-0.9	+0.2	+2.0	+.068	+3.5	+7.7		+2.5	+3.2	+.047
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		%
Stephen Curry	12	41.4	23.4	0.4	3.4	3.8	8.1	1.7	0.2	3.3	2.9	8.5	19.6	.434	3.5	8.8	.396	2.9	3.2	.921
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2006-07
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Stephen Curry	78	36.5	24.0	0.6	3.7	4.3	8.5	1.6	0.2	3.8	2.5	8.4	17.7	.471	3.3	7.9	.424	3.9	4.5	.885
difference:	+30	+2.7	+1.0	+1.5	+3.6	+5.1	+6.5	+1.2	+1.8	-0.3	-0.8	+0.4	+0.6	+.045	+3.3	+7.9		+3.5	+4.1	+.023
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		%
Stephen Curry	7	42.3	23.0	0.6	3.0	3.6	8.4	1.7	0.1	3.7	2.6	7.3	16.6	.440	3.1	8.1	.386	5.3	6.0	.881
difference:		+5.2	+2.1	+2.7	+4.0	+6.7	+7.5	+1.6	+0.6	-1.0	-1.3	+0.6	+1.3		+3.1	+8.1		+4.1	+4.7	+.001
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
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2007-08
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Stephen Curry	80	32.7	23.8	0.7	3.6	4.3	7.7	2.0	0.2	3.1	2.0	8.2	16.8	.487	3.6	8.1	.443	3.9	4.2	.914
difference:	+25	+4.5	+1.8	+2.4	+4.1	+6.5	+5.4	+1.5	+1.8	-0.2	-1.1	+0.3	+1.3	+.020	+3.6	+8.1		+2.4	+3.2	+.064
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		%
Stephen Curry	21	39.3	28.3	1.0	4.0	5.0	6.4	1.9	0.1	3.9	2.2	9.5	20.9	.456	4.7	11.0	.422	4.6	5.5	.835
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2008-09
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	Steals Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Warriors Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Stephen Curry	79	34.2	30.1	0.9	4.6	5.4	6.7	2.1	0.2	3.3	2.0	10.2	20.2	.504	5.1	11.2	.454	4.6	5.1	.908
difference:	+2	+0.6	+10.4	+1.7	+2.6	+4.5	+4.9	+1.7	+1.7	-0.3	-1.3	+2.8	+6.8	+.044	+5.1	+11.2		+0.3	+0.6	+.042
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		%
Stephen Curry	18	34.1	25.1	0.8	4.7	5.5	5.2	1.4	0.3	4.2	2.2	8.2	18.8	.438	4.4	11.0	.404	4.2	4.6	.916
difference:	+9	+1.8	+8.0	+1.3	+4.1	+5.4	+4.2	+1.0	+0.9	-2.3	-0.8	+2.2	+7.8	+.107	+4.4	+11.0		+0.9	+1.1	+.014
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
	Stephen Curry	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2010-11
Team	Golden State Warriors	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Stephen Curry	79	33.4	25.3	0.8	3.7	4.5	6.6	1.8	0.2	3.0	2.3	8.5	18.3	.468	4.1	10.0	.411	4.1	4.6	.898
difference:	+74	+15.2	+15.1	+0.6	+0.3	+0.9	+5.8	+1.8	+1.4	-1.6	-0.3	+4.9	+10.9	+.018	+4.1	+10.0		+1.1	+1.4	+.040
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		%
Stephen Curry	17	35.4	28.1	1.3	4.9	6.2	6.7	2.0	0.2	3.4	2.2	8.9	18.4	.484	4.2	10.1	.419	6.1	6.7	.904
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Stephen Curry played 8 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 16, from 2018 to 2025—Stephen Curry played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 8 extra years over Yao Ming, Stephen Curry got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 3 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-NBA Third Team 1 Clutch Player of the Year 1 Scoring Leader 7 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP

Stephen Curry vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming and Stephen Curry, 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