Steve Nash vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Steve Nash, 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.

Steve Nash played 18 years in the NBA, 11 more than Arvydas Sabonis, who played 7. Steve Nash had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Arvydas Sabonis had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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 Nash	18	12	1996-97 to 2013-14
Arvydas Sabonis	7	7	1995-96 to 2002-03

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


Rookie Season
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1996-97	1995-96
Team	Phoenix Suns	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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 Nash	65	10.5	3.3	0.2	0.7	1.0	2.1	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.4	1.1	2.7	.423	0.4	0.8	.418	0.6	0.8	.824
difference:	+8	+13.3	+11.2	+1.8	+5.3	+7.1	+0.3	+0.6	+1.1	-1.1	-1.5	+4.3	+7.2	+.122	+0.1	+0.6	+.043	+2.6	+3.4	+.067
Arvydas Sabonis	73	23.8	14.5	2.0	6.0	8.1	1.8	0.9	1.1	2.1	2.9	5.4	9.9	.545	0.5	1.4	.375	3.2	4.2	.757

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	4	3.8	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.3	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	1.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-
difference:	+1	+31.6	+22.3	+2.1	+7.8	+9.9	+1.5	+0.5	+0.3	-1.5	-2.1	+6.5	+13.9	+.210	+0.7	+0.8	+.306	+8.6	+12.0
Arvydas Sabonis	5	35.4	23.6	2.4	7.8	10.2	1.8	0.8	0.6	2.0	3.4	7.0	16.2	.432	1.0	1.8	.556	8.6	12.0	.717


Season 2
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1997-98	1996-97
Team	Phoenix Suns	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers 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		%
Steve Nash	76	21.9	9.1	0.4	1.7	2.1	3.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	1.9	3.5	7.7	.459	1.1	2.6	.415	1.0	1.1	.860
difference:	+7	+3.6	+4.3	+1.3	+4.6	+5.8	+1.3	+0.1	+1.1	-0.9	-1.0	+1.3	+1.8	+.039	+0.4	+0.7	+.044	+2.2	+3.1	+.083
Arvydas Sabonis	69	25.5	13.4	1.7	6.3	7.9	2.1	0.9	1.2	2.2	2.9	4.8	9.5	.498	0.7	1.9	.371	3.2	4.2	.777

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	2.0	2.5	1.8	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.444	0.3	1.3	.200	1.3	2.0	.625
difference:		+14.0	+5.8	+1.5	+2.5	+4.0	+0.5	+0.3	+0.8	-1.5	-3.0	+2.5	+6.0	+.015	+0.2	+0.7	+.050	+0.5		+.250
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	11.3	2.0	4.5	6.5	2.3	0.8	0.8	2.3	4.8	4.5	10.5	.429	0.5	2.0	.250	1.8	2.0	.875


Season 3
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1998-99	1997-98
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers 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		%
Steve Nash	40	31.7	7.9	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.5	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.5	2.9	7.9	.363	1.2	3.3	.374	1.0	1.2	.826
difference:	+33	+0.3	+8.1	+1.2	+5.8	+7.1	+2.5		+1.0	-0.5	-1.2	+2.7	+3.4	+.130	+0.8	+1.7	+.113	+3.4	+4.3	+.028
Arvydas Sabonis	73	32.0	16.0	2.0	7.9	10.0	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.6	3.7	5.6	11.3	.493	0.4	1.6	.261	4.4	5.5	.798

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	4	26.8	12.3	1.8	6.0	7.8	1.5	1.8	0.8	2.5	4.8	4.5	10.0	.450	0.3	0.5	.500	3.0	3.5	.857


Season 4
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	1999-00	1998-99
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers 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		%
Steve Nash	56	27.4	8.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	4.9	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	3.1	6.5	.477	1.1	2.7	.403	1.3	1.5	.882
difference:	+6	+0.4	+3.5	+1.2	+4.5	+5.7	+2.5		+1.2	-0.1	-0.7	+1.5	+3.1	+.008	+1.0	+2.2	+.111	+1.4	+2.0	+.111
Arvydas Sabonis	50	27.0	12.1	1.8	6.1	7.9	2.4	0.7	1.3	1.7	2.9	4.6	9.6	.485	0.1	0.5	.292	2.7	3.5	.771

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arvydas Sabonis	13	30.1	10.0	0.9	7.8	8.8	2.2	1.2	1.2	1.5	2.7	3.5	8.7	.398	0.1	0.4	.200	3.0	3.3	.907


Season 5
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2000-01	1999-00
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

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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 Nash	70	34.1	15.6	0.7	2.5	3.2	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.9	2.3	5.5	11.3	.487	1.3	3.1	.406	3.3	3.7	.895
difference:	+4	+8.5	+3.8	+0.8	+3.8	+4.6	+5.5	+0.3	+1.1	-1.4	-0.5	+0.9	+2.2	+.018	+1.2	+2.8	+.038	+0.8	+0.7	+.052
Arvydas Sabonis	66	25.6	11.8	1.5	6.3	7.8	1.8	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.8	4.6	9.1	.505	0.1	0.3	.368	2.5	3.0	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	10	37.0	13.6	0.6	2.6	3.2	6.4	0.6	0.1	2.5	1.9	4.5	10.8	.417	1.6	3.9	.410	3.0	3.4	.882
difference:	+6	+6.2	+2.3	+0.6	+2.9	+3.5	+4.5	+0.3	+0.7	-0.9	-1.8	+0.2	+1.4	+.036	+1.2	+2.6	+.124	+0.6	+0.3	+.086
Arvydas Sabonis	16	30.8	11.3	1.2	5.5	6.7	1.9	0.9	0.8	1.6	3.7	4.3	9.4	.453	0.4	1.3	.286	2.4	3.1	.796


Season 6
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2001-02	2000-01
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis	Trail Blazers 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 Nash	82	34.6	17.9	0.6	2.5	3.1	7.7	0.6	0.0	2.8	2.0	6.4	13.3	.483	1.9	4.2	.455	3.2	3.6	.887
difference:	+21	+13.3	+7.8	+0.2	+2.1	+2.3	+6.2	+0.1	+1.0	-1.4	-0.2	+2.4	+4.8	+.004	+1.9	+4.0	+.388	+1.2	+1.0	+.111
Arvydas Sabonis	61	21.3	10.1	0.8	4.6	5.4	1.5	0.7	1.0	1.4	2.2	4.0	8.5	.479	0.0	0.2	.067	2.0	2.6	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	8	40.5	19.5	0.9	3.1	4.0	8.8	0.5	0.0	3.8	2.5	6.4	14.8	.432	2.5	5.6	.444	4.3	4.4	.971
difference:	+5	+5.5	+8.2	+1.8	+2.6	+4.3	+6.1	+0.2	+2.3	-3.1	-1.5	+1.7	+5.1	+.051	+2.5	+4.9	+.444	+2.3	+1.7	+.221
Arvydas Sabonis	3	35.0	11.3	2.7	5.7	8.3	2.7	0.3	2.3	0.7	4.0	4.7	9.7	.483	0.0	0.7	.000	2.0	2.7	.750

Note: Arvydas Sabonis didn't play in 2001-02.


Season 7
	Steve Nash	Arvydas Sabonis
Season	2002-03	2002-03
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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 Nash	82	33.1	17.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.3	1.6	6.3	13.6	.465	1.4	3.3	.413	3.8	4.1	.909
difference:	+4	+17.6	+11.6	+0.3	+1.1	+1.4	+5.5	+0.2	+0.5	-1.3	-0.2	+4.1	+9.0	+.011	+1.4	+3.2	+.087	+2.1	+2.0	+.122
Arvydas Sabonis	78	15.5	6.1	1.1	3.2	4.3	1.8	0.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	2.2	4.6	.476	0.0	0.1	.500	1.7	2.1	.787

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Nash	20	36.4	16.1	0.8	2.8	3.5	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.4	5.8	12.9	.447	1.9	3.8	.487	2.8	3.2	.873
difference:	+14	+21.9	+6.1	+0.2	+0.2	+0.5	+6.5	+0.2	+0.6	-1.6	-0.1	+1.8	+6.9	+.220	+1.9	+3.8		+0.8	+0.7	+.073
Arvydas Sabonis	6	14.5	10.0	1.0	3.0	4.0	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.3	4.0	6.0	.667	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.800


Additional Years
* Steve Nash played 11 seasons more than Arvydas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 18, from 2004 to 2014—Steve Nash played in 7 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Arvydas Sabonis, Steve Nash got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 2 All-NBA Second Team 5 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game

Steve Nash vs. Arvydas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arvydas Sabonis and Steve Nash, 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

Additional Years