Steve Francis vs. Chris Paul Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Chris Paul and Steve Francis, 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 / 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.

Steve Francis played 9 years in the NBA, 11 less than Chris Paul, who played 20. Steve Francis had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, while Chris Paul had his rookie season in 2005-06. 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
Steve Francis	9	1	1999-00 to 2007-08
Chris Paul	20	15	2005-06 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	1999-00	2005-06
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	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		%
Steve Francis	77	36.1	18.0	2.0	3.3	5.3	6.6	1.5	0.4	4.0	3.0	6.5	14.5	.445	1.4	4.0	.345	3.7	4.7	.786
difference:	+1	+0.1	+1.9	+1.2	+1.0	+0.2	+1.2	+0.7	+0.3	-1.7	-0.2	+1.3	+2.4	+.015	+0.8	+1.7	+.063	+1.4	+1.3	+.061
Chris Paul	78	36.0	16.1	0.8	4.3	5.1	7.8	2.2	0.1	2.3	2.8	5.2	12.1	.430	0.6	2.3	.282	5.1	6.0	.847

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Steve Francis nor Chris Paul played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2000-01	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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		%
Steve Francis	80	39.9	19.9	2.4	4.5	6.9	6.5	1.8	0.4	3.3	3.4	6.9	15.2	.451	1.7	4.2	.396	4.5	5.5	.817
difference:	+16	+3.1	+2.6	+1.6	+1.0	+2.5	+2.4		+0.4	-0.8	-1.0	+0.9	+1.6	+.014	+0.9	+2.0	+.046	+0.1	+0.1	+.001
Chris Paul	64	36.8	17.3	0.8	3.5	4.4	8.9	1.8	0.0	2.5	2.4	6.0	13.6	.437	0.8	2.2	.350	4.6	5.6	.818

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Steve Francis nor Chris Paul played in the postseason in their season 2


Season 3
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2001-02	2007-08
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hornets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Steve Francis	57	41.1	21.6	1.8	5.2	7.0	6.4	1.2	0.4	3.9	3.0	7.4	17.7	.417	1.2	3.7	.324	5.7	7.4	.773
difference:	+23	+3.5	+0.5	+1.0	+2.0	+3.0	+5.2	+1.5	+0.3	-1.4	-0.7	+0.5	+1.6	+.071		+0.6	+.045	+1.5	+2.5	+.078
Chris Paul	80	37.6	21.1	0.8	3.2	4.0	11.6	2.7	0.1	2.5	2.3	7.9	16.1	.488	1.2	3.1	.369	4.2	4.9	.851

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	12	40.5	24.1	1.3	3.6	4.9	11.3	2.3	0.2	1.8	3.6	9.3	18.4	.502	0.4	1.8	.238	5.2	6.6	.785


Season 4
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2002-03	2008-09
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hornets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steve Francis	81	41.0	21.0	2.0	4.2	6.2	6.2	1.7	0.5	3.7	3.1	7.0	16.2	.435	1.0	3.0	.354	5.9	7.3	.800
difference:	+3	+2.5	+1.8	+1.1	+0.5	+0.7	+4.8	+1.1	+0.4	-0.7	-0.4	+1.1	+0.1	+.068	+0.2	+0.7	+.010	+0.1	+0.6	+.068
Chris Paul	78	38.5	22.8	0.9	4.7	5.5	11.0	2.8	0.1	3.0	2.7	8.1	16.1	.503	0.8	2.3	.364	5.8	6.7	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	5	40.2	16.6	0.8	3.6	4.4	10.4	1.6	0.0	4.8	1.6	6.0	14.6	.411	1.0	3.2	.313	3.6	4.2	.857


Season 5
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2003-04	2009-10
Team	Houston Rockets	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West 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		%
Steve Francis	79	40.4	16.6	1.5	4.0	5.5	6.2	1.8	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.7	14.1	.403	0.9	3.2	.292	4.3	5.5	.775
difference:	+34	+2.4	+2.1	+1.1	+0.2	+1.3	+4.5	+0.3	+0.2	-1.2	-0.7	+1.3	+0.1	+.090	+0.3	+0.4	+.117	+0.7	+1.3	+.072
Chris Paul	45	38.0	18.7	0.4	3.8	4.2	10.7	2.1	0.2	2.5	2.6	7.0	14.2	.493	1.2	2.8	.409	3.6	4.2	.847

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	5	44.6	19.2	1.2	7.2	8.4	7.6	1.4	0.2	4.2	3.6	6.0	14.0	.429	1.4	3.4	.412	5.8	8.0	.725
Chris Paul	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2004-05	2010-11
Team	Orlando Magic	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hornets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steve Francis	78	38.2	21.3	1.6	4.2	5.8	7.0	1.4	0.4	4.1	3.5	7.2	17.1	.423	0.5	1.6	.299	6.4	7.8	.823
difference:	+2	+2.2	+5.4	+1.1	+0.6	+1.7	+2.8	+1.0	+0.3	-1.9	-1.0	+1.8	+5.5	+.040	+0.4	+0.7	+.089	+2.2	+3.0	+.055
Chris Paul	80	36.0	15.9	0.5	3.6	4.1	9.8	2.4	0.1	2.2	2.5	5.4	11.6	.463	0.9	2.3	.388	4.2	4.8	.878

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	6	41.7	22.0	0.5	6.2	6.7	11.5	1.8	0.0	3.7	1.8	7.0	12.8	.545	1.5	3.2	.474	6.5	8.2	.796


Season 7
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2005-06	2011-12
Team	Orlando Magic, New York Knicks	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Clippers 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		%
Steve Francis	70	34.2	14.4	1.1	3.1	4.1	4.9	1.1	0.2	3.1	2.9	4.8	10.9	.435	0.4	1.2	.301	4.5	5.7	.787
difference:	+10	+2.2	+5.4	+0.4	+0.2	+0.5	+4.2	+1.4	+0.1	-1.0	-0.6	+2.3	+3.9	+.043	+0.9	+2.4	+.070	+0.2	+0.7	+.074
Chris Paul	60	36.4	19.8	0.7	2.9	3.6	9.1	2.5	0.1	2.1	2.3	7.1	14.8	.478	1.3	3.6	.371	4.3	5.0	.861

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	11	38.5	17.6	0.5	4.5	5.1	7.9	2.7	0.1	3.9	2.7	6.4	14.9	.427	1.2	3.5	.333	3.7	4.3	.872


Season 8
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2006-07	2012-13
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steve Francis	44	28.1	11.3	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.9	0.9	0.3	2.3	2.9	3.2	7.8	.408	1.0	2.5	.378	4.0	4.8	.829
difference:	+26	+5.3	+5.6		+0.2	+0.1	+5.8	+1.5	+0.2		-0.9	+2.7	+4.4	+.073	+0.1	+0.8	+.050	+0.1	+0.2	+.056
Chris Paul	70	33.4	16.9	0.8	3.0	3.7	9.7	2.4	0.1	2.3	2.0	5.9	12.2	.481	1.1	3.3	.328	4.1	4.6	.885

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	6	37.3	22.8	0.5	3.5	4.0	6.3	1.8	0.0	1.5	2.8	8.2	15.3	.533	1.0	3.2	.316	5.5	6.2	.892


Season 9
	Steve Francis	Chris Paul
Season	2007-08	2013-14
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Clippers Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Steve Francis	10	19.9	5.5	0.8	1.5	2.3	3.0	0.9	0.5	1.4	2.5	1.9	5.7	.333	0.4	1.7	.235	1.3	2.3	.565
difference:	+52	+15.1	+13.6	+0.2	+2.2	+2.0	+7.7	+1.6	+0.4	-0.9		+4.6	+8.3	+.134	+0.9	+1.7	+.133	+3.5	+3.3	+.290
Chris Paul	62	35.0	19.1	0.6	3.7	4.3	10.7	2.5	0.1	2.3	2.5	6.5	14.0	.467	1.3	3.4	.368	4.8	5.6	.855

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Chris Paul	13	36.3	19.8	0.9	3.3	4.2	10.3	2.8	0.0	3.0	3.8	7.1	15.2	.467	2.5	5.4	.457	3.2	4.1	.774


Additional Years
* Chris Paul played 11 seasons more than Steve Francis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 20, from 2015 to 2025—Chris Paul played in 9 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Steve Francis, Chris Paul got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	4 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 2 Assists Leader 5 All-Star Game

Steve Francis vs. Chris Paul Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Chris Paul and Steve Francis, 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

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years